Police provide tips for home and vehicle safety

Farmington Deputy Chief Shane Cote, left, and Detective Marc Bowering provided information on personal safety Monday during a community presentation at Franklin Memorial Hospital. The event was sponsored by the Healthy Community Coalition.

Farmington Deputy Chief Shane Cote, left, and Detective Marc Bowering provided tips and information on personal safety Monday during a community presentation at Franklin Memorial Hospital. The event was sponsored by the Healthy Community Coalition.

FARMINGTON — There were three car burglaries in Farmington this past weekend, with a laptop computer, GPS system and cash taken from the unlocked vehicles.

While Farmington is still a safe community, the days when one could leave a vehicle unlocked ended 15 years ago, Farmington police Detective Marc Bowering told a small group gathered Monday evening at Franklin Memorial Hospital for a community presentation on staying safe.

Bowering and Farmington’s Deputy Chief Shane Cote provided tips and advice for home, vehicle, traveling and Internet safety in the Healthy Community Coalition-sponsored “Staying Safe in Your Environment: Don’t Fall Victim.”

The presentation grew from concerns for personal safety following recent crimes mingled with an observation that most people are not as vigilant as they could be about protecting themselves and their belongings, Sherra Osgood from HCC said.

Last year, there were 19 burglaries and 213 thefts reported to the Farmington Police Department. The burglaries represented a 6 percent increase over the previous year, while the number of thefts dropped 17 percent from the previous year, Bowering said.

“A lot of these were preventable,” Bowering said. “There are little things that can be done that may make a difference. Safety starts at home.”

Crimes are often those of opportunity. If a car door is locked, a burglar will move on to check the next car.

The police also advised keeping home doors and windows locked, especially on ground-floor levels, and installing lights and televisions on timers when traveling. Motion lights deter potential burglars, as they think someone inside is turning on a light, Bowering said.

Residents can also call the department for a police check on their homes while they’re away. It’s a free house-watch program, he said.

If a home is burglarized, he advised residents “don’t go in and don‘t touch anything.”

Some people will go in and clean before calling police. Not only are they putting themselves in danger, they can destroy evidence the police need. A canine can’t track a scent if the homeowner has walked over it, he explained.

Don’t announce your vacation on Facebook or other social mediums where anyone can see the post. It’s an open invitation, police said.

While both officers said Farmington is safe, and they would feel safe walking Perham or High streets at 1 a.m., there is a lot of crime that people don’t know about, much of it drug-related.

“People are either stealing drugs or stealing stuff to buy drugs,” Cote said.

One woman told the officers about being approached in Walmart’s parking lot after buying a prescription and being asked if she wanted to sell it.

Be aware of your surroundings, Cote encouraged. This person must have watched her in the store.

“Be diligent but not obsessive,” he said.

Other tips for home protection included not letting strangers into the house, keeping items like cameras or laptops out of view from the windows and not hiding an extra key near the door.

“If you find a place that’s inconvenient for you, it’s inconvenient for them,” he said.

They also advised not leaving valuables in a car, or at least not in sight, and taking the keys with you while running into a store. 

If the vehicle is burglarized, call police. Don’t open the door or go through it, Bowering said. There is a good chance of obtaining fingerprints if the owner doesn’t add their own.

Except for the recent homicide they are working on, police have solved other home invasion and burglary cases. It boils down to helping yourself out, the officers said about home and vehicle safety.

 abryant@sunjournal.com

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Spoonflower wins Facebook contest

BY LAURA OLENIACZ

loleniacz@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM — Durham-based Spoonflower Inc. has won a contest that will take five businesses to the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., to learn social network marketing strategies.

The five companies were winners in the “Facebook Big Break for Small Business” contest run by American Express OPEN, a small-business credit card issuer, and the social networking website Facebook.

Along with the trip to Facebook, the winners were also promised $20,000 to help them develop a social media marketing strategy.

“Personally, my partner, Gart Davis, and I are both really looking forward to the visit to Facebook next week,” said Stephen Fraser, co-founder of Spoonflower, a custom fabric business that allows customers to design and print their own fabric patterns using digital printing techniques.

Since Spoonflower launched in 2008, the company has increased both its revenue and work force, Fraser said. In January, Spoonflower had 12 full-time workers, and now has 23, he said.

Through its digital printing methods, Fraser said, Spoonflower serves a lot of customers with niche fabric interests.

The company has printed fabrics ranging from traditional floral designs to 35 different designs with the greyhound dog breed on it, he said.

“Social media has become a central tool for businesses to reach new customers,” Fraser said in an email about the contest. “Today, mastering the use of Facebook for marketing is as important as mastering Google was eight years ago, and that’s especially true for companies like Spoonflower that serve niche markets.”

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