Venice has recently experienced an increase in home burglaries and hot-prowls ( when a burglar enters your home while you are there ). It is a well established fact that burglars go for easy prey. Open windows, screen doors, items left in plain sight in yards, cars and through undraped windows. It is estimated that the average person suffers the loss of about $2000 of valuables and damage during the average home crime. If you have insurance, you will likely have to pay out of your deductible to replace your goods, but a handful of very easy low cost steps can make your home less appealing to burglars.
Trim Your Bushes
Bushes, shrubs and trees can offer an intruder places to hide and camouflage signs of a break-in. Cut back any overgrown vegetation so that your home’s windows, porches and doors are visible to neighbors and passersby. This is an easy step that can make a difference in making your property much less attractive to a burglar.
Shade Your Windows
Use shades, drapes and other window treatments to keep potentially tempting household items out of view. Burglary is sometimes a crime of opportunity and “window-shopping” is one way criminals choose potential targets.
Mind Your Trash
Buy a new flat screen TV? DON’T leave the box at the curb. Many people make the mistake of leaving un-broken down boxes near or next to their trash, letting would-be burglars know what new items they have just put in their home.
Light Up!
Nighttime illumination is critical to deterring a break in because a dark or poorly lit property makes it easier for a burglar to go about unseen.
One of the best deterrents for crime is to install motion-sensing security. Motion-sensing security lights are activated when motion is detected and the sudden change from darkness to the bright light will not only startle intruders, but also provide a visual alert to the homeowner and neighbors.
Indoor Timers
Burglars generally don’t want to be confronted by anyone in a home. They basically want to slip in and out unseen. If they hear sounds of activity, they’ll generally move on. Use timers that are hooked up to indoor lights, as well as radios or televisions. Setting a timer to switch on about 30 to 45 minutes before it gets dark makes it appear more like someone is really at home, and combined with a radio or TV activating during the day and evening, that impression can be even more convincing.
Reinforce Entry Points
Sixty percent of all burglaries take place at ground floor doors and windows so it makes sense to further protect these entry points to deter an intruder. All entry doors should be solid wood or steel-wrapped wood-core doors. Hollow-core doors or rickety old wood-panel doors can be kicked in easily and don’t offer much of a deterrent. New solid (slab) doors cost around $100. Installation, of course, will cost extra. However, an experienced home handyman can tackle the job with the help of instructions.
Shield Small Windows - Doors With Windows
For existing doors with windows, install a protective barrier of quarter-inch Plexiglas over any existing glass. Attached properly, it can prevent the burglar from breaking the window and either opening the door’s lock from the inside or getting into the house through the opening.
Deadbolt Locks
Install a deadbolt on every exterior entry door. The bolt should have a throw of at least one inch. Insurance companies and locksmiths recommend Grade 1 or Grade 2 American National Standards Institute deadbolt locks on exterior entryways.
The two main types of deadbolts are single and double cylinder locks. A single cylinder deadbolt, about $35, has a keyed opening on one side and a knob that can be turned by hand on the other. A double cylinder deadbolt lock, about $45, is keyed on both sides.
Double cylinder locks should be used on a door with a glass section or one located near a window. If the glass is broken and someone tries to reach in to open the door, they won’t be able to.
Common Sense
The best form of protection is to simply lock all your doors and windows whenever you leave your home. According to comments made by LAPD at a recent CPAB meeting, it amazing how many people don’t do that, and yet it’s the simplest and best thing anyone can do.
REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
Or more simply put, make an effort! Venice311 monitors the LAPD police scanner 24 hours a day. There are CONSTANT calls about potential crimes, that upon the arrival of the police turn out to be no crime. THAT IS GOOD! Alerting police to potential crime activity is the sign of an aware community. Better safe than sorry and this is not a waste of law enforcement time. More often than not, criminals were in the area and fled due to occupant activity, which includes turning on lights when a noise is heard and calling the police.
SAFELY enjoy Summer
Although we enjoy great weather in Southern California year-round… Summer time is especially tempting to leave windows open. You can purchase battery powered, easy to install motion detectors for windows at most hardware stores for a very inexpensive price. Placing these on ground floor windows will allow you to enjoy the benefits of the outside air, while having an audible trigger that will startle anyone that tries to gain entry.
JOIN the neighborhood forum discussion on this post
