How kids can stay safe in case of a burglary

By John Santana

Mill Creek Enterprise editor

The recent home burglary wave that has swept through Mill Creek and parts of South Snohomish County has raised safety concerns as children are out of school for the summer.

Mill Creek police spokeswoman Becky Erk offered several tips parents can use to ensure their children will remain safe if they are left home alone during the summer.

• Parents should review basic safety procedures with their children. Among those is keeping doors locked.

“Kids can get hot when the temperature hits 75 or 80 degrees otuside, but it’s important to keep the doors locked,” Erk said.

• Remind children not to answer the door if a person they don’t know is knocking or ringing the doorbell.

•Parents should also teach children the difference between regular knocking and what Erk described as “aggressive” knocking.

“Usually a door-to-door solicitor will ring twice and then move on,” she said. “A third or fourth time, that’s aggressive, and the person should call 911 immediately. The police will contact that person and ask them what business they have in the neighborhood.”

•Calling 911 is essential, Erk said.

In the June 28 arrest of a suspected burglar, a 14-year-old girl called 911 immediately and within an hour, Mill Creek police, with the help of a Lynnwood police K-9 unit, arrested the suspect in brush near the victim’s home.

•If a cellular phone is the only one a child has access to, they must know the address they are at and be able to tell a 911 operator the address clearly. Dispatch centers get a home’s address automatically when a call comes in from a traditional home telephone, now commonly known as “land lines.” Addresses do not pop up automatically when a 911 call comes in via cell phone.

•The most important safety tip Erk offered is still to call 911 immediately whenever someone is trying to break into a home or when other suspicious activity is taking place.

“The quicker you call, the quicker we can get there,” she said.