By Rick Madewell
Assistant Editor

Businesses and their employees can be made safer from burglars, vandals and other culprits if owners or managers make a few adjustments. The same can be said for residents and their homes.

Community Service Officer William Eustace, a Kissimmee Police Department crime prevention practitioner and crime prevention specialist, said a degree of preparation against thieves, thugs and other miscreants can be the difference between safety and bodily harm.

Eustace, who recently discussed business safety practices for the staff at the Osceola News-Gazette, offered several crime prevention methods to help businesses and residents. The key words to staying safe, he said, are “always stay aware.”

“Be aware of your surroundings,” Eustace said. “Bad guys are always looking for opportunities.”

“As an employer in charge of many employees, it is important to know that we have access to resources to inform and protect the very people we are responsible for,” Paula Stark, publisher of the News-Gazette, said. “The service provided by the Kissimmee Police Department through Officer Eustace is invaluable in meeting that need.  We all benefited from the experience and information provided by him in our safety training.”

Within days of the training, items were installed at the News-Gazette to provide better safety measures for employees.

Here are a few of his recommendations for businesses and employees.

• Take different routes to work

• If you are a short distance from the reception area while at work, always acknowledge someone coming into the building with a “Be right with you,” so they know you are aware of them.

• Develop an employee system to deal with irate customers.

• Back into parking spots so you are able to drive away quickly, if necessary.

• If you dial 911 from a cell phone, police cannot track the call because the signal goes to a tower. Be prepared to tell exactly where you are and describe your surroundings in case of an emergency.

• Always walk in the middle of parking lots, as someone could be hiding between cars. The more open distance they have to go, the less likely they will attack.

• If someone is pounding on your car, do not get out of the vehicle. Pull or drive into a lighted area with people. If you are feeling threatened, press on the horn until someone calls the police.

• Always lock your car and take your valuables with you or put them somewhere out of sight. A cracked window means the car will be easier to break into.

Eustace also spoke about personal security typically outside of a business. He said although pepper spray has been widely accepted to use as a deterrent against criminals, the victim could easily fumble it, hold it the wrong way and spray themselves instead. Also, he advised, it can be taken away from the victim.

But when attacked, he said, fight any way you can.

“You can stomp your feet, whatever it takes,” he said.

When at a money machine, don’t be afraid to look around.

“If you feel uncomfortable at an ATM machine, go to another one and while there, be aware of your surroundings,” he said. “Look around. Do not stay totally focused on the machine. Check in the mirror there.”

Eustace also said to be extremely leery of any ATM machine that has any kind of a card/brochure holder attached to the side above the screen and keyboard. Someone is copying your card information in that case. He advises before inserting your credit/debit card into a ATM card reader that is sticking out of the machine, to shake it and make sure it is attached to the ATM.

Other suggestions:

• If you shop at night, always park in a well-lit area and ask for an escort back to your car. If you go somewhere and it doesn’t look comfortable, go somewhere else.

• Always walk in parking lots with your keys out. If you are attacked, you can use your keys to jab the attacker in the arm to get away.

• If you are standing in line at a store, don’t hold out your credit card, as someone can take a quick picture of it.

Eustace offered even more ideas for home safety. He suggested deterring a criminal from kicking in your front door by using a 1-inch throw thumb turn deadbolt lock along with a maximum security strike plate with 2 1/2-inch to 3-inch screws.

Suspicious characters in the neighborhood should be quickly reported to authorities.

“At home, if you see someone who doesn’t look right, call the police immediately,” Eustace said. “Don’t wait because they (police) can get there and deal with it quickly.”

Eustace said that 90 percent of burglaries at a residence start at the rear of the home because most homes have sliding glass doors, which, he said, “are the easiest thing to get into.”

Burglars hate noise and light, Eustace said, and the best way to fend off nighttime thieves is to have motion-detector lights installed around the entire house.

Eustace lists several ways to keep odds for safety high and encourages all residents and business owners to keep them in mind.

Other things for a homeowner/renter to keep in mind:

• If front door lights are on before dark, criminals will know you are not at home.

• Don’t keep your valuables in the master bedroom. That’s the first place criminals look.

• When you buy an electronic device, record the model number in case it is stolen.

Aside from Eustace’s training program for safety, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office recently launched a new program aimed at reducing the number of business burglaries.

Operation Open and Empty encourages businesses to collaborate with law enforcement by playing a proactive role in crime prevention.

Deputies will ask business owners to empty their cash registers, leave the drawers open after business hours and place a sticker in the window, which tells people the business does not leave money in the cash register overnight. The program has been successfully implemented in other counties throughout Florida, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies will visit more than 500 businesses in the U.S. Highway 192 area in the next few weeks. Within the next few months, all businesses in the county will receive a visit from deputies to encourage their owners to join the program.

Call Crimeline
Anyone can report information on crimes anonymously through Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS. Callers with tips leading to the felony arrest of suspects or the recovery of stolen property and drugs are eligible for cash rewards up to $1,000.