Now that the holidays are over…
Make sure you lock your doors and windows, leave a radio on low volume when you leave the house unoccupied, and report any strange activity in your neighborhood. The thieves will be out in force because the things you bought for Christmas are no longer safe in a secure warehouse or locked and alarmed department store. Those things are now in your mostly-unsecured homes.
The economy is in the midst of her death throes. Violence and crime are projected to escalate as people begin to lose their jobs. The waning days of the credit frenzy is causing many to realize there life has had no real meaning. The consumer based economy is over and people are beginning to panic. The criminals are salivating at the realization that people’s distrust of banks are causing them to store their money at home.
Burglary is the act of entering a building with the intention of committing theft. These crimes may escalate as the economy collapses further. While insidious, burglaries are often crimes of opportunity and are not usually planned in advance. Because of this, you can often thwart burglars with very simple precautions. I have included six basic steps to prevent your home from being broken into.
1. Present your home as if it is occupied at all times. Burglars will often bypass occupied homes for vacant ones.
2. Use automatic timers on lights when you will not be at home. Try to arrange the lights so that they come on and off based on the normal pattern you usually follow when you are home.
3. Always use your garage when parking cars. Make sure all windows have curtains drawn at all times so that a potential burglar cannot look into your garage window and determine if you are home or not.
4. Do not create patterns. If you open a certain curtain only when your home you could be signaling a person who is staking you out that you are not home.
5. Place radios on automatic timers and turn the volume up so that they can be heard outside.
6. Lower the ringer of your phone and voicemail machine so that no one can hear it from outside your window. A constantly ringing phone or a voicemail message will signal that no one is home.
7. Never leave notes on your door letting people know when you will be back.
8. If you are going to be away for a few days suspend all newspaper and mail deliveries. Nothing says ‘vacant house’ louder than a pile of unread newspaper in your driveway.
By following these simple 8 steps you will be better prepared to survive the worst attack a burglar can throw at you.
Robert Padgett is the author of a blog called, Survive the Worst. This site is dedicated to surviving the worst conditions imaginable. From man-made disasters such as war, terrorism, civil unrest,industrial accidents and power failures to Natural disasters such as Storms, Blizzards, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Floods, and Fires we will offer insight into how to prepare for any situation.
http://survivetheworst.blogspot.com/2008/12/survival-panic-expected-to-spur-crime.html
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Good tips. My brother’s place was broken into twice in the last 4 months, which is insane! …I never knew that lightning could strike twice.
Since he’s often away, he has now installed ‘decorative’ bars on his windows and better locks. And he does leave the light on.
Thank you for your comment.
He may also want to invest in some timers. He could use the timers to turn tvs and radios on and off while he’s gone.
To get really sophisticated with the illusion of an occupied house, check out http://www.x10.com under “home automation”.