As many of you are well aware, recently two young girls were found murdered within days of each other in Hiroshima and Ibaraki Prefectures. Highlighted by recent events, focus has again been put on the protection and safety of our children. This should always be a top priority.
To prevent the lives of more children being lost or have their safety threatened, the Board of Education has undertaken a number of measures to ensure the safety of children on campus, during afterschool hours, and while returning home. Even with the installment of crime prevention equipment; the distribution of self-defense buzzers (alarms) when children leave school; public safety patrols; working in tandem with the PTA to promote anti-crime measures; as well as a citizen's crime patrol made up of city residents, we should not feel at all complacent. In the future, besides the maintaining of anti-crime equipment, just having the equipment is not enough. We have to do as much as possible to deal with the present threat.
We would like to send out a request to all city residents. If you or your family members are at home during the times when children commute to school and back home (7-8:00 and 14-16:00), please make an effort to acknowledge them verbally. If you see or hear any behavior which concerns you, please advise the children and inform the relevant school authorities.
Vigilance and heightened awareness among the adult residents in any local community is known to be deterrent factor in criminal psychology. Let us all unite in order to provide a safe and healthy environment for our children. Contact the Board of Education for more information.
In anticipation of the arrival of the Tsukuba Express train line, the police department is working on making Tsukuba's central core a safer zone. They are installing 10 "Emergency Terminals" along the pedestrian path from the International Congress Center to Matsumi Koen. The terminals are each equipped with a red light, a distress button, a camera, and an intercom system. If you are involved in an emergency, you can press the button and be connected directly to the police. Pressing the button also turns the camera on, which will help the police assess your situation. These terminals have been set up in other areas in Japan and have been found to play a role in reducing crime in the area. The images that are captured by the cameras will be saved for 24 hours and then over-written. The cameras will only record images of public spaces such as parks and paths, and the images will not be used to infringe upon privacy rights.
Use these statistics to help protect your house. Burglars will try to get into your house through windows (67%), sliding glass doors (15%), the front door (12%), or the back door (6%). They will break the glass (55%), break the lock (2%), or use a key (2%), but 34% of the time, the door or window will not be locked. People who live on the upper floors of apartment buildings also need to be careful. The rates for burglary in buildings are 35% for the first floor, 23% for the second, 14% for the third, 9% for the fourth, 5% for the fifth, and 15% for the 6th and above. The good news is that 91% of burglars will give up in 10 minutes or less, so it is important to make it as difficult as possible for the burglars to gain access to your house.
Here are some ways to protect your house.
Make sure the area around your house is bright, with no blind corners. Don't leave things around that could be used to gain access to the second floor. Put two locks on your door. Don't use glass in your front door. Put latticework on bathroom windows. Make it easy for people in your neighbourhood to see what is happening around your house, so they can be on the lookout for people they don't recognize (if you use a fence, make sure it is low enough that people can see inside your garden).
Be careful not to leave anything in your car that might be tempting to a thief, like a bag, a wallet, or bank cards, especially when leaving your car overnight on the roadside or in a little-used parking lot. Thieves will break the glass or destroy the locks to try to get at your valuables. This happens most often from 10pm to 4am. Also, it is not safe to leave your car running and unlocked outside a convenience store or in front of your house. Crimes involving idling cars are increasing. To protect yourself: don't park illegally, lock your doors and close your windows completely, use anti-theft devices, and don't leave valuables in your car.
The negative health effects of asbestos particulates has finally gained recognition as a major health threat and social issue in Japan. The City of Tsukuba has undertaken a survey of all municipal facilities using visual inspection, as well as by examining design blue prints, and scientific analysis of the presence of sprayed-on asbestos fibers. If sprayed-on asbestos has been confirmed in a particular location, various safety measures will be taken including quarantine and containment depending on on-site conditions. Preliminary results of the asbestos survey have been published in the Jan. 15, 2006 edition of the Japanese Koho Tsukuba. Property Administration Division.
Topics: Safety
Relevant for: Residents
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