• Product

• Buyer

• Seller

• Location

Most neighborhoods have very little control over Product, Buyer, or Seller. Drug dealers look for Locations where neighbors do not communicate and isolate themselves. This makes it easy to intimidate those neighbors that do notice drug activity. Drug dealers like neighborhoods that say, “It can’t happen here.”  Money is a key element for the drug dealer. If they establish a drug house in a neighborhood where kids and adults have money to buy drugs, business will thrive.

Do any of these sound familiar?

• Excessive foot traffic to and from a house or property

• Loitering in or around a house

• Frequent and unusual traffic patterns such as: Stop - Enter - Leave

• Traffic frequently stops and a resident comes out and talks briefly with occupants of car

• Threats of intimidation connected to a residence

• Open exchange of drugs and money

• Gang activity in the neighborhood

• Graffiti on structures in the area

• Sudden increase in criminal activity

You can reduce the chance that a drug house moves into your neighborhood. Start a Neighborhood Watch and get to know your neighbors. Meet and know your Community Police Officers. As problems develop in the neighborhood, work with law enforcement to resolve them quickly.

One of the tools of the drug dealer is intimidation. There is safety in numbers.

• Start a Neighborhood Watch or build a cooperative effort with other neighbors.

• Talk to your area Community Police Officer and give the information from your House Watch sheet to them.

• Speak with property owners about problems that the tenants are causing for the neighbors. If you are having problems, the property owner is probably having problems too.

• Report all problems to the appropriate agency. Police, Fire, Health, Public Works are just some of the agencies that you may call with problems. You can always contact the CIA as well with any concerns you may have. Please contact us at 410-929-8265 or at mycolgatepride2013@gmail.com