PHONE SCAMS- New Twist to Phishing on the Phone

This item describes a phishing scheme that hijacks an innocent phone number to try to get your bank card account information:

http://www.scambusters.org/phonehacking.html

SELF DEFENSE- KUOW Interview with a Self-Defense Expert

Earlier this month, KUOW 94.9’s Ross Reynolds interviewed a self-defense expert on the Conversation. Listen to it for some reminders on how to protect yourself:

http://kuow.org/post/should-you-defend-or-avoid-ask-self-defense-expert

SNOHOMISH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE- Crime Prevention Newsletter

The Sheriff’s Office has posted the latest issue of its newsletter “Partner’s In Crime Prevention.”  This issue focuses on mobile security:

 

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/MarApr13.pdf

SNOHOMISH COUNTY- Suspicious Activity/Drug Activity

Suspicious activity can take many forms. One neighborhood west of I-5 thinks it is seeing a new technique to mark drug drop offs. The Neighborhood Watch Coordinator notes that year after year they see evidence of drug dealing in their neighborhood. Over time, they have seen many techniques by drug dealers and their customers to exchange money for drugs.

The homeowners have noted car windows marked in bright green paint with messages. One message was “green slug bug” on the rear window of a green VW. The VW was parked in a driveway and near the driveway is a yellow fire hydrant. Cars near utility boxes also seemed to be marked. Only vehicles that were near a utility box were marked, not vehicles farther away. Also, one van in a driveway had a green face painted on the corner closest to a nearby utility box.

It also appears that strips of toilet paper have been used to mark utility boxes that were in the shadows at night.

Activity like this certainly could be suspicious. It could be a teen prank, but apparently the homeowners in this neighborhood know their area well enough that they can say that it probably has to do with drug dealing. Passing this kind of information on to 911 as suspicious activity definitely helps the Sheriff’s Office.

 

 

SNOHOMISH COUNTY- School Services Unit

The Sheriff’s Office’s new School Services Unit began operations yesterday with a widely covered press conference. The major TV media out of Seattle led their articles about the unit emphasizing the Snohomish County schools will have “armed” deputies in them. But with that lead, the media misses the point and the potential depth of this new unit.

Yes, the Sergeant and 5 deputies who make up the unit are armed. And they will regularly visit schools in the unincorporated part of the county. But, alone, they cannot be on guard duty 24 hours a day at 100 schools. They can, however, “partner” with those schools to develop plans that meet each school’s safety needs. Those needs can range from an emergency plan for dealing with someone shooting in the school to dealing with petty theft in the hallways, or bullying among the students. Safety threats can change over time, and each school needs to be aware of the changing conditions around it to keep their students safe while they learn.

This approach is not a fortress approach, but one that uses modern police thinking in working with the public to keep our communities, and in this case, our schools safe. The decision to create this unit is based on theories such as community policing, situational crime prevention, and Problem Oriented Policing. The unit will listen to the needs of each school to determine how it can help. But, it will also look to the schools to take appropriate actions. The unit and the schools each have their parts to keeping our schools safe. Parents and their children should not have to rely on a lone, armed guard to protect them from the possibility of a violent act. By working together, the Sheriff’s Office and school staffs can develop a flexibility to guard against a wide variety of threats both large and small.

 

Local news coverage about the School Services Unit:

The Herald-

            http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130316/NEWS01/703169945#Sheriffs-new-school-safety-program-officially-begins

KING- TV-

            http://www.king5.com/news/Snohomish-County-schools-to-have-armed-guards-198441581.html

The Seattle Times-

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020570211_schoolservicesunitxml.html

OLYMPIA- Legislature Looking into Increasing Penalties for Car Prowlers

Washington state law enforcement authorities, including Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick, are urging the Washington State legislature to increase the penalties for car prowling. Car prowling is defined as the theft of property from a motor vehicle.

Car prowls have been on the increase statewide since the legislature cracked down on car thefts in 2007. In the city of Everett alone, 6.5 vehicles are prowled per day. Car prowlers are increasingly sophisticated and organized. Also, a car prowler can quickly gain entry to a car, often taking less than 15 seconds to break a window, take whatever is inside and run away.

Currently, car prowling is a gross misdemeanor. The legislation that the legislature is considering would make car prowling a class C felony.

For more details about this effort, go to:

            http://heraldnet.com/article/20130306/NEWS01/703069947#Bill-would-increase-penalty-for-car-prowls

 Note: The 2007 legislation cracking down on car thefts has been very successful in reducing car thefts. Sheriff Lovick and other law enforcement officials feel confident that implementation of stronger sanctions for car prowling would also be very successful.

 While stronger laws will help, we all can help keep the statistics down by:

 

• Locking our doors.
• Not keeping anything in view when we park our vehicles.
• Parking in a well-lit areas.

For more information about protecting your car from car prowls go to:

            http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/Vehicle%20Prowl.pdf