Safety Checklist for Apartments

Check Out Your Apartment
Does your:

• Entry door have a deadbolt lock and peephole?
• Sliding glass doors have a wooden rod in the track so it can’t be opened and pins in the overhead frame so it can’t be lifted out?
• Landlord or building manager tightly control all keys?

For extra security, leave a radio playing or a light on while you’re gone. Always tell a trusted neighbor and the building manager when you leave for a business trip or a vacation.

Check Out Your Building

• Is there some kind of control over who enters and leaves the building?
• Are walkways, entrances, parking areas, elevators, hallways, stairways, laundry rooms, and storage areas well-lighted 24 hours a day?
• Are fire stairs locked from the stairwell side above the ground floors, so you can exit but no one can enter?
• Are mailboxes in a well-traveled, well-lighted area and do they have good locks?
• Are things well-maintained; are burnt out lights fixed properly, shrubs trimmed, trash and snow removed?

Check Out Your Neighbors

• Get to know your neighbors. Join or organize an Apartment Watch group so neighbors can look out for and help each other.
• If you live in a large building or complex, think about a tenant patrol that watches for crime around the building, provides escort services for the elderly and handicapped and monitors comings and goings in the lobby.
• Work with landlords to sponsor social events for tenants such as a Sunday brunch, a picnic, or a holiday party.
• Look beyond problems to root causes. Does your building need a better playground, a social evening for teens, a tenant association, new landscaping, or a basketball hoop? Work with the landlord for changes that make everyone proud of where they live.