VANDALISM

SINGAPORE SEEN

Five Singaporean men charged with vandalism

CAUSES OF VANDALISM

Vandalism is caused by people who think it is fun to damage properties. 

Vandalism can also be caused by peer pressure when challenged to and they find it hard to reject.

Vandalism can also be committed against minority groups as an expression of racism or religious hatred. It has been found in studies of teenage behavior that those who commit seemingly pointless vandalism are often shallow individuals who aspire to little other than material possessions, money and feeling jealous of those who have what they don't. It can be the result of bad parenting, or maybe some who are being influenced by bad company. 

WAYS TO PREVENT VANDALISM

#1

Under camera's surveillance

Install camera to keep watch of most commonly targeted places such as the alleys of the streets. By doing so, those who vandalize would be afraid and fear. Resulting by not vandalizing. 

#2

Educate the public, especially young people about the costs of vandalism.

#3

Clean up vandalism as soon as it happens -- replace signs, repair playground equipment.

#4

If you see anyone committing vandalism, report it to the police or someone who can take action.

#5

Protect your house or apartment from vandalism by using good lighting.

References

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_causes_of_vandalism

http://winvanam.blogspot.sg/

http://www.lapdonline.org/crime_prevention/content_basic_view/1382

PICK POCKETING

SINGAPORE SEEN

Pick-pocketing & petty crimes, Singapore

HOW TO PREVENT BEING PICK-POCKETED

#1

Whenever you are going out to a public place, only take what you need.

Leave behind your valuables at home and only bring out some cash which you need and also your identification card. That way, even if you got pick pocketed, you do not lose everything.

#2

Touching or fiddling with the pocket where you carry your belongings tells the pickpocket where you carry your valuables.

This is a regrettable error and drops a huge hint of where you keep your things not only to the pickpocket but also to the public. Therefore, we must always be careful with our belongings and also keep track of touching or feeling your pocket to make sure that they are still safe.

#3

Blending in

We must do what we can to avoid looking like a tourist because mostly target victims would be tourist. Dyeing your hair or wearing a cap to appear subtle will help. Wearing a sunglasses will help as well. Don't wear brightly colored shirts or anything that makes you stand out of the crowd.

#4

Wear backpacks on your front if you must wear one in a crowd.

It is best not to have anything important in your backpack just in case. Wearing them in the front would be best as you can see if anyone tries to reach out for your bag. 

Reference

http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Being-Pickpocketed

STRAY CATS & DOGS

SINGAPORE SEEN

Feeding stray cats| dogs

WHAT CAUSES STRAY ANIMALS

Stray animals can be domestic pets that had been abandoned by their owners or have ran away from their homes. Stray animals refers to animals which has no collar, not owned by anyone. They are found roaming around the streets seeking for food and shelter. The increase rate of stray animals are high cause of  them breeding and the cycle repeats.

PREVENTION OF STRAY ANIMALS

Do not feed stray animals as feeding strays keeps the animal coming back for more. Therefore, property owners should not feed animals which does not belong to them.

ELIMINATE ANIMAL SCENT

The scent of cat urine is horrible! If a cat goes under the house to spray, the scent can travel up into the house through duck work, and it is just awful. Stop them from spraying by cleaning up their scent as soon as possible. Wash the surface down with bleach water and then cover it with a urine odor remover.

RE-HOMING

Animals that are not reclaimed can then be assessed for re-homing. 

A centre that offers a re-homing service must provide the following:

• A clean, safe and healthy environment that meets both biological and psychological needs 

of all animals kept in the centre 

• Quarantine for all incoming animals to safeguard the current inhabitants from infectious diseases 

• Veterinary treatment and prophylactic disease measures should be available for all animals 

• Limitation on numbers housed at any one time to avoid compromising the welfare of the 

current inhabitants.

References

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-keep-stray-cats-away-house-10816403.html

http://www.robinsonpd.org/Stray_Animals.htm

http://www.animalmosaic.org/Images/An%20Overview%20of%20the%20Stray%20Animal%20Issue_English_tcm46-28206.pdf

LITTERING

CONSEQUENCES FOR LITTERING

Littering can risk human's health, safety, and welfare; which harms wildlife and environmental quality on the Earth. Litter can harm the environment in various ways. There is a high potential for breeding grounds, carrying diseases caused by insects and rodents. Subsequently, litters would damage the appearance of scenic environments destroying the beauty of nature. Uncollected litters can flow into streams, storm water drainage systems and local bays. 

Animals may bound to get trapped or poisoned with litter in their habitats. Cigarette butts and filters; a threat to wildlife, have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds and whales, which have mistaken litters for food. 

Above all, containers which collects water causes mosquitoes to breed, increasing the mosquito population.

Soon after, if littering persists, it will accumulate, turning the area dirty! Gradually, it will start rotting and foul-smelling. 

Lastly, living in a poor environment means higher chances of falling ill due to the harmful bacteria.

PLAY YOUR PART; HOW TO PREVENT LITTERING ?

SINGAPORE SEEN

No. of high-rise in littering | Singapore

#1

Educate all your family and friends about littering and how bad it is.

Letting them know the importance of keeping the environment and also the disadvantages of littering so that they will know the consequences or the dos and don'ts of littering. 

#2

Form a community service group.

We can also help in picking up litters. For example, we would go to the beach to pick up the litters that were thrown by inconsiderate people. Help to keep the environment clean and maintain it, whenever we see litter, we should take the initiative to pick it up and throw it into a bin instead of just walking pass it.

#3

Using more environmental friendly production methods or materials.

For example, using less materials like plastic because plastic is non-biodegradable, it cannot be decomposed therefore leading to pollution. Therefore, using materials such a paper bags would be much better because it is biodegradable. 

#4
Demote smoking.

Because 34% of litters are cigarette butts. Imagine how much cleaner it would be if there were lesser or no cigarette butts at all. Demoting smokers and encouraging them to quit smoking will be better, for example telling them the disadvantages of smoking on how it can damage our health and also cause air pollution.

References

http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Action-to-Prevent-Littering
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090320122834AAdnWCc

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_will_happen_if_you_litter_all_the_time