He followed all the directions and didn’t stand out from the crowd. Sometimes he would come alone, while other times he’d be joined by his pregnant wife.

For REALTORS® in Lenawee County, there was no way of knowing this man was a criminal and not a potential homebuyer.

“The weird thing was he’d sign in at the open house using his real name,” said Jenni Shephard, executive officer of the Lenawee County Association of REALTORS®. “He later began bringing his wife and they’d work as a team. One would talk to the agent and the other would go off and steal prescription drugs.”

Over the course of six weeks, REALTORS® reported five incidents of someone stealing prescription drugs, Shephard said. It wasn’t until an agent caught the man red-handed that he was stopped.
“We always think we are in a small area and it won’t happen to us,” Shephard said. “But we have come to find out that is not true.”

LCAR has worked with the local law enforcement to educate members and encourage them to have sellers lock up all prescription drugs. Utilizing the National Association of REALTORS® video and other information, the association is educating members at general meetings as well as incorporating a section on member safety into its new member orientation program.

“We want members to be aware it can happen to anyone, anytime and at any place,” Shephard said.
The Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® also ran into problems with people stealing prescription drugs. And, just recently they have been dealing with a stalker, said Elaine West, CAE, CIPS, LTG, executive officer of the Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS®.

“There is a stalker on the west side of town who waits for the REALTORS® in the evening,” West said. “All we know right now is he drives a copper-toned car.”

GLAR has had a safety program in place for about 15 years, West said. As part of the program, they have started a neighborhood crime watch program, show the safety video at new member orientation and have safety experts come to general membership meetings.

Although not all associations across the state have had to deal with a safety issue, several have already taken action to help provide their members with safety information.

Many associations provide a safety session at new member orientation, according to the results of the MAR REALTOR® safety survey.

Associations that produce newsletters often list any suspicious incidents that have been reported in the area or provide a safety “tip of the week.” Also, some associations have offered self-defense classes.
“We had a gentleman here who owned a karate company,” said Nikki Pickett, executive assistant at the Jackson Area Association of REALTORS®. “He would show people what to do if they were cornered or attacked.”

After a REALTOR® was almost murdered in the Kalamazoo area, the Greater Kalamazoo Association of REALTORS® started working to create a better safety program.

“There has always been an awareness of the safety issue, but, after the incident, we decided it was time to take a more active approach,” said Larry Blochard, GKAR.

Like other associations, GKAR incorporates safety into its new member orientation, Blochard said. Currently, GLAR is putting together a safety committee that will initiate more safety events.

Some plans include creating a safety brochure all members can carry with them and making a DVD brokers can show to members.

“We want to make sure REALTORS® are aware,” Blochard said. “Many go into denial that it will never happen to them.

But, it has been proved, everyone is susceptible.”