Soliciting within the Borough of Green Tree is permitted by PERMIT ONLY. If anyone comes to your door attempting to sell anything, he or she should have a permit clearly visible. If no permit is seen, call 9-1-1 so the police can check it out. Do not allow solicitors to enter your home!

Water Department Employee Scam
Please be advised that several area communities are experiencing a rash of these scams in their communities. These actors usually target the elderly and the scam works like this:

Two actors approach your house and tell you that they are from the water department and need to check your meter or the pressure flow of your facets. They usually ask you to accompany one of them into the basement or another level of your house as the other stands by. While you are with the one, the other goes through your rooms and belongings taking valuables, this is not discovered until well after the actors have gone.

To help prevent this scam from occurring, please keep the following in mind:

• Water department employees will have a photo ID on them, so ask to see their ID.
• Water employees are usually in some type of uniform, blue pants with a light blue shirt. Look for a uniform along with the ID.
• If coming in to check meters, they usually will have a hand held meter reading device, although a great many reading units are now placed on the outside for easy access.

If there is any doubt in your mind as to the validity of the employees, please call 911 and request an officer to verify the validity of these individuals!

Bike Helmets are mandatory by law for all children, ages 12 and under the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code, Chapter 35. Children riding in a passenger seat on their parents' bicycles must also wear helmets. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation also strongly urges bicyclists of all ages to wear a helmet while riding. Green Tree Police will be reminding bicyclists of this law throughout the Borough this summer.

School will be out soon and that means that Green Tree kids and their friends will be out in full force, walking to the pool, riding bikes, skateboards and scooters, and playing in their yards. Be extra alert when driving through local neighborhoods for our kids who may be chasing an errant ball into the street or traveling through the Borough on wheels.

Lock your automobile no matter where you park, even in your own driveway. Don't leave valuables, such as cell phones, iPods, wallets or cash in your car. If you must leave valuables in your car for some reason, make sure to place them in the trunk or under a seat where they cannot be seen through the windows. If shopping, place your purchases in the trunk or under a seat if you plan on returning to a store.

Always lock the doors of your house, even when you are home. If your door does not have a window to see who is knocking, install a panoramic door viewer, or peephole, to see who is there before unlocking and opening your door. If you do not know the person knocking, do not open the door to them, but speak to them through the door without unlocking it. Ask for proper identification from delivery persons or strangers. Don't let strangers in to use your phone; offer to place the call yourself. If you arrive at home and suspect a stranger may in inside, DON'T GO IN! Leave quietly and quickly and call 911 immediately!

Keep a list of serial number of all of your valuables, in the event of a robbery or an insurance claim. Take photographs of valuables for your records as well and if possible, mark them with your name or some sort of identifying mark. Valuable jewelry is best photographed on a plain black background with a ruler next to the item.

When possible, avoid walking alone, especially at night. Your vulnerability to street crime is reduced by as much as 70% simply by being in a group. Before leaving a mall to go to your car, put your keys in your hand for quick entry. Carry a cell phone and/or keep a safety whistle on your key chain to summon help.

If walking alone, walk as close to the curb as possible. If you feel you are being followed, stay in a well lit area, seek safety in a public place and call 911 for help. Provide your location quickly so they can arrive as fast as possible.

When you are planning to go away, inform trusted neighbors of the dates you will leaving and returning and provide a number where you can be reached in case of an emergency. Have someone pick up your mail and newspapers and place your garbage cans at the curb on pickup day to make the home look lived in. Use timers to run lights and a radio. Double check that all doors and windows and locked. Register your vacation information with the Green Tree Police Department's Vacation Home Check service where an officer will provide an outside inspection of your home every day you are away. Click here to register or call the Green Tree Police Department with the information at 412-921-8624.

When shopping, carry your purse close to you. Don't let it dangle from your arm. Never leave your purse in a shopping cart. Don't display large sums of cash when paying for an item.

Never give out your social security number, credit card numbers or other personal information to anyone over the phone or on the internet unless you are the one that initiated the contact and know the source to be reputable. Check your credit records once a year with one of the three major credit bureas - Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Report suspicious activity immediately. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America.