Crime Prevention

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Community Connect

Register your security camera with the Buckeye Police Department through Community Connect. This free and voluntary program allows residents and business owners to partner with their police department in fighting crime and keeping neighborhoods safe.

Burglary Prevention Tips

If you’re locked out of your home, can you still get in through an unlocked window in the back, or by using an extra key hidden under a flowerpot or up on a ledge? Remember, if you can break in, so can a burglar. A small investment of time and money can make your home more secure and reduce your chances of being a victim of burglary, assault or vandalism.

Secure Your Home

Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks or use a broomstick or wooden dowel in the track to prevent the door from being pried open
Secure double-pane windows by using keylocks or by sliding a bolt or nail through a hole drilled at a downward angle in top corners of the inside sash and partway through the outside sash
Don’t hide keys in mailboxes, planters or under doormats
Give an extra key to a neighbor you trust
If you’ve just moved into a new house or apartment, have the locks changed

Check the Doors

Make sure all exterior doors are metal or one and three quarters inch hardwood
Doors should fit tightly in their frames with hinge pins on the inside
Install a peephole or wide-angle viewer in all entry doors
Secure garage doors with a padlock through the roller track
Ensure the utility door to the garage door is locked
Lock the door in the garage leading to the interior of your home

Check the Outside

Alarms

If you have valuables in your home, such as art, coin/stamp collections, furs, fine jewelry or if you live in an isolated area, you may want to consider an alarm system
Before you invest in an alarm, check with several companies and decide what level of security fits your needs
Make sure to check their references and use an established company
Learn how to use your alarm so neighbors do not get accustomed to hearing your alarm going off

Additional Tips

Keep written records of all furniture, jewelry and electronic products
Take pictures or a video, and keep purchase information and serial numbers on the Serial Number Tracking Form
Print and use the Home and Business Security Survey, which contains valuable information and useful tips on how to better secure your property
Consider theft insurance
Join or help start a Buckeye Neighborhood Watch group
Call the police if you notice a screen that has been cut, a broken window or a door that’s been left open, don’t go in
If you do hear a noise that sounds like someone breaking in or moving around, quietly call the police and wait calmly until they arrive or leave if you can

Auto Theft Prevention Tips

Cars seem to be natural magnets for criminals. Whether taking one for a joyride or stealing stereo equipment out of it, it’s a problem that plagues the entire valley.

The most frequently occurring crime involving autos is burglary from vehicle. A criminal will target a car, either locked or unlocked, use a variety of objects to gain access, and steal the stereo, compact discs, clothing, sunglasses as well as a gun through the glove box. Anything that may have a potential street value is fair game.

While not as frequent as a burglary from vehicle, auto theft is also a threat to Buckeye car owners. Many times the vehicle will be recovered, but usually at a price. The interior and exterior may be scavenged for sellable parts, including the stereo, cell phone, hubcaps, tires or engine parts. Or, the car may have been driven recklessly and sustained irreparable damage.

Preventing Auto Thefts

Lock your car and close all of the windows
Control your keys and never leave an ID tag on your key ring
If you’re carrying valuable items, store them in your trunk, including CDs
Park under street lamps when possible or in well-lit areas
Consider an anti-theft device such as steering column locks, alarms or an engine/fuel kill switch
De-emphasize the value of the vehicle as much as possible
Keep your car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and a complete description of your car, your stereo system and associated serial numbers in a safe place at home
Engrave your driver’s license number and state identification on valuable items such as the stereo, speakers and amplifiers
Never carry the title in the vehicle
License plates are also frequently stolen and used on stolen cars involved in other crimes, check your plates often
In an effort to discourage the theft of catalytic converters from vehicles, please view this short, informative video

Faith Builders Partnership for Public Safety

An inter-faith organization that works with the police department on issues related to crime prevention. For more information, email Don McWilliams or call 623-349-6400.

Neighborhood Crime Watch

This program encourages participation of citizens within neighborhoods to organize block watch programs. Neighbors get to meet one another at these block watch meetings and discuss neighborhood problems and priorities. On many occasions a police officer will attend these meetings to give crime prevention tips and assist in organizing the block club. To get involved, contact our neighborhood services manager Don McWilliams or call 623-349-6400.

How to Recognize Suspicious Activity in Your Neighborhood

Safety Skills for Children

While most kids pass through childhood without ever experiencing physical harm, some are frightened or hurt by crime. As a parent, one of your responsibilities is to teach your children how to protect themselves and respond to threatening situations. And, it’s important to always listen to your children’s fears and feelings about people or places that scare them or make them feel uncomfortable.

Cover the Basics

Have them rehearse their full name, address and phone number
Teach them how to make emergency calls from home and public phones
Show them safe places they can go to in an emergency, like a neighbor’s house or an open store
Tell them never to accept gifts or rides from someone they don’t know well
Teach them to go to a store clerk or security guard and ask for help if you become separated in a store or shopping mall
Tell them to never go into a parking lot alone
Accompany your children to public restrooms
Teach them that no one, not even someone they know, has the right to touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable
Tell them they have a right to say no

At School or Play

Make sure your children are taking the safest route to school and friend's houses
Encourage them to walk and play with friends, and to stay in well-lighted, open areas where others can see them
Don’t hang a house key around your child’s neck
Teach them to walk confidently and stay alert to what’s going on around them
Encourage them to look out for other kids’ safety and report anything they see that doesn’t seem right
Tell them to stay away from strangers who hang around playgrounds, public restrooms and empty buildings

At Home

Make sure your kids can reach you by telephone at work
Have them check in with you at work or with a neighbor when they get home
Work out an escape plan in case of fire
Tell them to never open the door to a stranger
Caution them about answering the phone and accidentally letting a stranger know they are alone
Make sure they know how to work the door and window locks and that they use them when they are inside alone

City of Buckeye

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