Hellertown PD Educates Seniors at Saucon Valley Manor
The Hellertown Police Department held a LEAP (Law Enforcement Assistance Program) meeting at Saucon Valley Manor last Wednesday.
A main goal of the program is to continuously develop the bridge between the public and the borough’s police department. All LEAP meetings are public and locals are encouraged to attend. Manor residents and staff enjoyed a presentation and had an opportunity to ask questions which were answered by Sgt. Michael Dattilio and officers Jada Roderick and Jaron Steinmetz.
Scenarios regarding when a citizen should dial 911 were important talking points included in the presentation.
“You should dial 911 if a theft is observed (or) any domestic, car accident, disturbance or suspicious circumstance,” said Ofc. Roderick. “You’re going to want to dial the non-emergency number (610-759-2200) through the county if a theft occurred days prior, and for noise/party complaints and other non-emergencies.”
Ofc. Steinmetz added that anyone can also text 911. “Not a lot of people know that, if you ever get into a problem where you can’t talk, you can text 911 and give them your location,” he said.
What to do if a burglary occurs? Steinmetz said to leave the home and call 911 before touching anything. “List any items that were taken and write them down. Always remember that a vast majority of home invaders are chasing easy-to-sell valuables…a lot of times, we’ll see people steal stuff–bikes (etc.), and we find them at pawn shops about a week later,” he said.
Another important conversation was about crimes against the elderly. The presentation noted that those crimes may consist of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and/or financial exploitation. Anyone who knows of an elderly person who has been or is being abused should contact police to file a report.
Sgt. Dattilio said that he has noticed an uptick in scams recently.
“Phone call, e-mail and phishing scams–and even text messages. A good one is the turnpike scam that says your E-Z Pass is overdue. The turnpike doesn’t text you–everything is (communicated via) paper mail,” he said.
Dattilio said that using paper mail is key to detecting whether something is or isn’t a scam. He said the government, billing and collection agencies will also send notifications in paper form, rather than call or use other electronic communications.
“The IRS is the same thing. They don’t text you or call you…everything is paper mail with them,” he said. “(Another scam) is that you could get a phone call stating that someone is an agent with the IRS and if you don’t pay right now you’ll get arrested. Be very skeptical when you receive these calls and communications.”
Dattilio said educating seniors is critical to preventing victimization. “Monitoring their usage of the phone (is helpful), but you have to have compliance,” he said. “That’s the fine line. How much freedom do you want to take from someone to ensure their security?”
As of March 31, Hellertown Police had received 1,408 calls for assistance so far this year, according to statistics cited during the presentation.
For more information about the police department and future events visit the Hellertown Police Department Facebook page.
