From: Morganstern, Joel D. Subject: Protecting your home.
Do you know what to do to make your home safe from burglary?
You can help protect your family, home and other possessions by investing a small amount of time and money. Most burglars will spend no longer then 60 seconds trying to break into a home.
The majority of residential burglaries – about 85% -- are carried out by youthful amateurs. Most residential burglaries are crimes of opportunity. The burglars devote little time to advance planning. If their advance checking and examination of the potential target reveals a risk greater then anticipated, they often move onto what they perceive to be a safer or easier target. The more the homeowner does to keep the home from looking like an easy target, the safer the home usually is.
It is recognized that good lighting is a deterrent to crime. Can a burglar or vandal hide in the shadows of the night around your home? One of the best sources of cost effective protection around your home is adequate exterior lighting. Lighting has proven to be an effective deterrent against crime.
Do you have a privacy fence obstructing the view of your backyard? By providing concealment, privacy fencing is a disadvantage to home security. You can eliminate this disadvantage by removing every other slat to allow greater visibility. Planting hostile-type plants to cover the outside of the fence, such as roses with large thorns. When building a fence, have the cross rails placed inside.
What about your trees, shrubs and landscaping? Could a potential criminal hide there? The security of your home depends on visibility. Your home should maintain the visibility so that neighbors and patrol cars can watch for illegal activity. Ornamental plant growth should be kept well trimmed, especially around doors and windows, where a person could hide while breaking into your home.
While planning your landscaping, you might consider discouraging intruders from window areas by planting prickly plants, such as roses, some hollies, etc.
Can you see who is outside before you open the door? Install a wide angel viewer (peephole) in the door. Is the door sold core? Is it metal? Is it cracking or splitting? How thick is it? Not only your front door, but all of your exterior doors and the door between your house and the garage should be solid core construction or heavy gauge metal with a minimum thickness of 1 3/8 inches. A thinner door may give if kicked. If your door is the panel type, make sure joints and panels are well glued, not split or rotten. Are your French or double doors secure? One of the doors must be inactive. You can do this by installing flush bolts at the top and bottom of the door secured into metal striker plats. A deadbolt should be on the active door. Sliding glass doors are vulnerable to attacks. Secure sliding doors opening the door and then putting screws into the top track. Turn to screws until you had enough clearance to close the door, but it can not be lifted up and off the track.
The strike plate on your door that the bolt goes into should have at least 3 inch wood screws. You can purchase a heavier gauge security strike plate using longer screws. The screws should take you past the frame into the structural 2 x 4s. It does not matter how much money you spend on a lock. The burglar is not going to defeat the lock, he is going to defeat the frame. One good kick and the frame is broken. He will be in your house, but your $100 lock is still intact.
Are any of your hinges exposed on the outside? While checking out all of your exterior doors, look at the hinges. If your hinges are exposed on the outside. We recommend you replace the hinges with non-removable hinge pins.
Where is your garage door opener? Is it in your vehicle. Is it in your car you left for service? Treat your garage door opener with as much security as you do your house key. It is an electronic key to your home.
Do you have the old fashioned lock in the knob type. This type of lock offers you privacy and convenience but not security. In fact, many can be opened by simply using a credit card of screwdriver. For safety, you need a secure lock. A deadbolt lock is recommended with the following features.
- A single cylinder.
- A minimum 1 inch bolt throw
What about the garage door itself? Is it deteriorating? Does it have windows? Keep garage doors closed and locked at all times.
Doors are usually the burglar’s first choice of entry into a home. Believe it or not, some residents leave exterior doors unlocked. It does not matter how good of a lock you have on your door, or a reinforced striker plate, if you leave your door unlocked. Even if you are home, working in your backyard, keep your garage door closed and your front door locked.
One of the best crime prevention tools is simply neighbors looking out for each other and reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement. Neighborhood Watch is a voluntary program organized by concerned citizens to reduce crime in their communities.
If you would like to organize a Neighborhood Watch, have a Residential Security Survey done on your property, or for any other helpful crime prevention tips, please feel free to contact Joel Morganstern, Crime Prevention Specialist, P.B.S.O. District #14 at 202-9623 or morgansternj@pbso.org. We also have a C.O.P. Unite (Citizen’s on Patrol) in District #14 with 3 cars available to drive. Uniforms and training are provided. You can patrol your neighborhood, and be our Eyes & Ears. If you contact me I will supply you with more information on that as well.
If you take the time to browse any of the major home supply stores, locksmith or hardware stores you can become familiar with items to “Target Harden” your home, such as exterior lighting, motion detector lighting, reinforced striker plates, door viewers, door hinges auxiliary locks and “
Sgt. Meloy – C.O.P. Captain is Bernie Siler – 540-4303
