Welcome to this month’s PENS, Police Email Notification System, bulletin. This monthly bulletin is brought to you from the Cobb County Police, Precinct 5 Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU5) and is designed to keep you aware of safety alerts and crime trends in your area and measures you can take to keep you and your family safe.

Girl Scout Food Drive

Girl Scout Troop #15122 is partnering with Mission 1:27 from Living Stone Church, the Cobb County Police Department, and Cobb County Sheriff's Department to hold a canned food drive to fill free pantries that are being built in several locations around Living Stone Church on Austell Road to help feed those in need.

When: April 1-30, 2022

Drop-off Locations:

• All Cobb County Police Precincts
• Police Headquarters at 545 S Fairground St.
• Police Training Center at 2435 East-West Connector
• Cobb County Sheriff Department Administration Building at 185 Roswell St.
• Living Stone Church  at 545 Lorene Dr.

What You Can Donate:

• Pop-top canned goods
• Foods that can be eaten without heating
• Non-perishable items
• Canned fruits
• Canned veggies
• Canned meats
• Peanut butter
• Jello and pudding cups that don't need refrigeration
• Snack items that are non-perishable
• Hygiene items will also be accepted

Public Safety Topic of the Month

Steps to Avoid Tax-Return Identity Theft

1. Leave Social Security card at home: The thief uses your stolen SSN to file a fraudulent tax return early in tax season before you're likely to file and then pockets the refund.
2. Keep Social Security Number private: Provide your SSN to others only when absolutely necessary—don’t give it out just because a business asks for it or over email. Also, check your Social Security Administration earnings statement annually to make sure all your information is accurate.
3. Strong Passwords: You don't have to be tech-savvy to protect your accounts from hackers. Start by choosing a strong, unique password each financial site you use, such as online banking or brokerage accounts. Don't have your computer automatically save passwords, especially on work computers, and change passwords regularly.
4. Protect against computer spam and viruses: Take advantage of the security software updates your operating system offers and make it a habit to use a firewall and anti-spam and anti-virus software.
5. Keep financial information private: Be wary of providing personal information over the phone or through the mail. Unless you have initiated the contact or you are sure you know the person you're talking to, it's better just to say no.
6. Beware of Phishing: Phishing is a term for online scams that use official-looking emails that seem to come from the IRS or your bank, but actually are from thieves seeking your SSN, bank account information or passwords. The IRS won't call you to tell you that you owe taxes. will send you a letter.
7. Shred bank and Tax documents: Consider your tax documents, receipts and bank statements as potential trapdoors that allow entrance into your personal life. you want to dispose of these financial documents safely, shred them.
8. Lock up your mailbox: Getting a locking mailbox can prevent someone from checking to see what mail you've received. Since letters may contain private financial information, a locking mailbox can also help to prevent identity theft.

Current Crime Trends

Entering Autos

Ladies and Gentlemen, our current crime trends continue to be Entering Autos. The bulk of the Entering Autos are taking place overnight and early in the morning. The majority of all the Entering Autos have been UNLOCKED vehicles with valuables including guns left inside. PLEASE remove all valuables especially guns from your vehicles every time you park and leave the vehicle. During these Entering Autos, we had several vehicles that were also stolen. The perpetrators were able to steal the vehicles because victims had left their Key Fobs inside the vehicles. Even if you hide the Key Fob it still allows the perpetrator to hit the push-button start and leave with the vehicle. Remove all keys and key fobs before leaving your vehicle. Also, double check that ALL vehicle doors are locked.

If you observe someone breaking into vehicles do not approach them and immediately call 911. From a safe place provide 911 with an accurate description of the suspects, involved vehicles, and what direction the suspect is going. NO property is worth getting hurt over

General Thefts

Every year theft is the most frequent crime committed in the country. The cost of living has risen and the supply chain for goods has not fully recovered from the pandemic . This combination has increased general thefts everywhere. One particular increase has been the theft of construction materials and wood. Anyone who has recently priced building a fence, deck or anything with wood has seen first hand the sticker shock of this price increase.

Construction sites of new homes have been hit the hardest by this but anyone with materials left unsecure and in the open are potential victims, (especially if the materials are visible from the roadway). If you plan on building be aware of this trend. Most of the thefts happen in the early morning hours during the weekend, however there are cases of mid day thefts on weekdays. The suspects are bold and generally work in pairs, (in order to load the wood quickly) with pick up trucks and trailers.

The best answer for prevention is to not have more materials on site than what can be used that day however that is not always practical, especially for big projects and professional builders. Here are some basic tips for prevention and solvability for police if theft does occur based on your property and project:

• Locked access to the property - suspects need to drive their vehicle close to the materials to load quickly.
• Camera Security System - having the incident on video greatly assists the police investigation (encourage your HOA / subdivision to purchase FLOCK cameras at the entrances/exits).
• Bundled materials - chains with locks can make the theft more difficult and time consuming (deterrent).
• Identifying marker - purchase a can of spray paint (distinctive color) and mark the wood with a symbol that can be identified by you later if the police catch anyone with the wood. This will assist in the prosecution. The person who may end up with the wood may not be the persons who stole it. Make sure to include that information in the police report , the color and your marking.
• Call the police on suspicious vehicles - describe the behavior of the incident to the 911 dispatcher, what makes it suspicious.

The most common materials taken are sheets of OSB and plywood, 2x4s and 4x4s.

What You Can Do

Burglary Prevention

• Lock your doors, including the one from the garage.
• Keep garage doors closed-check before bed every night.
• Use motion sensor-activated lighting.
• Use surveillance cameras.

Entering Auto Prevention

• Lock your vehicles and remove items of value and items that appear to contain valuables.
• If you can’t keep them with you, secure your valuables in the trunk before reaching your location.
• Keep your vehicle locked and your purse or wallet on your person while fueling at the gas station.

Postal Theft

• Use anti-theft mailboxes with a special locking system.
• Use security cameras.
• Do not raise the mail flag.
• Do not send cash, checks, or anything that has credit card information.

Remember to CALL 911 to report any suspicious persons or activity. If you see something, say something!

Cobb County Camera Registry

The Cobb County Police Camera Registration program is a police/community video partnership that operates on a voluntary basis with homeowners, neighborhoods and business owners who own private video surveillance systems. We encourage both businesses and residents to register their cameras online by completing the form below.

This program is intended to let our officers know where cameras are active in the county in case a crime occurs. It is not intended for active surveillance, and officers will not have direct access to homeowners' cameras. Those who register a camera will be contacted if a crime occurs in the vicinity of that camera.

Information provided by residents and businesses will be maintained in a secure database.

Online Registration Form

 

If you have not already signed up to receive the monthly PENS updates, please subscribe. Feel free to forward this e-mail to your HOA members and local businesses.

PENS is also sending out bulletins and alerts through its partnership with Nextdoor.com. Discover if your neighborhood is already signed up so you may join. If not, they will provide you with the necessary information.

Stay Safe,

Det. Lieutenant J.B Wade
Det. Sergeant J.T. Rainwater
Cobb County Police Department
Criminal Investigation Unit Pct. 5
4640 Dallas Highway
Powder Springs, GA 30127
(770) 499-4578