Home and personal safety tips for older adults
By Susan Nienow CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Sgt. David Zehab, a crime prevention officer with the Chesterfield Police Department, shares safety tips with seniors at the Chesterfield Senior Center.

Seniors should be cautious, not paranoid, advises Sgt. David Zehab, crime prevention officer, during a recent program at the Chesterfield Senior Center. Criminals need three things to commit a crime: the ability, the desire and the opportunity. Seniors can affect the last one, he stressed.

Seniors gather once a month at their new center at Church of our Savior on Stigall Drive for ice cream socials. A recent get-together brought seniors out to hear information about keeping themselves safe and confident when they are out and at home.

Below are just a few of the safety tips Zehab shared:

Cars

• Lock your car when you leave it, and put valuables out of sight.

• If your car breaks down, call someone on your cell phone or call 911. Do not open your window or car door for anyone. If someone stops to help, tell him or her to call 911 unless you have already done so.

• If you are followed, drive to a well-lit area and call 911. Don't go home.

• If you pass a car on the side of the road with the hood up, don't stop to help. It's not your problem.

Home

• Install a 360-degree peephole so you can see who is there before you answer the door. Do not open the door to anyone you do not know.

• Keep your doors locked even when you are at home. Keep your garage door down.

• Close your blinds at night.

• Make sure the outside of your house is well-lit.

• Put a large pair of boots beside the front door. In other words, make the home look like a busy place with more than one resident.

• If you go out of town, don't stop your newspaper and mail. Ask a trusted neighbor to pick them up for you.

• A home alarm system is a good thing to have but if you don't have one, a securityrelated sticker on your front window or sign on your mailbox are great deterrents. They are available at local home and garden stores.

• Cell phones can be used to call 911 if they are kept charged even if you aren't paying for cell phone service. The call is free.

Walking

• Keep to well-lit areas.

• Walk with one or more other people.

• Walk with your head up, confidently. Don't look like a good victim.

• If approached, look the person in the eye. This lets them know you know what they look like. Keep a space of two arm-lengths between you and any stranger.

Telephone

• Do not buy anything over the phone unless you placed the call.

• Put your cell phone and home phone on the Do Not Call Registry (www.donotcall. gov).

• If you do not know who is calling, don't answer the phone. Let the answering machine screen your calls.

Identity theft

• Shred all papers with personal information on them before you dispose of them.

• Don't pay your bills and then put the envelopes in your mailbox with the flag up. This is an invitation for criminals to steal your personal information or wash the check and rewrite it with your signature on it.

• Get your credit report at least once a year. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com.

• Don't give out personal information over the phone. Ask yourself 'why.' Why would this stranger ask for your help? Why would the bank call and ask for information it already has? What do they want from me?