As of Thursday, people who live in the boundaries of the Savannah-Chatham police department’s will be the first beneficiaries of the Metro’s “Target Hardening” campaign to combat property theft.
Savannah-Chatham police in the Islands Precinct have started an anti-theft campaign they’re calling “Target Hardening,” advising residents of ways to secure unattended property left in plain sight by distributing forms.
Department spokeswoman Darnisha Green says the forms are divided into two categories: easy target and harder target. Practices causing people’s property to be easily targeted by thieves are identified on the forms, along with tips for reducing the odds of victimization. The forms are then left in inconspicuous locations for the property owner’s review. Likewise, forms will be left to commend citizens taking necessary steps to make their property harder targets for thieves.
Records of all Target Hardening form distributions will be maintained for officers to analyze property security trends, Green said. Police resources will be allocated accordingly. From Nov. 17, 2014, through the same date in 2015, the police department experienced nearly a 9 percent increase jurisdiction-wide in property crime reports.
The goal is to launch the Target Hardening initiative in all precincts in 2016 to promote a reduction in property crime throughout the jurisdiction.