HOME PROTECTION : Ways to Reduce the Risk of Burglary
Although it’s impossible to make your home absolutely secure, you can do a lot to frustrate burglars.
First, visit your local police department and learn what break-in methods are commonly used by burglars in your area. Then pretend you’re a burglar, look for weak points in your home’s security and fortify them.
Don’t Attract Attention
* Consider what you own that may attract burglars and make those possessions less conspicuous. Make your valuables harder for thieves to sell and easier for police to find by engraving your Social Security number on them. You can often borrow an engraving tool from your local police department.
* If a new stereo or home computer arrives, don’t put the labeled carton in the trash without flattening it inside out.
* If you hide valuables, keep a map of their locations in a safe deposit box or with your attorney. Burglars know where people generally keep valuables. Remember that the kitchen is the most often used site and that toilet tanks are favorite spots.
* If you have an answering machine, don’t reveal your name, whereabouts or other personal information on the message. Simply say that you can’t come to the phone right now, but will return the call as soon as possible.
Outside Your Home
* Don’t put your name on your mailbox. Burglars phone to learn if anyone is at home. If they get your answering machine, they know too much.
* Overgrown shrubbery and high hedges provide as much privacy for burglars as for you. Trim foliage often so it can’t camouflage a burglar’s activities. Remove growth that hides cellar windows. Protect a secluded yard or entry with spotlights and an alarm.
* Prune tree branches and remove trellises if they provide access to second-floor windows.
* Keep tools and ladders that could aid a break-in indoors or well-locked.
Doors and Locks
* Before you move into a new house or apartment, have the cylinders of each exterior door changed.
* Keep your garage door closed. When burglars see an empty garage, they often ring the doorbell. If someone answers, they ask an innocent question and leave; if there’s no response, they try to enter. If your garage door has windows, cover them. If your garage has a side or back window, put a shade on it.
* Unlocked doors also offer burglars an invitation. Even if locked, a door with a simple lock can be easily kicked until screws burst out of the wood or the frame gives way. Replace hollow wooden doors or flimsy door frames. Install solid wooden or steel doors with firm frames.
* All doors, including those leading to the basement, cellar, garage and storage rooms, should be secured with a dead bolt lock rather than a latch lock. A dead bolt should be 1 inch thick and have a throw of at least 1 inch-- longer is even better.
* Lock apartment windows or doors that lead to balconies, fire escapes and rooftops. If you live on the first or second floor, lock all windows even when you’re home.
* Before leaving town on a long trip, ask a friend, neighbor or relative to park a car in the driveway, mow the grass and put out garbage on pickup days. Arrange to have mail and newspaper deliveries halted until you return.
* Invest in automatic timers. When you’re away, create the illusion that someone’s at home by using them to activate lamps, TVs or radios.
