Making Your Home Safer
If you are locked out of your home, can you still get in ?….through an unlocked window in the back, or use an extra key hidden under a flowerpot or up on a ledge ? If you can break in, so can a burglar! A small investment of time and money can make your home more secure and can reduce your chances of being a victim of burglary, assault or vandalism.
Get to know your neighbors. Watchful neighbors who look out for you, as well as themselves, are a front-line defense against crime. In almost half of all residential burglaries, thieves enter through an unlocked door or window.
HELPFUL HINTS:
q Make sure every external door has a sturdy, well installed deadbolt lock with a minimum of 11/2 inch bolt
q Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks or with a broomstrick or wooden dowel rod placed in the track to jam the door, in case someone tries to pry it open. Insert a pin in a hole drilled in the sliding door frame that goes through the fixed frame to prevent anyone from lifting the door off its track.
q Secure double-hung windows by using keylocks or by sliding a bolt or nail through a hole drilled at a downward angle in the top corners of the inside sash and partway through the outside sash. The hole should be large enough that the bolt or nail slide in and out freely in case you have an emergency and need to open the window. Don’t forget to secure the basement windows also.
q Secure skylights or ventilation ducts with metal grates or iron bars.
q Don’t hide keys in mailboxes, planters, or under doormats. Give an extra key to a relative or neighbor you trust.
q If you’ve just moved into a new house or apartment, have the locks changed.
q Make sure all exterior doors are metal or solid hardwood.
q Doors should fit tightly in their frames, with the hinge pin on the inside.
q Install a peephole or wide-angle viewer in all entry doors, so you can see who is outside without opening the door.
q Door chains are not security devices – they break easily and wont keep out an intruder.
q Trim shrubbery that hides doors or windows. Cut tree limbs that could help a thief climb into windows.
q Turn outside lights on after dark to illuminate porches, entrances and yards, both front and back. Consider timers that turn on outside lights, or install motion detectors.
q Keep your yard well maintained. Store ladders and tools inside your locked garage, basement or storage shed when not using them.
q Clearly display your house number, so that police and other emergency vehicles can find your home quickly.
q Put inside lights and a radio on timers to create the illusion that someone is at home, when you go away. Leave shades, blinds and curtains in normal positions.
q Stop the mail and newspapers or ask the neighbor you trust to take them in if you are away.
q Maintain a home inventory of any items of value or importance. Take photos or make videos of the items, list descriptions and serial numbers. Engrave the items with your operator’s number or personal identifying number. Do not use any PIN numbers associated with any credit or debit cards.
q Consider an alarm from a reputable and established company.
q If you arrive home and you see a screen has been cut, a broken window, or door that’s been open, don’t go in. Call the police from a cell phone or a neighbors’ house.
q If your are in the house and you hear a noise that sounds like someone breaking in or moving around, quietly lock your self in a room and call the police.
Remember burglary is a crime of opportunity. By making their work risky and difficult, you will stand a good chance of stopping them before they get in.
If you would care to have a Logan Township Police Officer come to your residence and make recommendations as to the security of your home, please call us at 949-3364