In our safe neighborhood, we’ve had a few home break-ins in the recent weeks. We have a 7 tips how to protect your property and make our neighborhood safe.
1. Keep an eye out for you AND your neighbors. If your gut says there’s something not right, your gut is generally always right. Call 911 immediately. Give the location and as many details as possible. Even if it wasn’t anything, we get the police presence in our neighborhood. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
2. Invest in a home security system with multiple motion detectors, glass-break detectors and door sensors on each entryway. Experienced burglars know how to defeat or bypass some sensors, so a variety of sensors throughout your home will provide more protection than a handful of motion detectors or door sensors. An outdoor siren is better than an indoor one. You’d be surprised how hard it is to hear an interior siren from the outside. And make sure you turn on your system whenever leaving home, even for just a few minutes.
3. Camera systems can be a little more expensive to protect your home, but with today’s technology, many cameras give you very clear images and great detail. There are a number of do-it-yourself systems available with a range of clever features, including smart phone motion and/or sound-triggered alerts, smart phone control apps, remote monitoring (via a web browser or smart phone apps) and automatic event recording.
4. Indoor and outdoor lights, as well as light timers can deter burglars because they don’t know if you’re home or away. Many home security systems also have smart phone apps that will allow you to control your lights, or turn them on or off at set times, without anyone seeing a specific pattern. This is where home automation meets home security. Set your indoor lights on timers going on and off at random times of the day, everyday.
5. Remove flyers from your front doors. Always remove flyers or menus from accumulating on your door. By letting the flyers pile up in your doorstep, you give the impression that no one is at home, making your home a target for burglars. If you suspect or know your neighbors are out of town, remove theirs too.
6. Avoid the temptation to share your travel plans on social media sites(especially if your Twitter feed, Pinterest page or Facebook page is public). Smart thieves frequent these sites and are looking to see when you won’t be home. Sharing photos of your vacation on public accessible sites while traveling also can be risky. Wait until you return home.
7. Temporarily stop your mail and newspapers from coming to your home while you’re traveling. Many thieves see piles of mail and newspapers as an opportunity to strike. According to FBI studies, annual home burglaries result in the loss of an estimated $4.6 billion worth of electronics, jewelry and money.