April Showers Bring May......Thieves?

Pasco Police: Home Burglaries Up

Police in West Pasco, Washington are noticing an increase in burglaries and home invasions in the past two months. The thieves appear to be following a consistent pattern in their actions. I'm drawing your attention to this article, not because its unique, but because its relatively standard operating procedure for thieves.

In the article, the burglars are showing up during the day, going to homes that don't appear to have anyone there, knocking, and if they receive no answer, kicking in the doors. This is useful information for a homeowner because it allows you to take action to protect yourself.

The first step is to prevent the thieves from ever coming up your driveway. Anything you can do to make them think that you're home is a plus. During the night, thats obviously much easier, with automated lights, fake tv modules, etc. During the day, it's a little trickier, but you can probably discover one or two things to help. The next step is the knock at the door. Here is really the time that a security system, with yard or window signs will help. The article points out that thieves are not targeting specific houses. Rather they are targeting homes that appear empty at the time. We can safely presume that they don't want to get caught and will probably look elsewhere if there is a functioning, monitored home security system in place. This will hopefully deter them, but if it doesn't, at least your monitoring company will notify police. If you have a home security camera, the chances are even better that you'll catch the criminals. Just remember, your goal is to first prevent them from coming onto your property. If they do, you want to deter them from attempting to enter your home. You do this by making the robbery look like it will be more trouble than its worth. Finally, in the event of a break-in, you want to notify police immediately.

Now thats all for the home security side. The second part is a little scarier. In the article, they mention that thieves try to enter the home if someone is there when they knock. So, what do you do in this case? First, you should have some sort of peephole or a window that you can safely look through. If you don't know who it is, Do not open the door! In fact, what you should do is lock the door, if its not already so, and speak to the person through the door itself. If you feel uncomfortable at all with the person at your door, ask them to leave and call the police to report the suspicious activity. If you live in an area where this is happening, it would be worth it to purchase a driveway alarm for your front door. That way you will know someone is approaching and can respond before they kick in your door. Being prepared is the best way to avoid being a victim.

On a side note, I want to say that this post is not designed to frighten you. It is designed, like all of the other posts, to make you aware of potential threats and to give you the tools necessary so that you can have peace of mind and truly feel safe in your own home (as you should).