Burglars Scout Out Our Homes

Some burglars scout out our homes for days, weeks or months before they make their move.  They look for obvious signs.  Do you have an alarm system?  Is your car in the drive way or garage?  What hours are you usually at home?

Some get their answers quite easily.  They know that if the porch light is on all day, then something is amiss.  They could also tell that you are not there when UPS delivers packages and leaves them on your front porch or at the curb. The best thing to do in such circumstances is to alert the deliverers of packets to your home, not to leave them laying around.

Today, some people feel that they have to give their family and friends a status report concerning where they are and how long they will be gone.  Like this, we find such messages with email updates or with a person’s telephone answering service.  This is a bad idea.  Persons have to be more creative so as not to make their absence from their homes so obvious.  They could do so by word of mouth, the telephone, and if a family member is far away, even by mail in a sealed envelope – not a post card.

With an empty house with lots of windows, strangers could look in if the curtains are not drawn.  It is therefore imperative to close all curtains and not reveal your valuables to the world.  This could only spell trouble.  Such an owner is giving reason for someone to break in.

There are other simple things that people could do that are wise.  Do not leave doors unlocked.  Some persons may be on the back lawn watering their garden and have their front door open.  Others may lock their doors but hide a key under the front mat or a plant that hangs on the porch.  Everyone knows where to look to find such a key.  Still people leave their spare key for family, friends, and even the plumber.  Speaking about the plumber, an untrustworthy plumber may end up making a copy of the key and enter your house when you are not there, to rob it.

It is always amazing when some owners complain that they do not understand why they lose things during an open house.  Some thieves see this, as an opportunity to visit such homes, and pick up valuables that they can easily stash away in their overcoat pocket or a purse.

Home dwellers may leave a note on the door.  This note generally tells how long a person will be gone.  Further, it may say where the key can be found.  This does not make sense, because anyone seeing the note can enter the home. Clean it out of its valuables, before the occupant returns.

A good idea is if a person has to go away for a few days, to have a burglary alarm system, and light sensing devices that are set to turn off and on lights like if a person is normally there.  These should even control the TV and radio sets.

As preventive measure some homeowners have large dogs.  Their presence and bark can often scare away burglars. Some thieves though have been known to trick such animals by giving them treats and diverting their attention.  As for the smaller dogs, they do not tend to pose a great threat.  There are stories where burglars have scooped them up and locked them in drawers as they rob homes.

It therefore behooves home owners to be responsible, if they will like to protect themselves from being robbed, because there are many things that they can do.  Some say that no one will never think about breaking in,

Image by Dust Storm via Flickr

for they have a firearm, but the fact is, even if they have a weapon for protection, there will be times when they will have to leave their home, to take a trip or go on some planned vacation.