We’re all city dwellers. While this means added convenience, charming old homes, nearby cultural attractions, it also means, quite frankly — a high crime rate.
Everyone knows someone on the block who has been robbed or some crime which has been committed. It’s an ugly fact of life in the city. Unfortunately as area resident Ed Krammer said in the Post-Dispatch recently, “We have not yet learned to live in cities.”
There are certain precautions which veteran city dwellers take almost as a matter of course. However, as the rape on Pershing illustrated, many in the area, especially students, are unaware of the rules of city living. This unfortunate incident pointed up two things — the value of an alert neighborhood (the prompt action by area residents), and the naiveness of some students about city living (the girls were walking alone at 11:30 p.m.).
To help students and to provide a checklist for homeowners we are printing some do’s and don’ts of city living. In the months to come we will print other practical articles on preventing crime such as the value of various locks and where to get them installed at reasonable prices. However, the best crime preventative is an alert neighbor. Only by sticking together can we solve our crime problems.
## HOMEOWNERS
Use bolt type key locks. Ask a neighbor to keep extra key since it’s very hard to get in if you happen to lose your key. (Key locks prevent a burglar from getting in by cutting the glass and opening the lock from the inside.)
Keep screen doors latched. This delays the burglar.
Install chain locks or some device for talking through the door without unlocking it. Do not open your door to strangers.
Install grills on basement windows or nail them shut.
Keep the outside door to the basement locked at all times — a bolt type key lock is best.
Keep the door into the house from the basement locked at all times.
Install locks on all windows, french doors and second floor windows where there is access such as a balcony. A block of wood nailed at a height so that the window may be opened for ventilation but not for entrance will also work.
Do not leave ladders outside.
Lock garages at night and install lights if garage is open.
Keep front and back porch lights on during evening hours.
Keep a list of the serial numbers of all valuables.
Avoid unnecessary display of valuables.
Use etching tools on all valuables (see related story on page 1).
When going on vacation ask neighbor to turn lights off and on and stop all deliveries especially the mail. If going for an extensive length of time arrange for a house sitter by calling the Council, 862-5122 or arranging for a friend to stay at the house.
Know who your block watcher is.
Keep the phone numbers of neighbors and watch their property.
If a burglar is discovered entering the house, go next door and call the police. Keep the phone numbers of the police, fire and ambulance service next to the telephone at all times.
Investigate a barking dog.
Report unidentified vans parked on the street.
Do not send children alone to store with money.
Do not carry purse when walking.
Report callers who come to the door asking for someone. Watch and see if they do the same at other doors; they may be checking to see who is home and who is not. Call police immediately if they act suspicious.
TO YOUR CHILDREN.
Do not talk to strangers or accept rides. Engrave bicycles with your name and telephone number. Do not ride bikes far outside of neighborhood. Tell them to avoid gangs and go to a house if they are being followed and ask adult to call police. Make sure young children know their address and phone numbers.
CAR OWNERS
LOCK IT AND POCKET THE KEY AT ALL TIMES.
Keep car locked when moving.
Be suspicious of anything which is designed to get you out of your car.
Do not get out of your car if you see suspicious persons loitering in a parking lot. Instead call the police or someone in the building to come out when you arrive.
Do not pick up hitch hikers.
Do not leave valuables in car.
BE INVOLVED.
If you see a crime or something suspicious such as an unidentified van, call police and then investigate. Do not take unnecessary chances.
## APARTMENT DWELLERS
Insist that your landlord:
Install a key bolt lock on the front door.
Make sure there’s adequate lighting in the halls.
Install a bolt type lock on your apartment door.
Lock the basement door and outside entrances to the basement at all times.
Install locks on first floor windows or put in a special heavy mesh.
Insist upon adequate lighting around garages and gangways.
If your landlord refuses to do any of these things, do it and deduct the cost from your rent; or contact the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council for further action (862-5122).
As an apartment dweller, you can personally insure your safety by:
KNOWING YOUR NEIGHBORS.
Know what kind of cars they drive and check if other automobiles are parking in front of the building.
Calling ahead of time if you must come in by night so they can watch for you.
Leaving a radio and some lights on when gone from the apartment.
Stopping all deliveries when gone for a long period of time.
Knowing the phone numbers of your neighbors and when they’re home and when they’re not.
Using the Washington University shuttle bus especially in the evenings.
Not walking alone at night.
Not opening the door to strangers — talk through a chain lock if necessary — do not open the door.
Securing all windows even those on the second or third floors. (Criminals can climb downspouts or get onto balconies. )
Having the police number handy and when calling the police letting them know that you live in the seventh district and exactly where your apartment is located.
For Women: Use the new escort service in the evening. Do not carry a purse unless absolutely necessary and then do not carry valuable papers or credit cards when out walking.
Originally published in The Paper, November 1971.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1971_11.pdf, printed page 4.
