Keeping Your Home Safe

Editor: firemountain

Learn how to protect your home from burglaries and keep your family safe from thieves.

During my years in Law Enforcement I took reports on more home burglaries than I can remember. The crime itself can be devastating but the comments from the victims always bothered me the most. Most victims told me they felt violated and had an overwhelming desire to scrub the house from top to bottom because it feels dirty. Others could not go into their home or stay alone for weeks or even months after the break in. The law classifies residential burglary as a property crime, but to the victims it is a crime of violence. Here are some tips I used when talking to community members and victims of crime. Do as much as you can to protect your home; you don’t want to be the victim of a burglary.

Profile of a Burglar

The majority of home and apartment burglaries occur during the daytime when most people are away at work or school. The summer months of July and August have the most burglaries with February having the fewest crimes.

Young males commit burglaries most often under 25 years of age, looking for items that are small, expensive, and can easily be converted to cash.

Burglars are often teenagers who live near your home. They are opportunists who look for easy targets. If the risk of detection is too high, the average burglar will not attempt to enter your home.

A burglar will select his target because it offers him the best opportunity to carry out his crime undetected. A building that appears unoccupied and insecure is far more likely to be targeted than one, which is properly secured. Each of the following makes access to your home simpler and is a sign to the burglar that it may be a good target.

1. Side gates left open
2. Windows left open
3. Ladders left out, allowing access to second story windows
4. Tools left out making it easier to force entry
5. Untrimmed hedges or high fences, offering concealment to the burglar

Burglars know that the key to success is planning. After determining the target, the average burglar spends just a few minutes burglarizing it.

Where to Start

The first step in making your home secure is to evaluate your current security measures.

1. Contact your local police department to determine if it will provide a free security inspection.
2. Burglars hate bright lights. Install outside lights and keep them on at night. Motion-detector lights can be particularly effective.
3. Make sure that exterior lights are mounted out of reach, so that burglars can't easily unscrew bulbs.
4. Use a variable light timer to activate lights inside your home.
5. Keep your yard clean. Prune shrubbery so it doesn’t hide windows or doors. Cut back tree limbs that a burglar could use to climb to an upper-level window.
6. When traveling, get timers that will turn lights, television or radio, on and off in different parts of your home during the day and evening hours. Lights left on for 24 hours a day signal an empty house.
7. Leave blinds and curtains in normal positions. Have a friend or neighbor pick up your mail and/or newspapers.
8. Make an inventory list and take pictures of all your valuables, such as VCRs, stereos, computers, and jewelry. Be sure the list includes the serial numbers and description. This will help police if your home is burglarized.

Quick Check Tips For When You Leave Home

1. Make sure all doors and windows are closed and locked. An open window or door is an open invitation for burglars. Doors should have deadbolt locks with a one-inch throw and reinforced strike plate with three-inch screws. All windows should have window locks.
2. Secure sliding glass doors. Place a metal rod or piece of wood in the track and install vertical bolts. These will help prevent burglars from forcing the door open or lifting it off the track.
3. Always lock the door to your garage. Don't rely on your automatic garage door opener.
4. Making your house look like someone is home, even when no one is home, will deter criminals.
5. Check your outdoor lighting weekly to make sure it is good, working condition.
6. If you leave town have a trusted friend or neighbor pickup your mail and newspapers while you are away. You can also park a car in your driveway or parking place to make it appear that someone is home.
7. Keep your shades and blinds in the same position to maintain a normal, everyday appearance.
8. If you leave town, don't change the message on your message service.
9. Keep shrubs trimmed away from entrances and walkways.
10. Get involved in Neighborhood Watch or Crime Free Multi-Housing.

Categories: Self-Help | Public Health and Safety