Aug 10, 2016
Personal Safety / Health and Well Being
(garage door side lock:source)
Just the other day, my neighbor's car was stolen. What made this particular incident especially worrying is that the car was parked inside a closed garage, the neighbors were home, and they had no idea until morning came. This meant that the thieves were able to get inside the house and get out with a very valuable item without anyone knowing for hours. It was fortunate that the thieves only wanted the car, because much worst could have happened.
Many of us leave our homes for hours throughout the day. During these times, our homes are vulnerable for invasion. Thieves may enter and take our jewelry and electronics, they may steal our passports and identities, and can damage what we have worked so hard to create. Our home is supposed to be our safe place, the place where we can lay our heads and be at ease. After a home invasion, the sense of security may be the biggest thing lost.
There are some steps that can be taken to improve home security.
1. Make sure everyone in the house is aware of home security. All it takes is one careless person leaving a door or window unlocked to make your home more vulnerable.
2. Lock all your doors and windows, do not open them for unknown people, and make sure you get the latch in the garage. Many garage doors will have a manual latch available to prevent it from being raised.
3. Remove hidden keys and ladders from the outside of the house. These items are accessible to the world, which means the world will be accessible to your home.
4. Add intimidating signs such as any spare ADT or other home security system signs or Beware of Dog
5. Get a security system to monitor your home 24/7 but it does have a recurring cost
6. For sliding window and doors lay a pieces of 2x4 or pvc pipe in the railing of sliding windows and doors to act as a secondary security device to prevent opening
7. Keep valuables well hidden with special care to hide jewelry and personal documents (passports, social security cards, etc)
8. Keep valuables out of sight from the world, the general assumption is if you have nice things on the outside, you have nice things on the inside
It will be easy to get lost in your day to day life that you may forget to guard your home. It will only take 1 time before you will feel violated, and there is only a small chance that you will get your things back and the perpetrator gets caught. You will not be able to prevent every robbery or break-in but if your place looks tougher to get into, then burglars will pick an easier target. Protect yourself and protect what's yours.
What a shame about your neighbor's car. I had a couple break ins the last couple years I lived in North Carolina. Burglars primarily look for jewelry, cash, and anything they can carry out quick. A car they'll just hot wire on the street. I'm convinced in my mind that in most cases home burglars are opportunists who know your neighborhood and may even know you and your habits. I agree to take every possible precaution to not be victimized, and if you are, don't let it define you. You have to move on.
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