PORT ANGELES — Lock your doors, provide outside lighting, don’t leave valuables in plain sight in your car and make sure your neighbors know who is and is not supposed to be in or around your home.
That’s some of the advice given to about 65 people by members of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Port Angeles Police Department during Tuesday’s Neighborhood Watch class on preventing burglaries and thefts. The session was primarily for people living on the east side of town.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols also spoke to the group.
The class will be repeated at 6 p.m. today for residents of the western portions of Port Angeles, at the Emergency Operations Center Training Room in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St.
“Clallam County is a great place to live and work,” said Lorraine Shore, county community policing services coordinator.
However, all places have their problems, and property crime directly related to drug addiction is Clallam County’s No. 1 problem, Shore said.
Overall, property crimes have fallen in recent years thanks to an increase in reporting, she added.
Vehicle prowls
Shore said there has been an uptick in thefts from vehicles, called “vehicle prowls,” and vehicle theft.
Some of the thefts can be blamed on a lack of basic security practices by residents, Shore said.
Drug users are looking for a quick, easy way to get money to purchase drugs, and unlocked cars fit the bill, she said.
She said a single person may determine it takes 10 car break-ins to fund their needs for the day, so they may set that goal and continue checking car doors until they have met that goal.
If only one or two people are using this method, she said, they can be responsible for more than 100 vehicle prowls in a week.
Breaking a window to get into a car is relatively rare; that may happen when valuables have been left in plain sight, Shore said.
Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. John Keegan said that in most cases of newer cars stolen, the keys have been left inside.
Older cars, those built before the use of security chips in the keys, can be stolen with just a screwdriver, Keegan said.
Lock car doors, and don’t leave the keys inside, he said.
Shore said law enforcement agencies in the county spend only about 5 percent to 10 percent of their time patrolling and interacting with the public — taking part in preventive actions.
The best way to prevent crime is through changing the way a neighborhood interacts and through relatively simple steps to make it more difficult for crimes to be committed, Shore said.
“Talk to your neighbors. Let them know if you’re going on vacation,” she said.
Other tips:
■ Switch from hollow-core doors to solid doors, and use deadbolts and long screws to install strike plates to make it more difficult to kick in the door.
■ Use glass film on glass doors to prevent access through a broken window.
■ Provide ample outdoor lighting or motion lights.
■ Mark valuables with your driver’s license number for identification.
■ When a home is empty, make it look like the house is still lived in.
■ Call the dispatch non-emergency number at 360-452-4545 to report suspicious activity.
No Castle Doctrine
Homeowners have limited rights as to how they can respond to an intruder on their property or in their homes without being prosecuted, Nichols said.
Washington is not a Castle Doctrine state, and residents can’t defend their property with force unless they are in imminent danger without being prosecuted, he told the audience.
In 38 Castle Doctrine states, residents on their property can use any amount of force for defense of their property, up to and including deadly force, without concern for prosecution.
In Washington state, a homeowner has no duty to retreat but also cannot become the aggressor when confronting an intruder, Nichols said.
“Washington is not like Texas,” he said.
Self-defense against physical attack in such cases is protected under Washington law, he said.
Nichols said there are four requirements for justifying the use of force:
■ An appearance of danger.
■ Imminent danger.
■ Amount of force used must be reasonable.
■ Resident cannot be the aggressor.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
