| Cities in which community members work hand in hand with the police department to deter and solve crimes are safer than those where the residents have an adversarial relationship with police. Goodyear definitely falls into the former category. This is obvious when you look at the design of the new police operations building. This new building not only puts all of the patrol officers together in one location, it also give the residents of Goodyear a place where they can meet in a safe location. The community room is something the other outdated buildings didn’t have the space to provide. Despite being a suburb of a major city, Goodyear has a pretty low crime rate. This can be attributed mainly to the partnership of the community and the police department. One of the benefits of this partnership is that the police are able to give the residents tips and advice on ways to keep themselves and their home safe. Since preventing crime is a much more effective use of their time than chasing and capturing criminals after they have already victimized someone, the police in Goodyear spend a lot of their time helping residents stay safe. Personal Security Everyone should be aware of where they are and what’s going on around them at all times. Don’t travel to new places alone and don’t go out to meet strangers in unfamiliar locations. Online dating is huge now and more people seem to be meeting their long-term mates online today than in traditional settings. Women and men should take steps to ensure their personal safety when they meet someone for the first time. Meeting in a public place and letting others know where you will be are good strategies to use anytime you go on a date with someone you meet on the Internet. Women, children and seniors tend to be most vulnerable when they are out alone. When shopping, you should always keep your bags close to you and have your keys ready to get into your vehicle. If you don’t feel safe, wait for assistance in a well-lit area. A store employee, security guard or even a police officer should be glad to help you get to your car safely. They’ll be happy you told them about the situation and should take steps to ensure other shoppers don’t have the same problem. Home Safety In addition to making sure you feel safe while you are outside your house, you should also make sure your belongings are safe inside your home when you aren’t there. Always lock your doors and windows before you leave your house. Don’t leave a key to your home under the doormat or in a fake rock outside your home. These are the most common place a burglar will look when they want to enter a house unnoticed. If you need to give someone else access to your house when you aren’t there, give them a key in advance or leave the key with a trusted neighbor. A home security system will alert police if an intruder tries to get into your home while you are away or even while you are asleep if you arm it before going to bed. While the call to police is very valuable and a good reason to invest in home monitoring, the mere presence of a security system is enough to make most potential burglars think twice before they try to break into a house. Criminals know the Goodyear police department works hard to protect its citizens so most won’t take a chance on a house that has an alarm system. You can help keep your entire neighborhood safe just by paying attention to who drives down your street. Of course, no one expects you to sit in your window all day watching the cars go by, but if you see someone or something suspicious, it’s your duty to contact the police. An officer will respond to the call and check out the situation. In many cases, the person a resident thinks is suspicious is actually doing nothing wrong. However, when residents are proactive like this, they send a message to would-be criminals that people are watching and they will get caught if they are up to no good. Goodyear is a nice place to live and there is plenty to do in and around the city. The city does a great job of providing lots of activities for the young people so children are not running the streets unsupervised. Living in a safe neighborhood has a lot of benefits but it doesn’t mean residents should let their guard down. There is still crime in this quiet community. It is just more likely to be solved than the crimes in larger cities with communities that don’t interact well with the police. The housing market in the city is much better than other cities of similar sizes around the country because residents actually care about each other. Many people stay in Goodyear their entire lives. Others move because of work or family needs and those who do can expect to see a profit on the sale of their home simply because of the effort the community puts into keeping each other safe. New residents are often surprised by the sense of community the feel when they move into Goodyear. Current residents can make them feel at home by sharing these tips and helping them have a great experience in this lovely city as well. |
