MONTE VISTA - Monte Vista Neighborhood Watch met Oct. 19 for their last meeting for 2020. They will hopefully start meeting again Jan. 2021. “Depending on the situation with the pandemic. Everyone’s safety is obviously our No. 1 concern so we’re going to be monitoring that situation very closely. To make sure everything and everyone is safe,” said Monte Vista Police Officer Joshua Hill.

At the meeting Hill gave a presentation on the most common signs of the most common crimes. He covered shoplifting, burglaries, car break-ins, package theft, drug distribution and DUI.

Hill began with shoplifting listing the most common signs of a person about to shoplift as being wearing bulky clothing or large bags and purses, someone who stays shopping in the same location in the store for a long time, and constantly checking for where people are. Another sign Hill shared was if they came in with more than one person and have the other person distracting the clerk.

Hill then shared ways that people can help deter shoplifting telling them that even just saying hello to someone acting suspicious can help. “Just ‘hi how are you doing?’ That right there goes through and puts the fact that they have been noticed in their mind and it will reduce the chances of them possibly committing the crime. It won’t reduce it to zero but it definitely will put them on a higher state of alert to where they might not want to commit a crime,” said Hill. Hill also stated that you can go speak to the clerk about what you’re noticing.

“If you see someone place a product in their purse, clothing, or anything like that call law enforcement. Do not confront them about it. Call law enforcement talk to the clerks, let them know what you saw.

Pay attention to clothing, vehicle description, if possible if you can get a license plate that’s always really helpful,” said Hill also adding, “But the thing about how law enforcement works and we’ve talked about this several times, is you have to be willing to write a statement about the crime. You have to be willing to testify in court. If you’re not able to do that our ability to go through and stop those kinds of things is dramatically reduced.”

Hill went on to cover burglaries and car break-ins, saying that Monte Vista has seen a recent increase in car break-ins. Hill stated that many of the signs for a burglary or car break-in, are almost identical. Hill said some of the signs to look out for are: Security lights turning on or dogs barking inexplicably, people looking into windows for valuables and unlocked accesses, lights on where there shouldn’t be (flashlights, car dome lights, etc.), wearing dark clothing and a mask outside (even during the pandemic), a person running, and carrying bulky or out of place items.

Hill then listed some of the ways you can help deter being burglarized or having your car broken into. Hill listed: Keeping your vehicles locked with no valuables inside, keeping exterior doors and sheds locked, and calling law enforcement for any suspicious activity. He also said having a  security camera system can help protect yourself and your neighbors.

Package theft or porch pirates is another common crime that is most common during the holidays. Hill said that in Monte Vista they have noticed something about package thefts saying, “Something that we’ve noticed here in Monte Vista is suspects will walk in a zigzag pattern across the street checking the porches. So, they’ll check this porch and then they’ll walk across the street and they’ll check that one. And then they’ll walk across the street and check that one. It’s very odd behavior.”

Hill said other signs were unattended packages, and someone walking or running with a package in hand. To help deter package theft, Hill said saying hi again to someone acting suspicious can help. Also not leaving your packages unattended, having a camera system, and calling law enforcement about any suspicious activity.

For signs of drug distribution Hill said high amounts of traffic at a residence with guests only staying a few minutes is one indication. Another sign is vehicles in parking for long periods of time and people walking up and passing items between them and then leaving. To deter Hill said to call law enforcement about any suspected drug activity, and to have suspect and vehicle descriptions including license plates if possible. He also said to record activity if possible, and to not confront suspects.

At the end of his presentation Hill said the following, “But for the community, all of us have to work together to keep it safe. Everyone has to be willing to take the steps to keep it safe. If you see something and you don’t say anything about it, you’re just enabling it to happen again and again. And once again if we weren’t there, if we didn’t see it, if we don’t have a recording of it to go through and reference back to it’s very difficult for us to do anything about it. So, I encourage everyone in the community that if you see something say something. Call it in so that we can start to address the issues that you are seeing in the community and not just the ones that we would see.”