Home & Personal Safety Tips

Home Security Tips

  • Never automatically open your door. Make sure you know who is on the other side before you open it. Insist on identification from repair and sales persons. If in doubt, call their company for identification.
  • Do not admit persons asking to use your telephone. Offer to make the call for them.
  • If you live in an apartment, be attentive and careful if you are alone in the laundry room or garage by yourself, especially late at night. Secure all outside doors with dead bolt locks. Outer doors should be 1 inch thick solid core wood or metal.
  • Have good lighting at all entrances.
  • Add auxiliary locks to sliding glass doors to prevent lifting and sliding. Add auxiliary locks on all windows to prevent lifting and sliding.
  • Know your neighbors and work out a mutual watch and warning system to prevent burglaries and other break-ins.
  • If you come home and find a door or window open or signs of force, DO NOT ENTER. Call the police for assistance.
  • Use automatic timers to turn lights on and off to give the appearance you are home.
  • Stop mail and other deliveries when you are gone for a length of time, or have a trusted neighbor pick them up for you.
  • Do not hide spare keys. Give keys to trusted neighbors or the Police Department.
  • Close and lock doors and windows every time you leave your home.
  • Install a peephole viewer in your door.
  • Have your locks re-keyed every time you move into a new house or apartment.

Personal Security Tips

  • If you are going to be traveling, tell people where you are, where you are going, and when you expect to arrive. Do not discuss travel plans in front of strangers.
  • Guard your credit cards. Do not read credit card numbers out loud with people listening or punch in numbers on the phone with people watching.
  • If someone threatens you and demands cash or your car, give it up!
  • Do not leave your purse unattended in your desk or a shopping cart and do not place it on the floor in a bathroom stall or dangle from your arm while walking.
  • Report suspicious persons to the police. Do not give your phone number or address to solicitors unless you know who they are.
  • If you think a deal is too good to be true, it probably is!
  • Use extreme caution when using ATMs at night. Do not use ATMs alone if possible. Do not dawdle and do not flash cash.
  • You lock your car when you are not in it – lock it when you are in it.
  • Keep a flashlight in the glove box of your car in case of an emergency.
  • Park in well lighted areas. Do not leave valuables in plain sight. Do not argue with people on the highway. Do not cause confrontations in traffic.
  • Do not dash into a convenience store with your car running. Turn your car off and take the keys when you pay for self-serve gasoline. Carry your car keys on a different ring from your house keys and have them ready before reaching your car.
  • When stopping at a traffic light, leave enough space between you and the car ahead of you to pull away if necessary.

Pedestrians in Roadway Required to Yield to Vehicles

Recently, the Police Department has received an increasing number of complaints from citizens about groups of joggers and walkers on our streets who do not move over to allow vehicles to pass. Citizens also complain of being concerned with accidentally striking joggers and walkers because it’s dark and they are not wearing reflective gear.

The Wyoming Municipal Code, Section 371.05 Walking on Highways, states:

  • Where a sidewalk is provided and its use is practicable, no pedestrian shall walk along and upon an adjacent roadway.
  • Where a sidewalk is not available, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk only on a shoulder, as far as practicable from the edge of the roadway.
  • Where neither a sidewalk nor a shoulder is available, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk as near as practicable to an outside edge of the roadway, and, if on a two-way roadway, shall walk only on the left side of the roadway.
  • Except as otherwise provided in Section 313.03 (Traffic Control Devices) and 371.01 (Right of Way in Crosswalk), any pedestrian upon a roadway shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway.

As a reminder, for the joggers and walkers in our community who have to utilize the roadways because sidewalk use is not available or practicable, you are required to yield to all vehicles. Also, the use of reflective clothing when it’s dark is highly recommended. Incorporating these steps into your daily routine will make our roads safe for everyone.

Other Crime Prevention Resources

The National Crime Prevention Council, On-Line Resource Center, offers crime prevention tips for self, home, and family; community policing; neighborhood building; plus information on McGruff the Crime Dog and his nephew, Scruff. Find out how you can help to Take A Bite Out Of Crime!

The City of Wyoming and the Wyoming Police Department support the work of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Help find a missing child!

Click here to view a Guide to Securing Homes. Break-ins happen much more frequently than most people think – and it’s always a devastating experience. This guide, written and provided by the Safety, Health, and Consumer Council  is a way to help provide safety and prevention awareness.  The guide includes key steps and preventative measures that can go a long way in keeping your home safe and secure while you are away.