The La Vista Police Department is proud to announce its participation in a nation-wide program to reduce petty property crime in our neighborhoods. 

Law enforcement agencies frequently use social media to share daily reminders and best safety practices with residents. One such practice, the “9 P.M. Routine” is a social media campaign created in 2017 by a Sheriff’s Office in Florida. The campaign was created to educate community members about best safety practices and help the Sheriff's department achieve its goal to reduce preventable crimes. 

Since its origination, the 9 p.m. Routine has been adopted by law enforcement agencies all over the U.S and continues to provide value to communities by raising awareness and providing simple prevention tips.

Criminals look for easy targets. By taking a few steps to ensure that your home and vehicle(s) are secure, you make your home a more difficult target for them and keep your family safe. That's where the 9pm routine comes in, creating a nightly habit. 

The 9PM Routine is a daily reminder that builds proactive and protective habits in members of the La Vista Community. Our #9PMROUTINE typically includes 4 tips such as: remove valuables from your car, lock your car, turn on outside lights, and lock up your home, close your garage door and remove your daily mail from the mailbox. Lastly, quickly remove packages shipped via mail to stop thefts from porches. 

Remove valuables from your vehicle: Criminals, especially those engaged in multiple, small value thefts, will target visible items from the window of your vehicle. These items can include small electronics, cash or large volumes of coins, or high value sports equipment. These items are particularly hard to trace after the theft due to their lack of individual characteristics. By obscuring or removing these items, homeowners make their vehicles a less desirable target for petty theft. 

Lock your car: Simple thefts are often made possible by unlocked vehicle doors. These thefts are nearly silent, do not engage any vehicle alarm system and can range from a few seconds to a few minutes. Criminals conducting small thefts are looking for a volume of unlocked vehicles to increase their score of stolen goods. Security footage, amassed nation-wide, has shown an obvious trend away from locked vehicles; criminals instead look for unlocked, easy vehicles to target for theft. The simple act of locking your vehicle’s doors can make a criminal skip your vehicle and target an unlocked vehicle. 

Lock up your home: Before bed, and every time you leave the house, ensure that all exterior doors are locked and secured. Homeowners can utilize multiple types of locks including deadbolts, door chains, and swing bar locks for standard swing doors and latch locks with a slide-restricting bar for sliding glass doors. These simple steps increase the safety of your home and the valuables contained within.

Close your garage door: By securing your garage, you are also securing your home. Be sure to lock the interior entrance door from the garage for an added layer of security. Ensure that all outbuildings, sheds and storage boxes are locked and secured. If appropriate, focus an exterior camera to face any detached buildings on your property. 

Remove your daily mail from the mailbox: La Vista has seen sporadic increases in mail theft throughout the year. Criminals target mail, particularly around April (tax returns), November/ December (gifts and packages), as well as manipulating stolen person identity documents for scams or fraud. By removing your mail from the mailbox daily, homeowners reduce their identity exposure and reduce their risk of fraud. If appropriate, homeowners can research and employ in third-party privacy companies as an added layer of security for identity theft. 

What’s a 9pm routine?

• Have you made sure valuables; garage door openers, & firearms are out of your vehicle?
• Have you locked all of your vehicles’ doors?
• Is your garage door closed?
• Did you check all exterior doors and windows are locked?
• Have you turned on your home alarm & exterior light?

These simple, and easy steps, built daily, help protect your property and your vehicles from burglary and theft. Together with the police department, La Vista residents can reduce property crime, one residence at a time!