Crime Prevention Information

What Should I Consider Suspicious?

• Reluctance to provide complete personal information when completing rental paperwork.
• Providing multiple names on rental paperwork.
• Inability to recall the name used to rent a vehicle.
• Using cash for large transactions or a personal credit card in someone else's name.
• Returned vehicles that contain:
  • Unusual burn marks or odors.
  • Fertilizer or chemical residue.
  • Blueprints, photographs, or video of buildings and landmarks.
  • Extremist training manuals or literature.
  • Surveillance equipment.
  • Receipts for hazardous items.
  • Weapons and explosives.
  • Maps with sensitive locations marked.
• Inquiries about renting a truck with a wooden floor.
• Unusual questions regarding:
  • A vehicle's dimensions, fuel capacity, or interior volume.
  • Local sites, including government, military, law enforcement, communications, and power facilities.
• Efforts to quickly collect deposits for vehicles reported as stolen.
• Reports of abandoned rental vehicles, particularly those near:
  • Military bases
  • Government buildings
  • Power plants
  • Shopping malls
  • Stadiums
  • Schools.
• Individuals surveilling the facility.
• Stolen or vehicles that are not returned timely

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 a valid driver's license from all customers.
• Make note of suspicious statements, people, and/or vehicles.
• Report any missing or stolen vehicles or license plates to law enforcement authorities.
• 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