The school year has begun and is in full swing. The new iPhone 5 is coming out. The Kindle Fire and iPads are some of the latest electronic devices that students are using. Some of these items are received as gifts while others are earned through hard work and saving money to purchase them. All types of gadgets and devices are valuable to the students, and they are taking these items with them into the schools. It is important to us to protect our students and their valuables. We are working diligently with school officials in order to accomplish this, but we also need your help and the help of each and every student.

If students must bring their valuables to school, the following safety tips from the National Crime Prevention Council at www.ncpc.org should be followed in order to protect them:

• Leave them in a locked compartment out of sight in your car if you drive to school.
• Avoid calling attention to your valuables.
• Never leave your valuables unattended, but if you must, then make sure they are secured in a location that only you have access to.
• Don’t lend your valuables to others.
• Keep valuables out of plain sight.

Students are reminded to maintain a list of all valuables with the corresponding serial number for each item. If something is missing and you are unable to find it after a thorough search report it immediately to a police officer so a report can be made.

Safety tips that should be followed by students for personal protection include the following:

• Be in class on time – don’t linger in the hallways.
• Clean up after yourself.
• Be aware of your surroundings.
• Stay away from drugs and alcohol
• Keep sexual harassment out of the school.
• Wear appropriate clothing.
• Report inappropriate manners to the proper authority.
• Don’t feed into fights, cheer fights on or become involved in fights.
• Don’t transport other students without authorization or approval from a parent/guardian and school system administrators.
• Don’t take weapons, alcohol, or illegal drugs to school.

All too often, people are afraid to get involved. We want to promote the “If you see something, say something” campaign at our schools. We encourage you to report suspicious incidents and happenings. You can do this anonymously through the internet. Just go to the Conyers Police Department website at www.conyerspolice.com and go to the “About Us” tab. Click on “Anonymous Tips”. This is where you can leave us information that may be valuable to a case we are working on or provide information to assist us in recovering your valuables. If you go this route, you can remain anonymous. You will not have to leave your name.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there are a lot of events going on throughout the Metro Atlanta Area. I encourage everyone to come out and support the “Be the Boss of You” event at the Georgia International Horse Park. One of our investigators will be participating in the trail ride, and I know support from the members of the community would mean a lot to her. For additional information visit www.bethebossofyou.net