According to a community alert from Chicago Police, the number of burglaries in the city and suburbs is not going to decrease. The problem of being poorly protected is quite common for today houses, and the deceptive idea, that it can happen to everyone except you, makes matters even worse.
So how to ensure your premises are absolutely saved and to make your family members feel secure? First of all, let’s sort out the ways burglaries usually perform and see how not to become a victim of easy money fans.
Target Selection
The thought, that the most of the outlaws prefer to act under cover of darkness, is just another urban myth. Of course, when the malefactor knows, you are spending your holiday in the country or somewhere else, he will choose to perform his shady transaction at night, but in fact, the most house burglaries happen by daytime, when the owners are at work and their children are at school or kinder garden.
The process of selecting the victim is quite simple. You are in danger if you:
- Own a secluded private house.
- Live on the corner (easier to escape and less “nosy neibours”).
- Have a poor lighting (reduces a burglar’s visibility).
- Live in a house with sliding glass doors.
- Have a bad habit of leaving the windows or even doors open.
- Disregard the necessity of installing security camera systems for enhancing the safety.
Want a piece of some really outstanding information? Seven minutes – that is how much the professional burglar needs to crack a crib, and sometimes even 20 seconds are quite enough.
What can be stolen and where to hide it?
The days, when the expensive furniture and large electronic equipment were of the biggest interest to burglars, are long gone. Today in their “must-to-steal” list there are compact but valuable things:
- Small devices, which are easy to carry (laptops, netbooks, tablet computers etc.)
- Jewelry and money (what a surprise, yeah?)
- Weapons
With a view to protecting the most costly goods forget about hiding it under the mattress, in medicine cabinets and other plain places, the malefactor will check first of all. Also, you have to break the habit of throwing important staff into the kitchen “junk drawer” because some ingenious burglars can stick it into a bag even without looking. So the best way to save your valuables is to get the reliable and solid safe or simply to keep goods in some unpredictable places:
- 1) Attic
- 2) Basement
- 3) Children’s’ bedrooms
- 4) Broom closet
- 5) Kitchen
Five steps to protect your house from Chicago burglars
There are several simple methods of enhancing your home security:
1. Try to maintain good relations with your neighbors: in some cases their intervention is much more effective than both alarms and dogs, so make them know about your vacations before leaving.
2. Be careful with your spare keys: they don’t have to be left outside even in emergency occasions.
3. Control the quality of your locks: do a lock replacement as soon as is starts to wear down, otherwise it will turn into a serious tear in your home security.
4. Install the security system after all: it substantially increases the chances of not being robbed.
5. Be more accurate: don’t forget to lock all the doors and window, don’t lost your keys and don’t advertise loudly your new expensive purchases.
Of course, there are much more methods of enhancing your home security: upgrading the lighting and improving security systems, getting a dog or making sure you got your house insurance. But still the best way not to leave the burglars any chance is to stay judicious and level-headed in all situations.