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Neighborhood Watch tips

by Melanie Jongsma

LANSING, Ill. (May 17, 2019) – The Lansing Police Department has an active Neighborhood Watch program that reduces crime and builds community in Lansing. Any Lansing resident—renter, homeowner, landlord, business owner—can join the program and attend the meetings.

What to watch for

One of the benefits of joining the Neighborhood Watch program is that members become more aware of the goings-on in their own neighborhoods. Lansing police offer these tips about activities that might be considered suspicious and should prompt a call by a concerned citizen:

  • Someone screaming or shouting for help
  • Someone looking in windows of houses and parked cars
  • Items being taken out of houses where no one is at home
  • Items being removed from businesses during non-business hours
  • Cars, vans, or trucks moving slowly with no apparent destination or without lights
  • Anyone being forced into a vehicle
  • A stranger sitting in a car or stopping to talk to a child
  • Someone at your door asking for someone who dos not live at your home
  • Someone in a work truck in the driveway of a vacant home

How to report something

  • Call 911
  • Give your name and address, or you may choose to be anonymous
  • Explain what happened
  • Describe the person you believe is suspicious, including such details as sex, race, age, height, weight, hair color, clothing, and any distinctive characteristics such as beard, mustache, scars, or accent
  • Describe whatever vehicle was involved: color, are, model, year, license plate, and special features such as stickers

Lt. Scott Bailey has encouraged Lansing residents not to feel like they are “bothering” the police. According to Bailey, police would rather respond to a call and find out it’s nothing, than not be called and have a tragedy happen.

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Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma grew up in Lansing, Illinois, and believes The Lansing Journal has an important role to play in building community through trustworthy information.