Is your home a target for burglars?

July 8, 2004
Dayton Daily News

Story edited for space

Here's an exercise for you to try: take a walk down the street where you live and think like a burglar.

If you wanted to get into a house, which ones would you pick? Can you tell just by looking that someone is probably away on vacation? Knowing that some people stash keys outside in case they lock themselves out, where would be the first places you would look for a hidden key? If it happens to be dark outside, are there shadowy spots around some of the houses where it would be easy to hide and catch a returning homeowner by surprise when he or she opened the door?

Chances are you'll find some fairly obvious vulnerable spots not only around your neighbors' houses but also around your own.

According to the Burglary Prevention Council, professional burglars don't target the typical house; instead they do extensive surveillance and research on the houses where they know lots of easily sold valuables will be found. I don't know about you, but I don't have any diamond tiaras and da Vinci originals lying around, so I figure I'm safe from the best burglars.

What most of us should worry about is the semi-professional burglary who might spend a few hours casing targets and the rank amateurs, often teenaged males from the neighborhood who strike when they happen across an easy opportunity such as an open window or door.

Lots of people leave home for extended periods in summer, which make July and August the months when burglaries tend to happen most often. But there are simple steps you can take to make your house less vulnerable even if you're going to be away for a while.

If you wish to read the "simple steps", click here.

Commentary:
Here are two things the newspaper does NOT mention as ways to make your house and business less vulnerable to burglary: