The average person has difficulty thinking like a criminal. As a result they routinely fail to recognize the crime opportunities they create when they do such things as let their car warm up in the driveway or leave the screen door unlocked and the front door open while working in their backyards. Most “opportunity crime” is easy to avoid.

Before a crime can happen three things must be present. There must be a victim. There must be a criminal desire. And there must be crime opportunity. Crime opportunity is the pivotal factor because it acts like the trigger for a criminal event and ultimately brings the criminal together with the victim or their property.

At any given time there are potential offenders and potential victims. Sometimes, the potential criminal and victim come in contact with each other but a crime does not occur. This is often due to lack of criminal desire, motivation or opportunity. An example of this might be a car thief taking your neighbour’s car after walking past your house. Your car was locked, whereas your neighbour’s car was out front, unlocked and maybe even had the keys sitting in the ignition.

Earlier this year in St. Albert we had five cars stolen from driveways within a one hour period. The cars were left idling in the driveway, doors unlocked and creating the opportunity a thief is looking for. Patrols made in the area by police that morning resulted in more vehicles being discovered, running and unlocked in residential driveways! Had the thieves come down those streets it is highly likely the owners of those vehicles would have been filing complaints of stolen vehicles!

By anticipating the potential for crime, and taking action to remove or reduce the threat, you have gone a long way to avoiding crime. Taking precautions doesn’t necessarily mean that you will never encounter a criminal or observe someone actively checking out a crime opportunity. Suspicious activities such as a parked vehicle which appears to be scouting out the neighbourhood, or a person lurking around your neighbour’s house, should not be ignored. Police rarely receive suspicious activity calls when a resident answers their door to find a teenager they have never seen before, asking for someone who doesn’t live there. Yet a common tactic of residential burglars is to knock on the door prior to breaking-in to confirm their suspicions that no one is home.

So many times we witness something that we think is strange, yet take no action because we try to rationalize or accept some innocent explanation, no matter how unlikely. Suspicious activity must be reported to the police. Wonderful crime prevention programs exist, such as Neighbourhood Watch and Citizen’s Patrol, which act as another set of eyes and ears for the police and the community. Joining programs such as these, and practicing CPTED principles (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design), are some of the measures we can take individually as homeowners, car owners and business owners in our community. It is this community approach to crime prevention that reduces the risks and minimizes the opportunities to commit crime.

Basic Tips that make for good crime prevention habits:

• Close and lock the doors and windows when no one is in the home.
• Lock your car. Do not leave your vehicle running and unattended.
• Close and lock your garage door when you are out or it’s not in active use
• Park your vehicle in the garage overnight.
• Never carry excess money or credit cards.
• Never carry your social insurance card on your person unless you know you are going to need it.
• Never leave parcels or valuables sitting in plan view in your car
• Never unlock your door to speak to a stranger.
• Never give out your credit card number over the phone unless you initiated the call.