In 1998, more than 350,000 homes were burglarised in Canada
(Statistics Canada, 1998). There are some simple things that you
can do to help protect your home from break-ins. Here's a few: - Keep shrubs and bushes well trimmed and
away from your doorways. This helps eliminate possible hiding
places for intruders.
- Change your locks if you ever lose your
keys.
- Never hide extra keys outdoors. Door
ledges, mailboxes, or under doormats are the first places
experienced thieves look. If you leave your keys outside, hide them
in an unlikely spot such as in your garage or backyard.
- Consider installing lights or motion
detectors around the exterior of your house.
- Make sure you have secondary locks on all
your windows and doors. The harder it is for someone to break into
your home, the better.
- Engrave your drivers' license number
somewhere on your valuables. Start an inventory of all your
valuables and keep it in a safe hiding place.
- Buy a home alarm system or get a dog that
loves to bark at strangers. Both are great deterrents for
burglars.
- Consider placing valuables, like expensive
jewellery and stocks, in a safety deposit box.
- Be prepared. Make sure trusted neighbours
and friends have a way to reach you, just in case they notice
something strange happening around your home.
- Report suspicious activities in your
neighbourhood such as unknown persons hanging around, slow moving
vehicles circling the block, unusual noises or unfamiliar parked
cars.
When you're away from home:- Try to make it look like someone's still
living there. Use timers on your lights, stereos and televisions,
and ask a neighbour or friend to pick up your mail and cut your
grass.
- Make sure you let your neighbours know if
you're planning to be away, even if it's just for the weekend. That
way, they can keep an eye out for any unusual activity around your
home.
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