Crime Prevention Information

What Should I Consider Suspicious?

• Renters who:
  • Use cash for large transactions or a credit card in someone else's name.
  • Make unusual inquiries about local sites, including government, military, law enforcement, communications, and power facilities.
  • Refuse maintenance or service over an extended time.
  • Use entrances and exits that avoid the lobby.
  • Abandon a property.
  • Do not appear to be using a property for its intended purpose.
  • Receive an unusual number of package deliveries.
• Reports of:
  • Burn marks or discoloration on walls or doors.
  • Unusual odors or liquids seeping from a property.
  • Unusual amounts of traffic.
  • Parked vehicles in isolated areas.
• Unknown persons asking for directions to sensitive areas on a property, including utility and security rooms.
• Properties that contain furniture or surveillance equipment that is inconsistent with the intended use.
• Discovery of unusual items at a property or dumpsters:
  • Fertilizer or agricultural products.
  • Chemicals or chemical containers.
  • Fuel or fuel containers.
  • Weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
  • Extremist training manuals or literature.
• Unusual requests for schematics or blueprints of a property.
• Locks being replaced without permission.
• Modifications to a property that are designed to conceal storage areas.

Note: It is important to remember that just because someone's speech, actions, beliefs, appearance, or way of life is different, it does not mean that he or she is suspicious.

What Should I Do?

Be Part of the Solution

• Require valid ID from all new renters.
• Keep records of transactions.
• Talk to renters, ask questions, and listen to and observe their responses.
• Watch for people and actions that are out of place.
• Make note of suspicious statements, people, and/or vehicles.
• If something seems wrong, notify law enforcement authorities.

Do not jeopardize your safety or the safety of others.

Preventing terrorism is a community effort. By learning what to look for, you can make a positive contribution in the fight against terrorism. The partnership between the community and law enforcement is essential to the success of anti-terrorism efforts.

Some of the activities, taken individually, could be innocent and must be examined by law enforcement professionals in a larger context to determine whether there is a basis to investigate. The activities outlined on this handout are by no means all-inclusive but have been compiled from a review of terrorist events over several years.

Osceola County Sheriff's Office

407-348-2222