Summertime, and the living is easy. Especially for house burglars. Every spring, local police departments publish a list of rules for home security in warm weather.
I've compiled my own list of home security tips for residential break-ins, as follows:
- Make sure door and window locks are working. Use them.
- Make sure locks are of good quality. A ten-dollar lock on a thousand-dollar door doesn't make sense.
- Place obstructions in sliding window and door tracks, especially patio doors.
- Do the same for upper level windows. There's a reason burglars are called "second-storey men."
- Remember, the high fences, hedges and shrubs that hide you from your nosey neighbor will also hide a burglar from the neighbor's watchful eye.
- For best home security, alarm your doors and windows. You needn't spend a fortune, because good burglars can often beat an elaborate system. Fortunately, most burglars aren't good. If they see an alarm system in place, they'll likely move on to the next house.
- Ensure your house appears occupied. That would mean installing timers for intermittent lighting at night and, perhaps, music in daylight hours.
- Install motion detection lighting around exterior dark areas, walkways, and doorways.
- A dog is good. It needn't be a pit bull, doberman, or rotweiller. Yappy will do.
Let's say none of your precautions have worked. The burglar has made it into your house. What can you expect to lose if you haven't secured it? The list will include just about anything that's portable, pawnable, and fits in a car.
- jewellery
- electronic equipment, including CD's, DVD's, and cameras
- firearms (much prized)
- coin and stamp collections
- credit and bank debit cards, plus PIN numbers
- prescription drugs
- power tools
Recently, residential burglars have introduced a couple of new twists. Some now bring along a digital camera to photograph personal documents. The photos are then sold to identity theft rings.
The escalating cost of gasoline has spurred another criminal innovation. Some burglars are happy to simply get into your garage or driveway. Here they quickly siphon your vehicle gas tank into large tanks mounted on pick-up trucks or inside cargo vans; in one case, into a refurbished fuel oil tank truck. A locking gas cap may be a wise investment.
When all is said, the best deterrent to house burglary may be the cheapest: an alert pair of eyes. Sure, during Spring and Summer this may be difficult. Neighborhoods swarm with strangers--landscapers, gardeners, renovators, road workers, prospective house buyers, cyclists, and strolling pedestrians. Add to that, most house burglaries occur during daylight.
If you look after your neighbor, chances are your neighbor will look after you. See something suspicious or out of whack? Make the call. Better to be wrong and vigilant than right and indifferent.
