Staying Safe
HOME OR RESIDENTIAL SECURITY
Submitted by Sgt. Larry Stokes
Sgt. Stokes is a patrol supervisor and one of our residential security specialists |
Everyone knows someone who has been the victim of a theft or they have been a victim themselves, right?
Thefts can happen to anyone, at anytime. Having your home burglarized brings on a sense of being violated. The question you have to ask yourself, “What can I do to avoid being the victim of a theft”?
If you are home, there are many ways to prevent someone from taking your property or identity. Let’s look at some small things that you can do to protect yourself while at home:
- Lock your doors and windows even while at home.
Check your doors and the locks. Always have a deadbolt in your exterior doors and your garage door between your residence and your garage. There should also be a plate which covers the door lock itself to keep possible thieves from using something to pry open the door at the lock from the outside. If your door locks are old, replace them. If you do not have a key for your house, get one! (If you have a hide-a-key for your home on the outside, do not tell anyone where it is unless you trust them explicitly)
If your windows are old and the locks are not working, replace them. (How expensive can a couple of window locks be compared to the possibility of losing family heirlooms or thousands of dollars of hard earned property?) By placing a window block in the sill of your exterior windows, you can deter a thief from even opening the window at all. If the window only opens a short distance, then it could stop a thief from even getting in, unless they break a window, thus making more noise, drawing the attention of the neighbors or the police.
Check your windows periodically and make sure the screens are secure and intact. Wooden dowels can be purchased at a hardware store, (they are a cheap piece of insurance) and cut them to the length required for your window track. Simply drop them in the window track slot, and forget about them.
- Door eyeglass holes
At a hardware store of your choice, purchase the glass peepholes that can be installed in exterior doors to allow you to see who is outside while you are inside the door, with the door locked!
- Exterior lighting
At a hardware store of your choice, purchase and install lights that illuminate the exterior of your home. Motion lights generally work the best and can be set to discriminate between small animals and human sized objects. Direct these lights so they will eliminate any shadowy areas. These lights will also provide law enforcement with enough illumination to see if anyone is moving around the outside of your home at night. Make sure you have a certified electrician complete the installation for your safety. But, remember, if your community has a dark skies ordinance, make sure you are in compliance by not shining the light on any other homes, just your own home)
- Interior Lighting and window coverings
When you are gone, you can use timers purchased at any store to set your interior lights to cycle off and on at different times. This gives the illusion that someone is at home to those looking in from the street. You can also have a friend or relative stop by and turn on or turn off different lights as needed. You can also have them move window blinds or coverings to different position to give the illusion someone is home.
- Yard foliage
While I agree that having fences, trees and shrubbery in our yards is nice, they do present some problems. If they are close to the house, here are two obvious things to watch out for; They can hide thieves from being seen by you, your neighbors or the police at night.
Make sure to keep your trees and shrubbery spread apart in your yard so that the shadowed areas can be seen from different angle s during the daylight hours, but still can be seen by car headlights or by flashlight at night.
They can be a potential fire hazard during extreme fire danger years. For the fire prevention problem, make sure to keep an area clean down to the grass or dirt approximately 30 feet from your residence. (For further details, go to; www.firewise.org) or contact the McCall Fire Department at (208) 634-7070.
- Alarm systems
There are two primary alarm systems that people use for residential homes. There are motion type detectors and systems which are activated by crossing the threshold of a door or window, causing a circuit interruption of low level electrical current. There a re too many alarm system brand names and models to list here. Check the telephone book or the internet for alarm companies that can help you determine the best system for your home.
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