It seems that lately, every night the news is reporting another “home invasion.” The most recent ones involved persons posing as utility workers and even a police detective. These robbers seem to be targeting the elderly and, unfortunately, some are turning violent.
Because of these robberies, many people are becoming paranoid. In New Kensington, for example, we actually received a call of some suspicious people that turned out to be Jehovah's Witnesses, hardly robbers.
So what can people do to be safe without being paranoid of everyone?
First of all, utility workers, police officers and public workers carry identification. If someone knocks at your door and claims to be with a utility company, before opening your door, ask them for identification. Legitimate public utility workers understand this request and are more than willing to provide you with their credentials.
Other things to look for with utility workers are things such as marked vehicles and uniforms. Most of them will arrive in cars or trucks that have the name of the utility company on them. Also, most utility workers, especially those who go door-to-door, wear a uniform of some type with their company name on it.
Making yourself aware of the location of your utility meters and where the service connection on your home is can also help protect you from being victimized. If someone says that they need to come in and see your gas meter — and you know that it is on the outside of your house — this could be an indicator that this is not a legitimate utility person.
If a utility worker does come to your home and says that they need to come inside and everything checks out — identification, uniform and marked vehicle — and you still aren't comfortable, call the company. If there is a problem with your utility or a worker is in your area, the company should have knowledge of this and be able to confirm the service call.
Salesmen are another issue when it comes to someone knocking at your door. Some company salespeople do wear some type of uniform and also carry identification. With spring coming, there will more door-to-door salesmen going around. If you are not comfortable with opening your door, don't. Most of these people are paid a commission, therefore they are not going to wait around for you to decide to answer the door.
If someone knocks at your door and claims to be a utility worker, salesman or even a police officer and you aren't comfortable, don't let them in and call the police. If the person is legitimate they will wait, if they are not, they will run.
Sgt. Tom Klawinski is a detective with the New Kensington Police Department and writes a column for the Valley News Dispatch.
