The Morrisburg news is a powerful platform that allows you to communicate with other members to make your community stronger and safer.

Be Safe

Don't put yourself in harm's way or engage a suspect to gather more details about the situation. Your safety is paramount.

Call 9-1-1

If you think that a crime may be occurring, or that the safety of you or your community may be at risk, don't hesitate to call 911.

Even if you are unsure as to what is going on, the best thing to do is let the police investigate. When police catch someone in the act of breaking into a home or stealing something, it is not unusual that one person is responsible for multiple other crimes in the community, and once caught, crime will decrease.

How to post your Crime & Safety message to help everyone in the community stay safe

1. What - focus on the behaviour that raised your suspicion. Describe the potentially criminal or dangerous activity you observed or experienced - what the person was doing, what they said (if they spoke to you). Include the direction they were last headed.

2. Who - give as full a description as possible of the person, people, or vehicles involved. Include as many details as possible - age, height, weight, hair, clothing and identifiable marks, not just sex and race. For vehicles, make, model, plate, and direction of travel are helpful.

3. Where - location matters. Provide specific streets or intersections wherever possible. If the location is in a large area such as a park, provide a landmark within that location where the incident occurred (e.g. "at the Morrisburg Waterfront, near the Amphitheatre").

What behaviours do police consider to be suspicious?

While the below behaviours have been known to be consistent with criminal activity, it is entirely possible that there is a simple explanation for what you are seeing. For example, a person observed trying the handles of vehicles may be misinformed as to which car belongs to a friend or family member; a person observed loitering within a park may be a neighbour's relative making a phone call before heading inside.

Consider the context. Take, for example, a person sitting in a parked car across the street. During the day, someone might pull over to make a phone call or send a text message and then drive away. At night, the context has changed, especially if the lights in the vehicle are off in a residential neighbourhood.

Police associate these behaviours with potential criminal activity:

• Someone walking down the street looking into multiple vehicles and/or trying door handles to see if the doors will open.

• Someone taking a package from someone else's property (keep in mind that sometimes neighbour's leave or pick up packages for other neighbours).

• A person who is not your neighbour walking around your neighbour's home and looking into windows, or trying to gain access by forcing open a window or door.

• A person knocking on your door and asking to speak with someone who does not live there and who also may go to other homes knocking on doors. This is a tactic used by people with the intent to burglarize to see if homeowners are home. (Keep in mind that people may mistakingly go to the wrong home.)

• Someone claiming to represent a utility company who is either not wearing a uniform, does not produce identification upon request, or does not have a company logo vehicle.

• Someone using binoculars or other devices to peer into your or your neighbour's homes.

• At night, a person sitting inside a vehicle that you do not recognize with the lights off for an extended period of time.

• A pushy salesperson not producing identification upon request or asking to come into your home.

• A vehicle you do not recognize that is circling multiple times around the neighbourhood.

• An unusual high flow of people coming and going from a particular home and visiting for just a couple of minutes. (NOTE: Police usually prefer that you report this to them, rather than posting to social media about it.)

• Sales crews selling products door to door saying they need to make a quota who refuse to produce identification upon your request. (The criminal activity may not be what you think. These salespeople may be victims of labour traffickers.)

You can also reach the Ontario Provincial Police by calling 1-888-310-1122. Some low-level crime and highway traffic act complaints can be completed online at OPP.ca.

Why is giving a full description so important?

In the rush of posting about a person or situation that concerns you, many people identify the person involved simply by sex and race. This is a problem for a couple of reasons:

1. It doesn't give your neighbours or the community enough detail to identify the suspect if they see him.

2. It casts suspicion on every person of that sex and race who may legitimately be in or live in your neighbourhood.