Safe City by Robert Hessel

Author:Robert Hessel [Robert Hessel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Published: 2018-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 3

Home Safe and Sound

Although burglary is one of the easiest crimes to prevent, it’s also one of the most common threats to homeowners (and renters) around the country. Like many homeowners, you may not even realize all the little things that make your home more vulnerable to intruders and property crime. While some burglaries are a crime of opportunity, many burglaries aren’t as random as they seem. Many intruders often use a selection process. When choosing a target, they look for unoccupied homes and narrow their choices based on which ones have the easiest access, most available hiding places and best escape routes. A good criminal can burglarize your home in less than 10 minutes. As a homeowner, your job is to make their criminal activity as risky and difficult as possible. Some of the best defenses are those that impede intruders from getting inside at all.

According to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, there are more than two million burglaries reported every year in the U.S. In 2013, the nation saw more than 5,400 burglaries reported every day, which adds up to one burglary about every 16 seconds. When your home becomes part of this statistic, you don’t just lose your valuables, you feel violated and lose your sense of safety and security.

Coming home to discover a break-in is frightening enough, but this trauma is even more intense for those who are home during the crime. According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), a member of the household is home in nearly three out of every 10 burglaries and 7% of these people experience some type of violence during the event. Burglaries are inherently a non-confrontational property crime. However, unexpected persons discovered inside the house or unsuspecting people returning home during the crime can turn a B & E (breaking and entering) into a violent standoff when the burglar flees to avoid being caught. Worse still are home invasions when intruders intentionally enter an occupied house with not only robbery, but also physical violence, the intended purpose.

If you don’t want you or your home to become a statistic, deter intruders by “hardening” the target to make your residence less vulnerable. Professional burglars may “case” homes for several days and research individual homeowners or entire neighborhoods prior to choosing likely targets. Research shows that burglars generally bypass houses that require too much effort, time and/or noise to gain access. Experienced burglars look for easy targets, because their goal is to quickly break in, grab expensive items they can easily convert to cash and escape unnoticed. If it takes more than a few minutes to break-in, burglars often abandon their intended target for an easier one.

Strengthening your home’s defenses helps prevent it from being an easy mark. You can accomplish this in a number of ways. Start by keeping all your windows and doors closed and locked and installing high-quality doors and locks. You can eliminate hiding places and blind spots by clearing up

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