Realtor Safety 911

This doesn’t have to do with Realtor Safety while conducting your business, but this does have to do with keeping yourself and your home safe, so in a way, it does. Definitely read on-Courtesy of Cheryl Watterson

Home Security 911
Protecting Your Car Can Ultimately Prevent A Home Burglary

Does that statement arouse your curiosity? A lot of criminals aren’t smart enough to get a job and work for a living, but they are smart enough to figure out that if there is a vehicle with South Bend, Indiana license plates sitting in front of the Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis - then maybe nobody is home in South Bend.

What do home burglars and robbers love most of all? An easy home to break into - one where no one is home for hours or even days.

There is the new game being played by a lot of criminal car thief/home burglar gang types. They all work together either locally in their community or in different counties and cities throughout their particular state. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours – meaning you send me business and I’ll send you business.

So this criminal burglar in Indianapolis finds an upscale vehicle with out of town plates. He breaks into the vehicle by smashing the side window and gets into the glove compartment and finds the owner’s vehicle registration, a pay stub and maybe even the garage door opener. Depending upon where the residence is located, the criminal thief just got your most important information – your name, home address, and phone number

The criminal thief now can contact his “partners in crime” in South Bend to have them call the phone number to see if anyone is home. If there is no answer at the residence, then the whole family may be away. It’s time for the home burglars to go checkout the address to see if anyone really is home. At this point your home may become a prime target and an easy home to break into!

If the criminal thief/burglar busted into a car from his own town and found all of the owner’s information plus the garage door opener, then this is going to be a piece of cake home break-in!

This type of criminal activity was reported recently in Canton Township near Detroit, Michigan. The savvy criminals are finding exactly what they need in people’s vehicle and are able to slip into the victim’s home with the use of the garage door opener without  being caught and stealing the homeowner’s valuables. In fact, in early December 2008 the Canton Police were reporting a rash of car break-ins that were tied to home burglaries.

So what can you do to prevent this type of criminal activity from happening to you?

First of all make your vehicle (much like your home) difficult to get into and always keep it locked when not in it - even if you just run into the convenient store.

-Keep valuables out of site or place them in the trunk of your vehicle. Or better yet - leave them at home and not in your car.

-Lock your glove compartment if you keep important documents with your name, address, and phone number on it as well as your garage door opener.

-Consider getting a car alarm for your vehicle since noise is one of the biggest deterrents to a car break-in crime. When a loud decibel alarm goes off the criminal will likely leave the area so as not to get caught or be detected.

-Look into placing ShatterGARD Security Film on your car windows to prevent someone from actually breaking through the glass. ShatterGARD is a relatively inexpensive way to make your car windows virtually impenetrable to a break through.

-If you have a car break-in and find your vehicle registration and garage door opener missing, immediately file a report with the local police AND notify the police in your area if you are from out-of-town. Also, alert your neighbors to keep an eye out for any strange vehicles or people around your home.

-Install a security alarm system in your home. When you are traveling away from home, who is protecting  your home and family while they are home alone? A good quality security system gives you the peace of mind of knowing whether you are home or away, the police and others will be notified if there is an attempted break-in at your home.
-Be security conscious and proactive so you don’t become a victim of this type of criminal activity. These criminals have nothing better to do than to come up with schemes on how to rob and steal from law-abiding citizens. Try to stay one step ahead of the criminal – BE AWARE & BE PROACTIVE IN YOUR PERSONAL AND HOME SECURITY.

Let’s make it a habit to be more aware of our surroundings and make our vehicles less of a target…the same as we do for our home.  If you have a car alarm, be sure to put a warning sticker on the window to alert a would-be car thief. We need to make the criminal’s job as difficult as possible – whether we are traveling or at home.

Lastly, protect your home and family 24/7 by installing a security alarm system. (Click here to see Special Home Security Package and bonus personal protection package).

Take care and protect your home and family….

Cheryl

Thank you Cheryl for another excellent article on our personal safety and security. You have it going on.