Story By: Perry Smith for http://www.hometownstation.com
Video - http://youtu.be/vr5lQDWywh8
With the dust and ash freshly settled from July 4 fireworks, the Santa Clarita Valley is in the midst of summer, and local Sheriff's Station deputies are looking to share a few summer safety tips.
There were three basics that seem to be recurrent problems every summer, said Deputy Josh Dubin of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station.
"Always make sure your home's doors are locked, don't leave them open to cool things down when you're going to be out of town; never leave your vehicle running and unattended in order to leave the air conditioning on; and never leave children or pets in your vehicle," Dubin said.
Deputies are aware that more people are on vacation during the summer months, and there are more residential patrols during these times, Dubin said.
To help deputies cover more ground, they step up their use of T3 patrol vehicles this time of year, which were purchased for the Sheriff's Station by the city of Santa Clarita
"The T3 vehicles the city bought for us really help us navigate the paseos, bike paths and residential neighborhoods," Dubin said. "And the fact that they're essentially silent until we turn on its siren and forward-facing red police lights means we can usually catch any criminals we can see before they can see us."
The forward-facing police lights make any traffic stop, even if it's foot or bike traffic, a legal, legitimate stop, Dubin said.
Sheriff's Station deputies have a list of a few dos and don'ts for the summer time, and want residents to be aware of the hashtag #SummerSafetyLA.
Deputies will be using it to tweet out safety tips, such as the ones listed below, throughout the summer.
To find a list of the tips on Twitter, you can search on Twitter, by typing in #SummerSafetyLA into the search bar.
- When not at home, do not leave your windows and doors unlocked / open to cool your home
- Do not leave you vehicle windows rolled down when leaving your vehicle parked in a parking lot
- Do not ever leave your vehicle running unattended in order to keep the AC on because it's hot outside
- Never leave the garage door open to your residence unattended - easy for people to steal stuff quickly out of your garage when it's open
- Do not leave children / pets inside your vehicle, even if it is for a short time. It is hot outside and temp. levels inside your vehicle can get hot very quickly
Some of the summer tips are a little more subtle, but equally important to locking up is making sure that you don't give a would-be burglar the impression that your house is vacant, Dubin said.
Plan for vacation by having your mail and newspapers stopped or having a neighbor pick them up.
Leave inside lights on timers to create the impression that your house is occupied.
Be sure to set your alarm system. Have a lawn service or neighbor mow your lawn if you're going to be gone for a long time.
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