There are many ways to help protect your home and your neighborhood from crime. From simple steps like keeping your doors locked to starting a Neighborhood Watch program, there are many things you can do to help prevent crime.

General Tips

Main Level Windows

Glass is most vulnerable to attack, but many burglars are reluctant to break windows because they’re visible from the street or from neighboring dwellings. Windows hidden from view must be securely protected.

Basement Windows

Basement windows should be secured to prevent forcing. Window locks should not be vulnerable if the glass is broken.

Sliding Glass Doors

Sliding glass doors can be secured with a Charley bar, pinning, or with simple locks.

Exterior Doors

Solid Core hardwood doors with rugged frames that cannot be spread apart with a pry bar are recommended.

Door Locks

Quality deadbolt locks with a minimum one-inch throw are recommended. These locks should be mounted so that no one can open the door after breaking a window. Mounting the lock low on the door can sometimes eliminate this problem.

Lights

Lighting is the #1 deterrent of crime. Burglars don’t want to be seen breaking the law. Flood lights at exterior doors and by garage doors are recommended.  Motion detection lights and dusk-until-dawn lights are also great tools. Use timers on interior lights and TVs when not at home.

House Numbers

Your house number should be clearly displayed and well lit at night for law enforcement and emergency vehicles to see.  Adding reflective house numbers to the side and front of your mailbox are also helpful tools for emergency personnel responding to your home.

Shrubs

Bushes should not exceed 2 feet in height or width and trees should be trimmed at least 6 feet off the ground to eliminate natural hiding places.

Garage Burglary Prevention

Each year, the Eagan Police Department takes many reports of garage burglaries.  Here are some simple tips that you can follow to help make your neighborhood safe and your home less appealing to a burglar.

• Always lock your doors, even if you are at home. Lock the front door when working in the back yard, and lock the back door when working in the front yard.
• Keep your garage door closed at all times!
• Lock the door from your garage into your home, whether you are home or not. Do not rely on your overhead garage door for complete safety and protection.
• Don’t hide keys under the doormat or anywhere outside.
• Do not leave valuables like lawn mowers, bicycles, and children’s toys unattended outside. They should remain locked in your garage or shed when not in use.
• If you see your neighbor’s garage open for an extended period of time, call them and let them know they left it open.
• Trim shrubs and trees so your windows and doors are in full view from the street.  Intruders are less likely to break into a home where they have no place to hide or conceal their identity.
• Maintain adequate lighting. Lighting is a strong deterrent against criminal activity because it denies a person the ability to hide. Lighting also permits the detection of strangers and criminal behavior by neighbors and patrolling police.
• House numbers should be prominently displayed and illuminated.  This helps police and other emergency vehicles find your home when necessary. 
• Watch out for your neighbors.  Call 911 immediately if you witness suspicious or criminal behavior!  No one knows your neighborhood better than you do. If something doesn’t look or feel right, it probably isn’t. Trust your intuition.

It is the mission of the Eagan Police Department to work in partnership with the community to arrest offenders, prevent crime, solve ongoing problems, and improve the overall quality of life in Eagan.

Prescription Drug Disposal

The Eagan Police Department has a prescription drug drop-off container accessible 24 hours a day, located inside the vestibule of our police department. For a list of other drop-off sites in Dakota County, please see Prescription Drug Drop-Off in Dakota County.

Over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs can pollute waters and be harmful to humans, fish, and other wildlife when disposed of improperly: do not flush medications down the toilet or place them in the trash.

For information on the Opioid epidemic or to find other drug disposal locations, please visit DoseOfReality.MN.gov.

How to Drop off Your Medicine

Drop-off is safe and anonymous. No ID is required, and no questions will be asked. Keep medicines in their original container and place them in a sealed, clear plastic bag (pills can remain in their blister packs). Use a marker to cross out your name on the medicine containers. Place medicine that is no longer in its original container in a clear plastic bag and write the name of the medicine on the bag.

Medicines Accepted from Households

Medicines from households are accepted in any form, including prescription, over-the-counter, and pet medications. No medicines from businesses, including health care facilities, long-term care facilities, pharmacies, doctors' offices, and veterinary clinics, can be accepted.

List of What is Not Accepted

• Needles
• Sharps
• Thermometers

The above can be brought to The Recycling Zone, 3365 Dodd Road, Eagan, 651-905-4520, for free, environmentally safe disposal.

Mailbox Theft

Eagan Police Officers have taken several reports of mail theft from neighborhoods throughout the City of Eagan. We are asking residents to be the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and report any suspicious activity to the police department.  Watch your neighborhood mailboxes for suspicious activity/people. Report anyone loitering or behaving strangely, looking into or opening mailboxes, and removing mail. Suspicious activity may include people walking from mailbox to mailbox, or driving in a car from mailbox to mailbox and attempting to open and remove mail. If you see any suspicious activity or believe your mail was stolen, call 911 immediately and report it.

• What are thieves looking for? Cash, checks, gift cards, account numbers, your social security number, banking details, pay stubs, and identifying information like your name and date of birth.
• Go green. Switch to paperless billing and statements to reduce the amount of sensitive mail you receive.
• Purchase a lockable mailbox.  A lockable mailbox allows the postal carrier to deliver mail through a slot in the mailbox, but requires a key to open and retrieve mail.
• Don't flag your mailbox as a target. Using the red flag on your mailbox can alert thieves that there is something in your mailbox to be stolen. Hand your mail directly to a letter carrier, use a secure USPS blue mailbox, or go directly to your local Post Office to send mail.
• Pick up your mail regularly. Don't leave letters in the mailbox for several days, over the weekend, or even overnight, if possible. Make checking your mailbox part of your daily routine.
• Stop delivery. Alert the Post Office if you are going out of town and request them to temporarily stop the delivery of your mail. When you return, you can pick up your mail at the local post office and resume normal delivery.
• Talk to your neighbors. If your mail was stolen, let your neighbors know. They may not realize their mail was stolen, too. Watching out for your neighbors helps to build relationships and keep your neighborhood safe.  Look at starting a Neighborhood Watch group.
• Sign up for Informed Delivery through the postal service.  While this won't prevent mail theft, it will provide you with a daily picture of all letter-size mail that is on its way to your mailbox. If you do not receive mail that was supposed to be delivered, you can call the police and report it right away.  You can sign up for this free service through the United States Postal Service at informeddelivery.usps.com.

Secure Vehicle

Crimes involving your motor vehicle are crimes of opportunity. In an attempt to prevent becoming a victim, you want to make your vehicle less of a target. Below are some simple tips to help you protect your vehicle and your belongings./p>

• Always secure your vehicle by locking all doors and rolling up the windows.
• Remove all stereo and related objects from your vehicle (CD's, portable CD player, etc.). If this is not possible, attempt to hide them from view before reaching your destination.
• Never leave personal property such as purses and wallets in your unattended vehicle.
• Do not leave packages in your vehicle, or other items that look as if they would contain items. Criminals often figure there are valuables in the packages.
• Park in well-lit areas with lots of traffic. 
• At home, leave your outside lights on, or install motion lights in areas where they cannot be defeated.
• Limit access to your vehicle keys. Keep them with you, do not loan them out to others, do not leave them in gym lockers, etc.
• Do not leave your vehicle running or your keys in the vehicle unattended. (This is a violation of Eagan City Code, and you can receive a citation for this.)
• Do not leave cell phones, GPS units, or other items of value in your vehicle. If you do choose to leave them in your vehicle, remove them from sight before reaching your destination.
• You may consider using an anti-theft device on your vehicle, such as a car alarm. Keep in mind that these devices can sometimes be defeated.

The Eagan Police Department asks for your help in deterring and detecting crime.   Please report any suspicious behavior by calling 9-1-1.

Vacation Safety

If you are planning to take a vacation, here are some tips to protect your home while you are away.

• Let a trusted neighbor know you are gone.
• Have someone pick up your mail (or have the post office hold until you return) as well as newspapers, flyers, and advertisements.
• Put lights, televisions, and radios on automatic timers.
• Do not leave outside lights on 24 hours. Install motion detector lights or dusk till dawn lights on the outside of your home.
• Have someone cut your grass or shovel your snow to make your home look lived in.
• Secure your garage doors by padlocking them. Automatic garage doors can be made inoperable by unplugging it from the electric outlet or by using a vacation switch on the control box.
• Have a relative or trusted neighbor open and shut your drapes daily if possible.
• If neighbors or relatives open the windows during the day, make sure no lower-level windows remain unlocked. Only open second-story windows.
• Do not leave valuables where they can be easily seen from the windows.
• Certain valuables can be put in a safety deposit box or taken to a relative's or friend’s house for safekeeping. 
• Set your telephone ringer to low volume. A loudly ringing, unanswered phone is a sure sign no one is home.
• Have a neighbor park in your driveway.
• Do not let your travel plans be widely known.
• Install good locks and strike plates on all doors leading into your home. Always lock all your doors, especially doors into the house from the garage.
• Join Operation Identification or record the serial numbers of your property, i.e., televisions, stereos, cameras, guns, camcorders.
• Cover your garage windows to prevent anyone from seeing the contents of your garage or looking to see if your vehicle is gone.
• Arrange for someone to care for your pets.
• Have a neighbor or relative put your garbage out on pick up day.
• Join Neighborhood Watch.
• Have a premise survey done, conducted by the Eagan Police Department – Crime Prevention Unit, before you leave for vacation.