Prevention of Burglaries is key to keeping your valuables safe!
There are many steps you can take to prevent Burglary and vehicle break-ins
By far, the most common threat to our home is burglary. According to
the FBI, a burglary occurs somewhere in the United States every 15.4
seconds. By definition, the crime of burglary is a non-confrontational
property crime that occurs when we are not at home. However, becoming a
burglary victim can leave a family feeling vulnerable and violated. To
avoid becoming a burglary victim, it is important to first gain an
understanding of who commits them and why.
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. Burglaries are committed most often by young
males under 25 years of age looking for items that are small, expensive,
and can easily be converted to cash. Favorite items are cash, jewelry,
guns, watches, laptop computers, VCRs, video players, CDs and other
small electronic devices are high on the list. Quick cash is needed for
living expenses and drugs. Statistics tell us that 70% of the burglars
use some amount force to enter a dwelling, but their preference is to
gain easy access through an open door or window. Ordinary household
tools like screwdrivers, channel-lock pliers, small pry bars, and small
hammers are most often used by burglars. Burglars continue to flourish
because police can only clear about 13% of all reported burglaries and
rarely catch the thief in the act.
Although home burglaries may seem random in occurrence,
they actually involve a selection process. The burglar's selection
process is simple. Choose an unoccupied home with the easiest access,
the greatest amount of cover, and with the best escape routes. What
follows is a list of suggestions to minimize your risk by making your
home unattractive to potential burglars.
Doors and Locks
The first step is to harden the target or make
your home more difficult to enter. Remember, the burglar will simply
bypass your home if it requires too much effort or requires more skill
and tools than they possess. Most burglars enter via the front, back, or
garage doors. Experienced burglars know that the garage door is usually
the weakest point of entry followed by the back door. The garage and
back doors also provide the most cover. Burglars know to look inside
your car for keys and other valuables so keep it locked, even when
parked inside your garage. Use high quality Grade-1 or Grade-2 locks on
exterior doors to resist twisting, prying, and lock-picking attempts. A
quality deadbolt lock will have a beveled casing to inhibit the use of
channel-lock pliers used to shear off lock cylinder pins. A quality door
knob-in-lock set will have a 'dead latch' mechanism to prevent slipping
the lock with a shim or credit card.
- Use a solid core or metal door for all entrance points
- Use a quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt
- Use a quality, heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead-latch mechanism
- Use a heavy-duty, four-screw, strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame
- Use a wide-angle 160° peephole mounted no higher than 58 inches
The most common way used to force entry through a door
with a wooden jamb is to simply kick it open. The weakest point is
almost always the lock strike plate that holds the latch or lock bolt in
place followed by a glass paneled door. The average door strike plate
is secured only by the soft-wood doorjamb molding. These lightweight
moldings are often tacked on to the door frame and can be torn away with
a firm kick. Because of this construction flaw, it makes sense to
upgrade to a four-screw, heavy-duty, high security strike plate. They
are available in most quality hardware stores and home improvement
centers and are definitely worth the extra expense. Install this
heavy-duty strike plate using 3-inch wood screws to cut deep into the
door frame stud. Use these longer screws in the knob lock strike plate
as well and use at least one long screw in each door hinge. This one
step alone will deter or prevent most through-the-door forced entries.
You and your family will sleep safer in the future.
Sliding-Glass Patio Doors
Sliding glass doors are secured by latches not locks.
They are vulnerable to being forced open from the outside because of
these inherently defective latch mechanisms. This can be easily be
prevented by inserting a wooden dowel or stick into the track thus
preventing or limiting movement. Other blocking devices available are
metal fold-down blocking devices called "charley bars" and various
track-blockers that can be screwed down.
The blocking devices described above solve half the
equation. Older sliding glass doors can be lifted up and off their track
and thereby defeat the latch mechanism. To prevent lifting, you need to
keep the door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted. You can
also install anti-lift devices such as a pin that extends through both
the sliding and fixed portion of the door. There are also numerous
locking and blocking devices available in any good quality hardware
store that will prevent a sliding door from being lifted or forced
horizontally. Place highly visible decals on the glass door near the
latch mechanism that indicates that an alarm system, a dog, or block
watch/operation identification is in place. Burglars dislike alarm
systems and definitely big barking dogs.
- Use a secondary blocking device on all sliding glass doors
- Keep the latch mechanism in good condition and properly adjusted
- Keep sliding door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted
- Use anti-lift devices such as through-the-door pins or upper track screws
- Use highly visible alarm decals, beware of dog decals or block watch decal
Windows
Windows are left unlocked and open at a much higher rate
than doors. An open window, visible from the street or alley, may be the
sole reason for your home to be selected by a burglar. Ground floor
windows are more susceptible to break-ins for obvious reasons. Upper
floor windows become attractive if they can be accessed from a stairway,
tree, fence, or by climbing on balconies. Windows have latches, not
locks and therefore should have secondary blocking devices to prevent
sliding them open from the outside. Inexpensive wooden dowels and sticks
work well for horizontal sliding windows and through-the-frame pins
work well for vertical sliding windows. For ventilation, block the
window open no more than six inches and make sure you can't reach in
from the outside and remove the blocking device or reach through and
unlock the door.
In sleeping rooms, these window blocking devices should
be capable of being removed easily from the inside to comply with fire
codes. Like sliding glass doors, anti-lift devices are necessary for
ground level and accessible aluminum windows that slide horizontally.
The least expensive and easiest method is to install screws half-way
into the upper track of the movable glass panel to prevent it from being
lifted out in the closed position. As a deterrent, place highly visible
decals on the glass door near the latch mechanism that indicates that
an alarm system, a dog, or block watch/operation identification system
is in place.
- Secure all accessible windows with secondary blocking devices
- Block accessible windows open no more than 6 inches for ventilation
- Make sure someone cannot reach through an open window and unlock the door
- Make sure someone cannot reach inside the window and remove the blocking device
- Use anti-lift devices to prevent window from being lifted out
- Use crime prevention or alarm decals on ground accessible windows
Be a Good Neighbor
Good neighbors should look out for each other. Get to
know your neighbors on each side of your home and the three directly
across the street. Invite them into your home, communicate often, and
establish trust. Good neighbors will watch out for your home or
apartment when you are away, if you ask them. They can report suspicious
activity to the police or to you while you are away. Between them, good
neighbors can see to it that normal services continue in your absence
by allowing vendors to mow your lawn or remove snow. Good neighbors can
pick up your mail, newspapers, handbills, and can inspect the outside or
inside of your home periodically to see that all is well. Good
neighbors will occasionally park in your driveway to give the appearance
of occupancy while you are on vacation.
Allowing a neighbor to have a key solves the problem of
hiding a key outside the door. Experienced burglars know to look for
hidden keys in planter boxes, under doormats, and above the ledge.
Requiring a service vendor to see your neighbor to retrieve and return
your house key will send the message that someone is watching. This
neighborhood watch technique sets up what is called territoriality
which means that your neighbors will take ownership and responsibility
for what occurs in your mini-neighborhood. This concept works in both
single family homes communities and on apartment properties. This
practice helps deter burglaries and other crimes in a big way. Of course
for this to work, you must reciprocate and offer the same services.
- Get to know all your adjacent neighbors
- Invite them into your home and establish trust
- Agree to watch out for each other's home
- Do small tasks for each other to improve territoriality
- While on vacation - pick up newspapers, and flyers
- Offer to occasionally park your car in their driveway
- Return the favor and communicate often
Lighting
Interior lighting is necessary to show signs of life and
activity inside a residence at night. A darken home night-after-night
sends the message to burglars that you are away on a trip. Light timers
are inexpensive and can be found everywhere. They should be used on a
daily basis, not just when you’re away. In this way you set up a routine
that your neighbors can observe and will allow them to become
suspicious when your normally lighted home becomes dark. Typically, you
want to use light-timers near the front and back windows with the
curtains closed. The pattern of lights turning on and off should
simulate actual occupancy. It’s also comforting not to have to enter a
dark residence when you return home. The same light timers can be used
to turn on radios or television sets to further enhance the illusion of
occupancy.
Exterior lighting is also very important. It becomes
critical if you must park in a common area parking lot or underground
garage and need to walk to your front door. The purpose of good lighting
is to allow you to see if a threat or suspicious person is lurking in
your path. If you can see a potential threat in advance then you at
least have the choice and chance to avoid it. Exterior lighting needs to
bright enough for you to see 100-feet and it helps if you can identify
colors. Good lighting is definitely a deterrent to criminals because
they don't want to be seen or identified.
Another important area to be well-lighted is the
perimeter of your home or apartment especially at the entryway. Exterior
lighting on the front of a property should always be on a timer to
establish a routine and appearance of occupancy at all times. Common
area lighting on apartment properties should also be on a timer or
photo-cell to turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn. The practice of
leaving the garage or porch lights turned on all day on a single family
home is a dead giveaway that you are out of town. Exterior lighting at
the rear of a home or apartment are usually on a switch because of the
proximity to the sleeping rooms. The resident can choose to leave these
lights on or off. Security lights with infra-red motion sensors are
relatively inexpensive and can easily replace an exterior porch light or
side door light on single family homes. The heat-motion sensor can be
adjusted to detect body heat and can be programmed to reset after one
minute. These security lights are highly recommended for single family
homes.
- Use interior light timers to establish a pattern of occupancy
- Exterior lighting should allow 100- feet of visibility
- Use good lighting along the pathway and at your door
- Use light timers or photo-cells to turn on/off lights automatically
- Use infra-red motion sensor lights on the rear of single family homes
Alarm Systems
Alarm systems definitely have a place in a home security
plan and are effective, if used properly. The reason why alarms systems
deter burglaries is because they increase the potential and fear of
being caught and arrested by the police. The deterrent value comes from
the alarm company lawn sign and from the alarm decals on the windows.
Home and apartment burglars will usually bypass a property with visible
alarm signs and will go to another property without such a sign. Some
people, with alarm systems, feel that these signs and decals are
unsightly and will not display them. The risk here is that an uninformed
burglar might break a window or door and grab a few quick items before
the police can respond. Also, don't write your alarm passcode on or near
the alarm keypad.
Alarm systems need to be properly installed and
maintained. Alarms systems can monitor for fire as well as burglary for
the same price. All systems should have an audible horn or bell to be
effective in case someone does break in. However, these audible alarms
should be programmed to reset automatically after one or two minutes.
The criminal got the message and will be long gone but your neighbors
will have to listen to the alarm bell, sometimes for hours, until it is
shut off. If you use a central station to monitor your alarm, make sure
your response call list is up to date. Home alarms, like car alarms, are
generally ignored except for a brief glance. However, if you have
established and nurtured your neighborhood watch buddy system, you will
experience a genuine concern by your neighbor. It is not unusual to have
a neighbor wait for the police, allow them inside for an inspection,
and secure the residence. A good neighbor can also call the glass
company or locksmith to repair any damage, if pre-authorized by you.
The greatest barrier getting to this level of
neighborhood participation is taking the first step. You can get help by
calling your local crime prevention unit at the police department. Most
police departments in large cities have neighborhood watch coordinators
to help you set this up. You should invite your adjacent neighbors over
to your home for coffee and begin the information exchange. You'll be
amazed how the process runs on automatic from there.
- Alarm systems are effective deterrents with visible signage
- Alarm systems to be properly installed, programmed, and maintained
- Alarm systems need to have an audible horn or bell to be effective
- Make sure your alarm response call list is up to date
- Instruct your neighbor how to respond to an alarm bell
Home Safes
Since the prices of good home safes are falling, having a
safe in your home is a wise investment. Home safes are designed to keep
the smash and grab burglar, nosey kids, dishonest babysitter or
housekeeper from gaining access to important documents and personal
property. Home safes need to be anchored into the floor or permanent
shelving.
- Use the safe everyday so it becomes routine
- Protect the safe code and change it occasionally
- Install it away from the master bedroom or closet
Operation Identification
This is a program supported by most police agencies. They
recommend that you engrave your drivers’ license, not your social
security number, on televisions, stereos, computers, and small
electronic appliances. They suggest this so they can identify and locate
you if your stolen items are recovered. I suggest that you go way
beyond this step
I recommend that you photograph your valuables in their
locations around your home and make a list of the make, model, and
serial numbers. This is very important for proof when filing insurance
claims. You should keep this list in a safety deposit box or with a
relative for safe keeping. Keep receipts of the larger items in case you
need to prove the value of the items for insurance purposes. Beyond
that, I recommend that you photocopy important documents and the
contents of your wallet. You will be thankful that you took these steps
in case your home is ever destroyed by fire or flood, is ransacked, or
if your wallet is lost or stolen.
- Identify your valuables by engraving your drivers’ license number
- Photograph and record the serial numbers of all valuables
- Photocopy the contents of your wallet and other documents
- Store the copies in a safe deposit box or with a relative