News Flash

Auto Burglary Prevention Tips 

Hundreds of auto burglaries are reported annually to the Odessa Police Department. Most of them happen because the driver leaves their vehicle unlocked along with valuable items left in plain sight.

Citizens are encouraged to monitor all crime occurring in their neighborhoods by going to communitycrimemap.com or by monitoring the OPD APP. 

Auto Burglary Prevention Tips: 1) Close your windows and lock your doors. 2) Take your keys & hide your belongings in the trunk if possible. 3) Avoid leaving valuable items, weapons, spare keys and personal documents inside your vehicles. 4) Park in well-lit areas when possible. 5) Report all suspicious activity, suspicious persons, and suspicious vehicles.

Leaving Keys in Ignition Contributes to Stolen Vehicles 

It's an easy way to prevent from becoming a victim.  Don't leave your keys in your vehicle!  OPD wants to warn people about car thieves.  The vast majority of stolen vehicles result because of either keys left in the ignition or spare keys left inside the vehicle. 

Several hundred vehicles are stolen annually and OPD issues hundreds of citations for “Park without Locking Ignition, Removing Keys, Stopping Engine & Setting Brakes”. 

Auto Theft Prevention Tips: 1) Avoid leaving or hiding spare keys in your vehicle. 2) It is illegal to leave your keys in the ignition with the engine running & vehicle left unattended. Doing this can result in a fine of up to $140. 3) Some insurance companies will not cover your vehicle if it is stolen as result of this happening. 4) It is legal to leave your vehicle unattended with the engine running if you use a remote start device. 5) Report all suspicious activity, suspicious persons, and suspicious vehicles to OPD.

“Report It” Helps Citizens Keep Track of Valuables 

The Odessa Police Department would like to make citizens aware of a website that can help police identify your stolen property. Reportit.leadsonline.com helps Odessa citizens safely and securely store important information that is useful in recovering property in the event of a loss or theft. 

Reportit.leadsonline.com is a free, secure online service allowing citizens to record serial numbers and upload images for phones, electronics, and other valuables. Should those items ever be stolen, Odessa police say having the information will go a long way in accurately and quickly identifying your property. 

Citizens can store an unlimited number of serial numbers, item descriptions, pictures, and scans of receipts so items may be more easily identified in the event of theft. This record may also come in handy when filing claims with insurance providers in the event of loss. 

How to be a Good Witness 

Keep your eyes open!

Some tips:  1) What is the location? If you don’t know the exact address, a street name, nearest intersection or landmark will help. 

2) What happened? Was it a crime or an accident? 

3) Was anyone injured? Is medical assistance needed? 

4) Were any weapons involved? If so, what kind of weapon and where is the weapon now? 

5) Is the suspect still on scene or in the area? Who is the suspect and what do they look like? Example: race, height, weight, hair color, clothing description, etc. 

Neighborhood Watch Program 

A simple neighbor-helping-neighbor program that helps to reduce crime in our community.  This program is an alliance between the citizens of Odessa and law enforcement.  Citizens become the extra set of eyes and ears for officers, reporting suspicious activity, along with working together to resolve problem areas. 

Neighborhood Watch groups are led by a Block Captain which is in regular contact with the Community Relations Unit at OPD.  Block Captains meet with personnel at 7:00 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Odessa Police Department classroom, 205 N. Grant Ave. 

For more information about the Neighborhood Watch Program, contact Corporal Michael Hamilton at 432-335-3361 or Corporal LeSueur at 432-335-3322.

About Nextdoor 

Nextdoor.com is the private social network for you, your neighbors, and your community. It's the easiest way for you and your neighbors to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world and it's free. 

People are using Nextdoor to: 

· Quickly get the word out about a break-in 

· Organize a Neighborhood Watch Group 

· Track down a trustworthy babysitter 

· Ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog 

Nextdoor’s mission is to provide a trusted platform where neighbors work together to build stronger, safer, happier communities, all over the world.

About LexisNexis Community Crime Map 

Reduce crime and improve public safety. LexisNexis’s public crime map, Community Crime Map, connects law enforcement with the community to reduce crime and improve public safety. Communitycrimemap.com helps the public get a better idea of the crime activity in their area so they can make more informed decisions about how to stay safe. 

Community Crime Map goes beyond crime mapping by automatically alerting the public about recent crime activity and by improving communication between the public and law enforcement through anonymous tips. Community Crime Map empowers the public to make better decisions about crime by putting the same technology used by law enforcement to analyze and interpret crime activity into the hands of the public.

OPD Citizens Police Academy 

The Odessa Police Department Citizens Police Academy is a twelve-week academy and is held on Thursday nights at OPD. There are no fees for the classes. The program is designed to give the public a working knowledge of the Odessa Police Department. 

Each class meets on a weekly basis at the Odessa Police Department. The instruction is comprehensive and covers different divisions each week. The goal is to educate the public about the Odessa Police Department and to increase the rapport between citizens and police officers. 

Applications are available online at www.odessapd.com and may be emailed to lpittman@odessa-tx.gov or submitted in person at the Odessa Police Department.