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Barriers to Burglary

Burglary is a crime of opportunity. Make the burglar’s work risky and difficult, and you stand a good chance of stopping them before they get in.

To a burglar visibility means vulnerability. They hide behind fences and shrubbery. The key is to keep trespassers out while keeping your property visible. Use picket or chain link fences. Keep hedges clipped down around waist level.

Burglars try the doors and windows first. If burglars have difficulty there, chances are they will move on to another property.

Tips:

• Locks. The strongest are deadbolt locks.

•Doors. All outside doors should be metal or solid wood.

•Lighting. Light is a great crime deterrent. Light up all dark areas,
especially doors and windows.

•Sliding glass doors offer easy access if they are not properly secured. You can secure them by putting a broomstick or dowel in the inside track to jam the door or by installing commercially available locks. To prevent the door being lifted off of the track, drill a hole through the sliding door frame and the fixed frame. Then insert a pin in the hole.

•Never hide keys around the outside of your home.

What If I Live in an Apartment?
•Never let anyone you don’t know into your building or past security doors.
•Have a reception in the lobby of your building or a cookout on common property so neighbors can get to know one another.
•Check the complex on a regular basis for problems such as burned-out light bulbs, dark corridors, uncollected trash, or broken locks on mailboxes and doors. Report any such problems to the building manager.