Leaving Town?
Many people their out-of-town plans on social media. To prevent break-ins and burglaries, you should consider the following:
Leave front and rear light in your house on the entire time. This is a small fee for security.
Leave a car in the driveway or ask a neighbor to park one in your driveway.
Invest in small signs that say “beware of dog” or “premises under video surveillance” and place them by the front and rear of the property.
The perception that the house is occupied is reality for the criminal.
Parking Lots
You may be tempted to keep presents in your back seat while you go store to store and shop.
Avoid this at all costs and avoid leaving your personal tablet, computer, or GPS out in the open. You are more likely to be robbed of the possessions inside your car than to get your car stolen.
Covering gifts with a blanket isn’t recommended either, as thieves are seasoned at what they do and they can tell the difference. Put all valuables in the trunk. This is a safe, secure and out-of-sight area ideal for this purpose.
You may think “What does a criminal want with my kid’s toys or a set of tools/”
On Craigslist and e-Bay, selling “New” items is easy and 100% profit for criminals. It’s not a pawn shop where serial numbers are checked and they are most likely never going to get caught.
Purses & Wallets
Carry your purse/wallet in front of you, close to your body. Purse snatchings happen because it’s a complete ambush.
You can’t see the criminal yet, but they can see your purse/wallet and can time the attack to their advantage.
When you carry it in front, it remains out of sight to anyone you can’t actually see. This forces them to have to commit the crime in your field of view and isn’t vert appealing to them.
Curbside Criminals
Home burglaries go up after Christmas due to the influx of new and expensive items to steal. More importantly, it’s because it’s very easy to see what merchandise is in what house just by looking at the boxes on your curb (i.e. large screen TV box, jewelry boxes, tools, bikes, etc.).
Purchase large 50 gallon trash bags, fold/breakdown the most visible merchandise boxes, and place them in the bags.
Place bags on the curb only on the day of pick up to avoid the night time prowlers who break open bags to check out what may be in your house.
This is called “window shopping” for criminals.
Children
It’s Christmas morning and your child has a new bike or scooter he wants to play with. Consider the following for safety:
When backing a car out, it’s difficult to see a small child behind you, especially in a SUV or full size truck.
There will be more “family traffic” in your neighborhood to be concerned with.
As a parent, you may be preoccupied with holiday details leaving the kids a little less supervised.
NOTE: Be vigilant about your children’s safety during the holidays. Many tragedies occur during the holidays. Accidents do not care that it’s Christmas, so communicate to your child all of your safety expectations.
Vehicle Safety
The second you park your vehicle or get into it you should immediately “lock & relocate”.
The amount of people who fall victim to a criminal because they have to see what their smart phone notifications are is out of control.
Lock your doors and check your phone at a red light or once you are in a safe area.
By sitting in vehicle, distracted, you are a sitting duck.
