Flomaton police chief holds first class to teach criminal awareness
Thompson leads class on awareness
If you see something 'suspicious' in your neighborhood or while you are driving down the street, what should you do?
That was one of the questions Flomaton Police Chief Chance Thompson asked Monday night to those who attended his Suspicious Behavior Awareness class at the Flomaton Public Library.
Chief Thompson will continue with his three part series next month on the topic of '911 Education for Parents to Teach their Kids' and the next month with 'Stranger Awareness' about teaching children not to talk to strangers.
Over the past month, the Flomaton Police Department has made several arrests for burglary and theft due to citizens spotting suspicious behavior, taking photographs and video, and calling the police.
"The people in this community are the front line for the eyes and ears to help aid the police department," Thompson said. "We want people to call us when they see suspicious behavior in their neighborhoods. We'd rather drive up a find a guy taking out his garbage than not knowing someone was taking out a garbage can full of stolen stuff."
Those attending Monday night's class were given a test of sorts. The first question was 'race, ethnicity, religious affiliation are considered to be ____ suspicious. The correct answer was 'Not'.
The test went on to tell those attending that police responding to a suspicious person report does not always result in an arrest.
"It is always important to notify law enforcement of information?" Attendees had to check 'yes' or 'no' and the correct answer was yes.
"What is an example of actions that may be suspicious" was another question. Chief Thompson asked the crowd which included people looking into yards, looking into vehicles and people hiding in darkness.
"What actions may make a vehicle be suspicious" was another question. Chief Thompson explained that a vehicle traveling, normally at a low speed, and making several trips around the neighborhood would be considered suspicious.
"Most thieves are lazy," Thompson said. "They drive by a couple of times, see something they may want to steal and then come back."
He said one key is 'know your neighbors' and know what's normal and what may seem out of place at certain times – like things out of place.
He also talked about needing to lock the car when people get home. Again he said most thieves are lazy and will walk by, check the handle, if it's locked they move on; if it's not they will steal what's in the vehicle.
Chief Thompson said about 18,000 vehicles travel thorough Flomaton every day with some simply heading to the beach and others looking to steal something quick and fast. He also said people need to take a look at their own front yard and see if anything sticks out that would make an easy theft.
"When we get home, we pull into the driveway and go inside,"Thompson said. "Drive by your house and see if there are things that might entice a thief, like the weedeater in the driveway or the lawnmower parked close by."
Thompson also told the group that surveillance cameras are a great tool that not only deter thefts but can give the police the evidence they need to make an arrest in the event of a theft.
"There are some inexpensive cameras out there that are easy to install," he said. "Anything is better than nothing and they need to be installed at homes and businesses."
For more information, call the police department at 296-5811.
