All home owners should be aware of ways to prevent Theft and Burglary.
Police have the following recommendations:
Keep cars locked with no visible valuables inside.
Close or lock all doors or windows.
Keep garages closed and locked. (If you notice a neighbor’s garage open, you may want to alert them.)
Invest in a home alarm system.
Buy a German Shepherd (yes, they really did suggest that).
Notify police any time you are concerned about suspicious noises or activity.
Make your house look occupied. Make your house look the same when you’re gone as it does when you’re home. Look around your neighborhood and try to figure out who’s not home – “If you can tell, so can a burglar.”
Use a timer for lights and TV or radio. Noise in the house indicates you are home: burglar will see the flashing of the TV or hear noise at the window.
Have a neighbor shovel your driveway & sidewalks while you are away.
Use a motion detector light outside, and be sure the bulbs are out of reach. (A burglar will be startled by the sudden light; he doesn’t know if you turned on the light from inside and are watching him, and he won’t stick around long enough to find out.)
Make it as difficult as possible to get in.
Always shut and lock doors, windows and garages. A burglar will look for "easy" entry through an unlocked front door or garage.
Likely break-in points are secluded windows or doors in the rear of the house.
Cut a broom and place the handle in the track of sliding glass doors.
If you have just one lock on a doorknob, consider adding deadbolts or locks mounted on the top of doors.
Always lock your car.
Inside your house.
Hide valuables. Criminals go for the bedrooms and bathrooms seeking: jewelry, cash, handguns and prescription drugs from your medicine cabinet. So DON'T keep these things in obvious places. This is true for your teen's cash stash as well! If valuables are hard to find, the burglar may go somewhere else where pickings are easier.
Keep records.
Keep detailed descriptions of jewelry and other valuables. List and describe valuables separately on your homeowners insurance policy. You may be surprised at how jewelry may have increased in value over time.
Keep the receipts for valuable items in a fireproof box or safety deposit box.
Take photos or videos of specific items and of every room in your house!
Make sure you keep documentation NOT ONLY on your computer, which might be stolen or damaged in a fire or flood. (Put on paper or on disk in another place as well.)
Get a dog.
Buy a security system.
Miscellaneous suggestions.
Have a neighbor collect your paper and mail while you’re gone. If you stop delivery, that information gets passed on to a lot of people.
Remind your kids NOT to put info on Facebook (or any social network) about being gone for the weekend.
Reinforce to kids who are coming into the house alone after school or at night to STOP texting, using the phone, etc. when entering the house. Instead they should look/walk around, step inside, and if they see anything out of place/unusual (such as cabinets opened, things strewn around on the floor) they should immediately get out of the house, then call 911.
If someone rings your doorbell in the middle of the night, flick the lights on/off and call police.
Residents are the “eyes and ears” of the neighborhood.
Call immediately if you see/hear something suspicious, when you hear a noise or while the person is sitting there, or walking, or while your dog is barking. If you see a car or person that looks out of place, call 911 immediately. Calls/reports of suspicious activity are not as valuable after the fact. Do not worry about “bothering” police with a concern. This is their job.
Call police immediately.
You will be asked to do an inventory of what is missing.
If you have photos and descriptions of jewelry, it will make recovery easier.
Sent as an advisory from LAPD–Van Nuys (Jan 31, 2013)
Sources: Convicted burglars in California, North Carolina, Oregon, and Kentucky. Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job: Street life and Residential Break-ins 1996.
The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.
Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.
A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a timer.
Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.
Here's a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.
If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.
If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy.
You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.
Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
I don't take a day off because of bad weather.
To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.
I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.
I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)
I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature.
A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom - and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.
I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.
I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?