How To Keep Thieves Out While You're Away
The Non-Government Ones, Anyway

by Selwyn Crawford

This is the time of year for vacations, but there's one group of folks who are on the job throughout the summer: thieves.

With so many people away from their homes, burglars find the summer a prime season to pay unannounced visits to homeowners. Protection One, a nationwide security firm, offers these preventive tips:

• Secure all windows, including those upstairs, and cut tree limbs away from second-story windows.

• Remove objects that might allow access to your home, such as ladders or trashcans that could be used to enter a window or scale a fence.

• Illuminate entries and install motion lights.

• Install easy-to-read and illuminated address numbers so emergency personnel can easily find your home.

• Report suspicious behavior in the neighborhood.

• Never leave a key hidden outside. Burglars know all the best hiding places.

• Install peepholes and ask to see identification from service and delivery people.

• Install deadbolt locks on exterior entrances.

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July 3, 2009

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