The best defense is prevention, learning to live alert to your surroundings and using common sense.
We’ve compiled some suggested daily life rules and tips to reduce your possibility of becoming a victim. You probably know many of them, but just in case, we hope we can bring you something new!
– Know your neighbors; Stay alert to irregular things that are happening. Make a neighborhood watch group, if you don’t already have one.
– Analyze the security of your doors and windows. Install safety gates with armored locks, and also always install a “magic eye”, select the one that allows you to see more of the outside area and visitors.
– When installing grilles for windows facing the street, make sure the metal structure does not serve as a ladder for access to upper floors. Also, install bars on bathroom skylights, basement windows, and any point of access to the roof. Along these same lines, make sure you trim back trees and tall shrubs next to your house. At A-Top Roofing & Construction, they recommend that all of their clients do this to prevent not just thieves but also unwanted critters from entering the house.
– If you are able, install electronic devices, preferably an audible alarm connected to a security company.
– Install a good lighting system outside that includes, at least, a light that turns on automatically through a sensor.
– Consider buying a dog.
– Restrict the possession of keys to your house. Avoid leaving them with the concierge or domestic staff. Change your locks if you have lost any of your keys. Definitely avoid moving into houses that have been previously occupied.
– Do not leave messages on the phone indicating you are away from home or on vacation; leave a message indicating that you are busy and to return the call.
– Do not store keys beneath a mat or under a potted plant; they are obvious and known hideouts.
– Keep emergency numbers by the phone listed or recorded in the memory of your phone.
– Keep your doors locked. It is logical and it sounds simple, but more than 40% of the thieves enter homes through open doors.
– Do not accept the entry of strangers. Often thieves use decoys to gain entrance into a home. They may pose as people who offer sales and / or repair of electrical equipment, persons seeking cooperation in social work, and even people in an emergency. Do not accept the entry of such people as they might be scoping out your house. In a case like this tell them you will call upon the appropriate parties.
– Check the identification of those working for utilities (Electric, Light, Water, Gas, etc.) and be wary especially if you have not requested their services.
– When hiring staff, ask for their identity cards and make a photocopy. Do a background check if possible. Instruct them that when you are not at home to not give information about your hours of arrival or departure, travel or vacation plans etc., and also comply with the other standards described in this guide.
– Try to change your daily routine. Thieves often study the your movements, and can get to know what time you are gone, and how long it takes to return.
– Do not be predictable. Burglars know your favorite places to hide valuables: drawers, refrigerators, mattresses, boxes of cookies, etc. Be sure to have some more unpredictable places to hide valuables.
– Avoid large amounts of money and jewelry in the house. Thieves are always looking for easy money like jewelry, silver, cameras, small electronics. Have a safety deposit box for storing small things. If possible invest in furniture that your equipment can be attached to. Thieves are always looking to get in and out quickly.
– When storing valuables (jewelry, money, documents, firearms, electronics, etc.) in your home, make sure they are safe from theft and fire.
– Keep an inventory of your property, which identifies the type, make, model, and a serial number of weapons, appliances, electronics, photography, video, sound, and so on. If possible, keep purchase invoices, an important proof of ownership. All this will also be very useful if you have to report to the police a robbery or make a claim to your insurance company.
– We must get used to notifying the police of all reportable facts, even if we think that our complaints will not be considered. Many criminals are free because they are not reported. Trust in the police and help them serve us better.
– Have and practice a plan of defense of your home. Each of the family members should know the role they assume in the event of an emergency as this will speed up actions to take and increase the chances of success in the defense.
– If you have a gun, do not shoot before fully identifying the target (if you know to use it; if not, please DO NOT USE!). If an attacker gets hurt, keep them under the gun thereby controlling the situation. Do not approach or try to register until the police take charge of the situation or you have full assurance that the invader no longer poses a threat. They can be pretending.
– Encourage your family to have knowledge of first aid. Keep a kit containing compressors, tourniquets, a flashlight, a small fire extinguisher, and a list of emergency phone numbers (police, fire, etc.)
– It is important to have an updated list of household members and a photograph of each of them. You should also keep a list containing their names, places of work, dates of birth, heights and weights, nationalities, races, colors of eyes and hair, visible marks, corrective lenses, medical needs or health problems..
