Be cautious when away from home

While away from your residence, be aware of your surroundings and trust your instincts. Do not be embarrassed to make a scene if you feel threatened. These tips can help you maintain your safety while you are away from home.

Stay in lighted areas when in parking lots, parking structures, streets and stairwells. Keep your keys in your hand while walking to your vehicle and lock the door as soon as you get in. Avoid looking through bags and looking at cellphones. Criminals target individuals who appear distracted and are easy to surprise.

Do not leave valuables in clear view in your vehicle, such as a GPS unit. Navigation units often have stored addresses that could lead a suspect to your home and a garage door opener attached to the visor makes a tempting proposal.

Travel with a companion or ask someone from the business/residence you are visiting to watch you walk to your car. Do not stop to pick up hitchhikers. If you believe someone needs help, call 911 or 311.

While exercising outdoors, keep headphones out of your ears or on low volume so you can hear someone approaching. Vary your exercise route and try to stay in well-illuminated areas that are well-traveled. If you see a suspicious person, do not hesitate to report them to authorities. If someone approaches you that you do not know, go to the nearest business or residence.

Minimize the amount of time you spend at an ATM. Stay alert in your surroundings and be aware of individuals who are loitering in the area. Keep purchases locked in your trunk and out of sight. Keep photocopies of your credit card and banking information at home in case your purse or wallet is lost or stolen. Keep those photocopies in a secure location. Keep receipts with you, not with your purchases. Accompany your children everywhere.

Feb. 7. Welfare: The caller said the elderly man sounded in distress, and a concerned person clearly saved the day at 8:15 a.m. in the 800 block of Del Rey Drive.

Suspicious: The caller said a possibly intoxicated pedestrian was walking back and forth across the roadway and wheeling a bike at 4:39 p.m. in the 900 block of Utah Street.

Thought for the day: Rescue arrived, and the elderly man was taken for medical treatment.

Feb. 8. DUI: The traffic stop takes a left turn (instead of a right), and the driver gets a chance to sleep it off in the Henderson hostel for alcohol rehabilitation at 3:25 a.m. in the area of U.S. Highway 93 and Industrial Road.

Welfare: The cleaning person is there, but the resident is not answering the door, and again the boys in blue are able to gain entry and get the resident medical assistance at 10:40 a.m. in the 700 block of Christina Drive.

Thought for the day: It saves lives to have someone who keeps an eye out and knows to check on you if you live alone.

Feb. 9. Drunk: The motorbike was easier to ride a few beers ago, but the sidewalk is still abrasive to the skin at 12:26 a.m. in the 800 block of Nevada Way.

Suspicious vehicle: The caller believes a woman might be kidnapped as she keeps trying to get out of the moving vehicle at 2:18 p.m. in the area of Buchanan Boulevard and Nevada Way.

Thought for the day: Somehow the spat ends with declarations of love and (thankfully) no road rash.

Feb. 10. DUI with accident: The wrong-way facing vehicle, in the median, has survived a rough ride, but the driver is a little worse for wear at 11:56 a.m. in the area of U.S. Highway 95 at mile marker 50.

Domestic: The family disturbance goes just a little too far, and one party gets a little extra time to cool down at 7:42 p.m. in the 100 block of Lighthouse Drive.

Thought for the day: Occasionally the reminders we get are a little expensive and a lot embarrassing.

Feb. 11. Private property accident: The caller sees a subject having a lot of trouble parking, and the nearby, unoccupied vehicles bear the scars at 12:33 p.m. in the 1000 block of Nevada Way.

Vehicle burglary: The photo session is interrupted when the purse left on the seat of the locked vehicle becomes the target of an opportunist at 4:44 p.m. in the area of Veterans’ Memorial Park.

Thought for the day: Please don’t leave your valuables out in the open.

Feb. 12. Suspicious vehicle: The caller said a subject is trying to run over a woman with his car, and both are on the sidewalk at 10:25 a.m. in the 1000 block of Nevada Way.

Assist a citizen: The suspect vehicle is finally located, and the citizen signs a citation for a crime committed not in our presence at 11:47 a.m. in the area of Lime Rock and Red Rock roads.

Thought for the day: In the event a crime is committed not in our presence, the officers are more than willing to issue a citation issued by the citizen witnessing the event.

Feb. 13. Family disturbance: The family member is not welcome but will not leave at 7:21 a.m. in the 1300 block of Palmwood Street.

Accident: The unoccupied vehicles met by accident; the damage was escalated because of the slope and the size of the tow truck involved at 7:33 p.m. in the 1100 block of Azul Way.

Thought for the day: Drugs are hard on family relationships, and it is sometimes difficult to make the hard decisions.

Call of the week: Assist a citizen: The subject in the lobby is requesting help getting separated from the armchair they are attached to with handcuffs. The joke seemed funny until the keys were missing at 12:15 a.m. Feb. 9 in the 1000 block of Arizona Street.

Tina Ransom is a dispatcher with Boulder City Police Department. She is coordinator of the Boulder City Citizen’s Academy.