Residence Safety Steps

Take these steps on your own to help prevent your residence from becoming a target of criminal activity:

• Make arraignments for mail and newspaper to be stopped or picked up by family or neighbors.
• Leave shades / blinds in normal positions.
• Use automatic timers on lights, radios and TVs to give the appearance of someone being home; set the timers so they will turn on and off at random times in different rooms.
• Give a spare key to a trusted neighbor or family in case of emergency.
• Lock all doors and windows including the garage, storage sheds and gates.
• Make arraignments to have someone move your cars around or park their car in your driveway on different days and at different times.
• Arrange to have the lawn mowed, leaves raked and snow plowed.
• Keep jewelry and other valuables in places other than the master bedroom (this is the first place a burglar looks).
• Ask a neighbor to put out your garbage cans or bring them in from the street / curb.
• Limit who you broadcast your travel plans to.
• Turn down ringers and answering machines. An unanswered telephone is a dead giveaway.
• Be sure you don't announce your absence on your answering machine message.
• Engrave all your valuables with your driver's license number. If possible videotape the contents of your home. Be sure to keep the video and the list of valuables in a safety deposit box.
• Be sure someone knows your itinerary and your estimated time of arrival and return.
• Leave emergency numbers with family or neighbors.