BURGLARY PREVENTION
Don’t welcome a burglar into your home. Start protecting your home from the outside.
Many criminals stake out homes prior to burglarizing them.
Make your residence less desirable for them.
• Landscaping
– Trim trees and shrubs so that doors and windows are visible to your neighbors.
– Sometimes having “spiny or thorny” bushes near windows deters criminals.
• Lighting
– Use security lighting and motion sensors around your home.
– Should be out of reach.
– Install lights that are programmed to come on randomly.
• House Numbers
– Make sure your house number is clearly visible on your home from the street – day and
night.
– Place numbers on mailboxes.
• Doors and Windows
– Keep all windows and doors locked when you are not home, and at night.
– Use deadbolts.
– Keep your car doors locked.
– Keep windows looking into the garage covered so that criminals can’t look inside.
– Secure “Doggie Doors”.
• Keys
– If you hide a key, keep it in a well hidden place, not the obvious.
– Don’t have anything descriptive on your keys i.e. “front door key”.
– Know everyone who has a key to your home.
– Don’t hang keys inside your home in plain view.
• Other Ideas
– While you are away, cancel your newspaper, and have a neighbor collect your mail.
– If your car is outside, have your neighbor move it around randomly.
– Use light timer to turn on lights at night.
– Place ADT and other alarm stickers on your windows whether or not you have an alarm.
– Don’t leave cardboard boxes, i.e. TV sets, outside for trash pickup.
– Have someone mow your lawn, and trim hedges if your area away for a long time.
– Don’t write on FACEBOOK that you are going to be away from your home.
• Apartments
– Change your locks when you move in.
– Nail or Screw in Air Conditioners.
– Use a bar on Sliding Doors to secure them and close the blinds to block the view into
your home.
– Use Peep Holes in the Doors when answering the door.
– Teach Children about using the phone, and answering the door, if they are home alone.