Tips to Strengthen our Community
Crime prevention in an HOA community is the same as everywhere else – we all want our homes and neighborhoods to be safe. HOA crime prevention is as high a priority as it gets, and a lot of responsibility is placed upon the shoulders of the HOA board to promote the security and safety of the neighborhood. Although the level to which the board is responsible for the safety of the community is outlined in the governing documents, residents can also help in their own ways to prevent crime from happening in their community.
You don’t have to be part of the HOA neighborhood watch to do your share in preventing crime in your HOA — just getting involved with your HOA crime prevention efforts can go a long way. A few simple things can greatly discourage theft in the community and keep everyone safe. Here are some tips to prevent crime before it starts:
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1. Lock Your Homes and Vehicle
Making it inconvenient to commit a crime is key. Locking a vehicle or home may provide enough discouragement to keep most criminals from breaking into your property.
Thieves in a community often target unlocked vehicles because they can break in, steal, and make their exit very quickly. Interfere with one of those steps, and you have already done a great deal to prevent a burglary in an HOA community. Routinely lock their homes and vehicles and never leave your keys in the car.
2. Have an Alarm System
When burglars know that the possibility of an alarm system exists in your neighborhood, then that’s already a good deterrent against crime. All but the most determined of burglars will be discouraged by the possibility of discovery as soon as they get in.
3. Organize Neighborhood Watch
If crime prevention in an HOA is something that you have some experience with, you can consider joining forces with the HOA neighborhood watch in your community.
Setting up a watch can not only make the community safer, but it can also help bring neighbors together as they plan and work together to make their neighborhoods a better place to live in. Just the simple fact that homeowners themselves are on the lookout for crime will keep criminals at bay, especially in cases of insider crime. To start up a neighborhood watch, 75% of our homeowners must be involved.
4. Stay Updated on Crime News and Trends
Crime prevention in an HOA is also a matter of knowing when to pay extra attention. Are your neighbors getting into online purchasing? Then you and your HOA neighborhood watch may need to be more vigilant against “porch pirates”, those thieves who sneak into porches to steal delivered packages. Are you getting more visitors to your area at a given time of the year? The holidays are another peak season for possible crimes. Watch out for your neighbors!
5. Plan Our Community Around Safety
Prevent burglary in an HOA community for a long-term measure when it comes to crime prevention in an HOA, both the board and residents should look into working around crime safety. Tall hedges and big shrubs may look impressive, but they can also make it easy for unwanted visitors to hide. In general, large pieces of landscaping should have a good distance away from buildings, to leave a safe gap. The HOA common areas and homeowner properties should have minimal dark spots during afternoons, especially at night.
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