By: Joshua Mailey
Signal 88 Security
Arlington Heights, IL

The Holiday Season is upon us! Thoughts of spending time with family and friends, the smells of the season filling the air and the overwhelming sense of joy that returns to our hearts as we remember our childhood holiday experiences. Our schedules begin to get packed with list making and shopping, on top of our regular daily responsibilities, and we start to forget about simple things to keep the holiday season safe.

The 2014 Bureau of Justice Statistics study, “Seasonal Patterns in Criminal Victimization Trends” reports that overall crime has been reduced between 1993-2010, but indicates some crimes show no significant fluctuation from traditionally higher crime summer months. The study identifies robbery as occurring frequently in winter as in summer, and identified crimes against persons and motor vehicle thefts seeing an insignificant reduction in winter as it does in summer, while personal assaults occur more frequently in the fall months.

Conversely, the United States Fire Administration reports that cooking, heating and electrical fires were some of the top causes of structure fires during the winter, especially during the holidays. The American Red Cross reports that nearly 47,000 fires occur during the winter months, claiming over 500 lives per year! Structure fires leaves families devastated, and in multi-family structures, a single fire event can lead to direct damage and smoke damage to the extent of leaving all the units in a building to be evacuated for extended periods of time.

When considering the safety of ourselves, property, and our homes, there are some simple things we can do to keep ourselves and loved ones safe.

Making yourself less of a target

•          When leaving home, keep strategic lights on to make the appearance that someone is home.
•          Keep package deliveries indoors or dropped off in places out of public view.
•         Don’t keep a lot of packages in cars in busy parking lots.
•          Ask close neighbors that you trust to watch out for your house and do the same for them.
•          Keep doors and windows locked. Leave TV or radio on.
•          Never leave house keys, purses, or valuable items in cars. Leave garage door transponders locked up and out of view.
•          Keep all firearms secure on your person or in a heavy duty safe. (if you have a license to do so legally. Always follow local and state laws regarding firearm use and carry)
•          Keep an eye out for strange cars and persons in the area. If you believe someone entered your house, DO NOT GO INSIDE! Go somewhere safe and call 911.

Winter Season Home Safety

•          Power outages can occur during nasty winter storms.
•          Keep flashlights and extra batteries available.
•          Only use space heaters that are appropriate for indoor use.
•          Keep your cell phones fully charged and have portable charging devices for them.
•          Electrical fires caused by circuit overloads and space heaters kill many people during the winter months. Keep a fire extinguisher available on every level of your home and have an evacuation plan.
•          Change batteries for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors every year.
•          Never leave open flames or burning candles unattended.

If you have a security system or security service, notify them that you will be out of town and inquire about premise checks if available. Update you contact information so you can be notified if there was an emergency. Being situationally aware of your surrounding is critical to staying safe and preventing accidents from happening. Shopping during the Holiday Season keeps us out of the house more and into areas that are crowded with fellow shoppers. Keep these tips in mind when travelling about.