Crime Prevention Tips For Students Living In Downtown Atlanta

By Francine Fluetsch on April 15, 2016

This article is brought to you by One12 Courtland, a dynamic community steps away from the Georgia State University campus in beautiful Atlanta. To learn more about One12 Courtland, please call us at 855-265-9112 and visit us here.

Are you planning on living in or around downtown Atlanta this coming fall? If so, this article is for you! Right now is prime housing time, so you really want to start looking into places that will suit your needs. If you haven’t already, you should check out the adorable yet affordable apartments at One12 Courtland! You won’t be disappointed.

Many students are nervous about moving off campus at first because the idea of a new environment and the possibility of outside crime can be a little scary. So here are some ways that you can prevent crime in downtown Atlanta to make you feel safe and secure living there.

Blinds are a must.

If you are on the lower levels of an apartment complex, you want to make sure you close your blinds before leaving your place. You don’t want just anyone being able to look in to see all of your items. Try not to have items like a television blatantly visible from a window, even if you are higher up. This of course is a precaution, but you want to make it so a person wouldn’t even have an inkling to rob you, since it appears as though you don’t have any items they would want to steal.

Hide your valuables.

A lot of us tend to leave things lying around the house because we are constantly buzzing from one thing to the next, with no break time in-between. While you hopefully trust the people you live with, you might not know all of their friends, especially if someone throws a party, so you want to make sure that you keep track of all your valuables, and hide them away in the event that multiple people will be over at your place.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard stories of people throwing a party and waking up the next morning with things missing. It’s really sad that other students would do this, but you want to stay on the cautious side.

If you have items like a passport, birth certificate, social security card, etc, you might even want to think about investing in a safe. This might seem a little over the top, but if someone breaks in or a party goes wild, you really don’t want those things to get misplaced or stolen!

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Always lock up.

This seems like common sense, but a lot of students are much too trusting with their apartments. You always want to make sure that when you leave the place, you lock all the locks on your door, not just the bottom one that you can twist from the inside. Even if you are at home, it’s still a good idea to lock up. While it is fun to just have your neighbors pop in whenever they please, you can’t be watching everything 24/7, and it’s worth the extra 10 seconds it takes you to unlock the door for someone, rather than the anxiety of something getting stolen.

Get a dog.

A dog is a big responsibility of course, so only get one if you are truly ready and comfy, but a pooch can be a great crime preventer. My dogs make me feel safe because if they bark in the middle of the night, I know something isn’t right. They know if it’s my family or myself coming home late, and don’t make a noise, but if it’s someone they don’t know, they won’t shut up until we go investigate.

A dog can give you peace of mind, and will also deter burglars. The great thing is that both big dogs and little dogs suit this function. Little dogs may look less intimidating, but they can be pretty territorial, and a burglar wouldn’t get very far with that yapping at their heels.

Start or join your neighborhood watch team.

Another great way to prevent crime is to work together with your fellow neighbors. If you see something suspicious going on near the apartment that is a few doors down, text the neighbor to make sure everything is alright, or if it looks really sketch, call the police! You can’t be everywhere at once, but if everyone is watching out, you’ll be able to keep one another safe.

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There was recently a peeping Tom in the neighborhood across from mine, and the community worked together to catch the man by posting flyers alerting one another about the suspicious activity, and actually catching the man in the act with a cell phone camera.

This doesn’t mean you have to be besties with all of your neighbors downtown if you don’t want to, but knowing and caring about one another enough to alert each other of suspicious activities will benefit everyone.

Invest in an alarm system.

A lot of places nowadays already have an alarm system built into them, so all you have to do is pay for the service. While these do at times spew off false alarms, this will be a great way to secure your place, especially if you tend to go on trips a lot or are out of the house for long hours during the day.

These are just a few ways to prevent crime and to give yourself a safer living space.

Looking for a great place to live off-campus within a stone’s throw of campus? Please visit One12 Courtland to see our dynamic community in action. To visit our website, please click here or call us at 855-265-9112 to get more information and schedule a tour.

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