I bring you more crime prevention tips this month. Hopefully, you have heard about S.F. SAFE (Safety Awareness for Everyone). As our community crime prevention partners, SAFE is a nonprofit organization working in cooperation with the San Francisco Police Department. I recently received a great flyer from them regarding how to deal with unwanted visitors at your door. In light of the homicide that occurred in the Russian Hill neighborhood by a man posing as a utility worker, I wanted to share some safety tips with all of you.

What do you do when an unexpected guest is at your door ringing the bell? Some people choose to ignore the person, but sometimes burglars will actually ring the bell or knock to test if there is anyone home. To a burglar, no answer means that nobody is home, and the suspect may attempt to gain entry. The best way to handle unexpected visitors is to answer their knock or ring without opening the door. You, as the resident, should maintain the upper hand. Speak through the closed door or window. Make your communications short and authoritative. Require the visitor to provide proper explanation and credentials for the visit. Call the company and verify details of the unexpected visit. It happens to us all of the time; someone calls 911 and police respond – many times the caller will stay on the line and wait until the dispatcher tells the caller the police are outside. Still, if you are not comfortable, ask the officer for photo identification, as we are all required to carry one. Remember, anyone ringing your door with legitimate business will have photo identification.

If the visitor fails to give prompt and appropriate explanation of his or her presence, instruct them to leave, then call the police and provide as detailed a description of the suspicious person at your door as possible. If the person is aggressive or ignores your instructions to leave, then a call to the police is even move justified. If the stranger leaves, notify your neighbors, and if you are in a Neighborhood Watch group, activate your phone tree, alerting others to this suspicious person. S.F. SAFE can help you put a neighborhood watch group together.

I have written about “opportunists” in this column before – those are the criminals walking our neighborhoods looking for an easy opportunity to commit crime. They are looking for open windows or testing door handles looking for the unlocked one; they enter the common door of the multi-unit apartment building with the delivery person, or slip in the open common garage that someone forgot to close, etc. Take a little extra time before you leave or go to sleep and make sure your home or property is secure. And, if you do live in an apartment or condominium building, don’t assume that the suspicious person is there to see someone else – better safe than sorry, so call us and we will investigate.

Finally, if you wish to receive my weekly e-mail newsletter where I highlight great arrests by the officers of Northern Station, provide safety tips, and announce events occurring in the district, e-mail me at [email protected]. If you Twitter, you can follow me at /northernstation. I also host a monthly public meeting on the second Thursday of every month at Northern Station at noon.

E-mail: [email protected]