22 Ways to Make Your Home and Street Safer
Increasing Safety on Your Property
With the recent increase in crime, there's no better time to make your home and street safer. Here is a quick list of ways to deter any uninvited guests:
-Lock the doors and windows of your cars and homes at all times (only keep inaccessible windows open).
-Triple lock your patio doors with the door lock, bolt, and a stick, and install door plates on the other entrances.
-Install an alarm system and display signs and stickers on your property.
-Install live cameras and display signs on your property.
-Lock access gates to the back of your property.
-Place your exterior lights on your patios and front stairways on a timer that starts at dusk. The street lamps shouldn't be the only lights that turn on after sunset.
-Install motion sensor lights on the sides and back of your property.
-Pull down your curtains in the evening and/or remove valuables visible outside of your windows.
-REPORT a crime after it occurs to increase police attention to your street.
Bringing Your Street to Life and Making It a Community
-Say hello to a neighbor or anyone on your street when you see them.
-Turn on patio/exterior lights to minimize blind spots (the street lamps aren’t enough light).
-Build a community to exchange ideas, organize events, etc.
-Contact owners of unkept properties (i.e., the empty lot).
-Organize quarterly events to increase communication among neighbors and to create more presence on the street, including an annual garage sale, block party, neighborhood cleanup, holiday events, etc.
-Add neighborhood watch signs up and down the block.
-Build a relationship with the alderman to close off dangerous pathways.
-Invite an officer to provide a safety assessment. Ask local law enforcement to a street sponsored event to give safety tips.
-Encourage your neighbors with cameras to also post video monitoring signs and register their camera with local law enforcement (for crime review when necessary).
-Develop an immediate response phone tree.
-Help residents create a less appealing appearance for burglaries (i.e., lights on timers, electronics away from the windows, etc.).
-Beautify the neighborhood (i.e., create areas for gardens).
-Help nearby streets take the same steps.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is an ordained minister serving Denver and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in both Denver and Chicago (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings.
Specifically, Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Highland, Platt Park, Lower Highlands, Sloan Lake as well as the zip codes 80215, 80214, 80204, 80203, 80205, 80207, 80218, 80219, 80222, 80223, 80224, 80246, 80238, 80221, 80022, 80230, 80231, 80202, 80209, 80247, and 80210. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more.
If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
