During the months of July and August, many people like to be enjoying the beautiful warm weather by being outside, and often times families and friends like to travel, whether it's to go fishing or camping, or travelling to go sightseeing or to see family.
The end result is, sometimes one's home or property is left alone for days or even weeks at a time, leaving them vulnerable to predation by criminals.
There are various ways to handle this situation, of course, but one of the best ways someone can be a good neighbour is to keep an eye if they happen to be at home and in the neighbourhood while their neighbours or friends are away visiting or travelling.
As the police have indicated on many occasions, this is good advice all year round. In any given neighbourhood or rural area, the residents who live there are most familiar with the people and vehicles who normally travel or visit in the area, and would know when there's a stranger driving by slowly, or suspiciously walking through the area and looking around.
When people see anything or anybody that's out of place or are distinctly strange in appearance, the first and immediate thing to do is call the police and let them deal with the situation. If the person is innocently lost or is legitimately looking for the people who live in the area, this will be readily apparent to the police; the important thing is to help keep your neighbourhood safe from intrusion.
This should apply not just at vacation time when people tend to be away, but all year round; there are certainly times when people are away for their work, or for a sporting event or other events, and their homes and properties are just vulnerable then.
This sort of neighbourhood vigilance is a good habit for residents to get into, as every year when the weather warms up, the reports of mischief and vandalism rise sharply; the best way to keep a lid on this sort of activity is to be watchful, and call the police immediately. Sometimes people wait until the next day or two to make a call, but the longer a person waits, the less likely the police can find any evidence that can help them find the perpetrators.
Neighbourhood Watch used to be in place in years gone by, in both rural and urban neighbourhoods, and it really worked in helping police keep tabs on where residential break-ins and acts of vandalism were occurring. The program may not be around anymore, but the spirit of vigilance can be kept alive.
