What Burglars Know that You Should Know
by: Nigel Smithers
Professional burglars concentrate on easy targets
because they know their chances of success depend on their coming and
going without being noticed. So what can you do as a homeowner to make
sure you are not inviting someone into your home who doesn’t belong
there?.
“As silly as it sounds,” says Nigel Smithers, a retired
police officer and the CEO of Watchdog Protection Industries, Inc.,
“the first thing you should do before you leave home for work or play,
is make sure that all of your doors, including the garage door and side
garage entrance, are locked. An incredibly large number of burglars
don’t even have to break into a home because homeowners simply forget
to lock a swinging or sliding door.”
Smithers also recommends you remember to attend to
ground floor windows. “During the summer months especially, homeowners
frequently open windows to take advantage of the evening air and forget
to close them before they leave in the morning.”
Aside from the obvious, Smithers also recommends
homeowners make sure that they are not leaving subtle messages that no
one is home. “Unfortunately, many homeowners subscribe to newspapers
that are dropped on the driveway or front step after they depart for
work. This is an open invitation to a professional burglar who, when
canvassing a neighborhood, is observant enough to recognize an
opportunity when he sees it,” he said.
“A professional isn’t likely to hit a home the first
time he sees a newspaper on the driveway at noon, but he may take
action if it becomes a pattern,” he said.
To solve this problem Smithers recommends that
homeowners either make arrangements to have their newspapers delivered
to a location on the property that is not visible to the casual
observer or that arrangements are made for a neighbor to pick it up
when it’s delivered.
Another subtle invitation to a burglar is a security
sign in the yard but no related stickers on windows. “Homeowners all
too often think that the placement of a security sign in the yard will,
in and off itself, convince burglars to move on.
This isn’t the case,” Smithers says. “If a professional
sees that there are no window stickers accompanying that sign, he may
take a closer look. It’s an easy task to view through open curtains to
confirm the presence of window sensors and/or motion detectors.”
Apart from the basics, Smithers also recommends
homeowners attend to the foliage adjacent to the home. “If bushes can
be used to conceal the burglar’s actions, they will be used,” he said.
“I don’t recommend cutting them down, but a good trimming once a year
will deprive a burglar the opportunity to use them to conceal his
actions.”
According to Smithers, the greatest defense lies in
getting to know one’s neighbors. “The first step to home security
involves neighborhood awareness. If everyone in the neighborhood is in
the habit of attending to the presence of strangers, the less likely
the burglar will bother to stick around,” he said.
“While I don’t recommend confrontation,” he continued,
“every stranger should know when he walks or drives through a
neighborhood that he is being watched.”
