 |
Securing
Your Home
. . . it's easier than you think . . .
by Donnette Thayer
heavenly@pacbell.net
EDITOR'S NOTE: Donnette Thayer serves as the Vice-president of City of Angels
Dog
Rescue, helping others to adopt homeless animals.
She's a
resident
of
Montecito
Heights in Northeast Los Angeles. |
Dumas |
Securing your home might be easier than you think. It might be
as simple as adopting a dog, hanging up an old super 8 camera,
and planting thorny plants around your fences and under your windows.
Burglars have
chosen their career based on an overriding principle: They don’t
want to put in a lot of work for their payday. Studies show that
about a third of the burglars are stealing to buy
illegal drugs,
and are too sick or shaky to try to think up ways around your obstacles.
We can use this knowledge to protect ourselves from becoming their
next target ... and all of us can learn something
from the "experts":
According to one convicted burglar, security systems are not very
effective protection for the homeowner, especially if the phone
lines are easily accessible. All a burglar must is cut the phone
line and the security system is disabled. Alarms and alarm signs
probably deter non-professional burglars.
Another survey says that 9 out of 10 burglars will avoid a home
equipped with a security system, choosing instead to move on to
a home that will be less trouble.
So, what
do burglars look for when selecting a home to rob?
| 1. |
6
in 10 burglars cited back doors and windows above flat roofs
as the easiest way to break into a home. |
| 2. |
The
appearance that no one is at home. |
| 3. |
No
obvious security measures, e.g. CCTV, alarm, secure locks,
dogs. |
| 4. |
Ladders
or garden furniture left by a house to aid access into windows
etc. |
| 5. |
Windows
left open and doors unlocked. |
| 6. |
Empty
driveway. |
| 7. |
Lack
of curtains/net curtains - can see in to check if there is
anything worth stealing. |
| 8.. |
Leaving
empty packaging of expensive items outside the house for
dustmen to take away. |
Knowing this, what
inexpensive measures can a homeowner take to discourage burglars?
| 1. |
Place
thorny plants like bougainvilleas in areas where a burglar
might enter a door or window by climbing to a flat roof.
Make sure that no ladders are around to help the burglar
get past the sticker bushes. |
| 2. |
Turn
on a radio or television set when you are gone, or use a
timer to turn these appliances on and off for you. |
| 3. |
Use
clever security items like this motion activated device that
starts up a recording of your voice saying something like, "Hi
honey, I'll be right there," or something like that:
http://www.1stlinesecurity.com/sounmotacmes.html -
$50. |
| 4. |
Set
up a camera, no burglar wants to risk having his picture
taken. The burglar doesn’t know whether the camera
works or not, and doesn’t want to find out. You can
also put up dummy alarm boxes, they seem to discourage non-professional
burglars as much as real alarm systems do. |
| 5. |
Lock
up your ladder. |
| 6. |
Lock
your doors and windows when you go out, especially if you
don’t have a dog, and especially if you are going to
be gone during our prime burglary hours of 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. |
| 7. |
Ask
a neighbor to park in your driveway if you plan to be gone
for a few days. Use your garage to park your car, if you
have one. That way the burglar doesn’t have your car
to tell him if you are home or not. |
| 8. |
Draw
the curtains if you are going out. Don’t tempt burglars
by showing them what you have to offer. |
| 9. |
Break
up the boxes that your expensive items came in, and put them
in the recycling bin. |
| 10. |
Best protection
of all? Get a dog. |
A dog is an
excellent anti-burglar investment -- a barking dog, whether large
or small, will likely persuade a burglar to move on.
Here’s
what one professional burglar has to say about them: "I
may be very leery if there were some barking dogs," he said. "You
can deal with an outside dog, all chained up. But a dog that's
in the home, you don't know what you're dealing with."
Here’s
another little figure for you. An estimated 40% of burglars are
under the influence of drugs during
the commission
of the crime. Now, if I were high on drugs, the last thing I would
want to deal with is an angry dog (or three).
I thought that some good neighbors might be interested in adopting
a dog.
And hey, I
can help you with the getting a dog part. Check out our available
dogs at:
http://www.cityofangels.petfinder.org We have a super
good watch dog right now, sweet as pie and big, with an earth-rumbling
bark. Take a look at Dumas:
http://www.petfinder.org/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=1646270
Dogs
protect our homes and become our life-long friends in exchange
for our table scraps. It’s the original bargain that
we human beings struck with our canine friends. And it’s
still one of the best deals we ever made. Adopt from a rescue
or a
shelter, and you’ll be saving a life.
A little good
karma never hurts your home security either. |
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