FBI — House Stealing - Press Room - Headline Archives 03-25-08

Sent in by LT. Dave Teem of the Newport Police Dept.


FBI — House Stealing - Press Room - Headline Archives 03-25-08: "What do you get when you combine two popular rackets these days—identity theft and mortgage fraud? A totally new kind of crime: house stealing.

Here’s how it generally works:

… The con artists start by picking out a house to steal—say, YOURS.
… Next, they assume your identity—getting a hold of your name and personal information (easy enough to do off the Internet) and using that to create fake IDs, social security cards, etc.
… Then, they go to an office supply store and purchase forms that transfer property.
… After forging your signature and using the fake IDs, they file these deeds with the proper authorities, and lo and behold, your house is now THEIRS."

Retirement quickly gives way to police volunteer work for Hemet resident | Riverside | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern Ca

What other communities are doing...

Retirement quickly gives way to police volunteer work for Hemet resident | Riverside | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California: "The 70-year-old Hemet resident is the coordinator for the San Jacinto Police Department volunteer program.

John arrives at the Police Department at 6 a.m. and volunteers five to seven hours every day. Those who work with him said John is responsible for the growth of the program from six to about 20 volunteers."

News - StatesmanJournal.com

Volunteers in other communities

News - StatesmanJournal.com: "With the department facing budget cuts and police officers responding from one call to the next, affording time that allows police officers to cruise neighborhoods is slim, Chase said.

So the Citizen Patrol aims to fill that gap. Eventually, Chase envisions members of Citizen Patrols to provide services such as checking on homes whose owners are on vacation, but designing the program is still fluid, he said.

Volunteer coordinator Jennifer Graber helped launch the program, scheduling training hours and equipping the participants.

The 10 volunteers have gone through 30 hours of training and will drive in pairs using two city vehicles labeled 'Volunteer' on their sides, Graber said. The vehicles are old patrol cars, but are not equipped with radios. For now, volunteers call on their cell phones to report any suspicious activity."

Milton offers safety check Police chief seeks volunteers to man phones - Fosters

What Volunteers in other communities are doing......

Milton offers safety check Police chief seeks volunteers to man phones - Fosters: "MILTON — For years, Police Chief Mark McGowan has wanted to initiate a program to ensure that residents who live alone are OK.

The chips finally are falling into place.

The idea is to have daily contact with people who opt into the program. They 'check in' with police via phone in the morning, and if they don't call, a volunteer will contact them. If there is no answer, an officer is sent out to check on the individual.

Milton Police call the program 'Milton Cares.'"

Citizens Offering Police Support (C.O.P.S) program is part of the USA Freedom Corp initiative with the goal of helping communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to crime, natural disasters and other emergencies. Citizens Corps includes five groups: Neighborhood Watch, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Medical reserve Corps, Fire Corps, and the Volunteers in Police Services (VIPS) program.

Longview Hills already has the Neighborhood Watch program, and CERT, as well as our volunteer fireman, Jim Rose and several volunteers with the Oregon State Police. Some of the residents are now forming the volunteer police group (VIPS), as shown in the photo above (Bill Furgason is also included).



Ed Simon is heading up our group and we are all looking forward to this new opportunity to help our community. Some of our duties include: writing disabled parking citations, locating and logging in graffiti, traffic control (when extra help is needed), data entry and help with computer software and programming (if possible). We will also be visible to tourists as "goodwill ambassadors" and help out during busy times in the Nye Beach and Bayfront areas. We are all very excited and don't know exactly what we will eventually be doing, but everything we do means more time for the Newport Police officers to spend time doing the important job they have been trained to do, leaving some of the "mundane" work for us. Not bad for a bunch of old guys, huh?

In Other Communities

Salem Police Begin Volunteer Citizen Patrols - Salem-News.Com: "The Salem Police Department has expanded its volunteer program to include an important new position called Citizen Patrol.

Volunteers in this position will be working in teams of two and will work four hours each week during various times throughout the day and night, focusing on areas experiencing high rates of crime. They will serve as extra eyes and ears for our patrol officers, will provide a presence in neighborhoods throughout Salem and will be reporting suspicious activity as needed."