As many Hollywood films portray, Christmas and New Year are the season of giving — but also stealing. Ho, ho, ho! Homes filled with expensive electronics, priceless jewelry, and wads of cash are irresistible to uninvited guests not only coming down the chimney but also through window or carelessly unlocked back door.
In fact, about a couple of million residential burglaries on average are reported during the Christmas season. About one in every six of these Christmas burglaries occur while someone is home. Such home invasion usually result in a violent crime and the tragic loss of human life.
There are a number of measures that can be undertaken to mitigate the risk of burglary or home invasion. Perhaps the surest way to stay safe is to go away for the holidays. You are always at risk of burglary but going away for the holidays will keep your family safe and secure at a time of highest risk. Various monitoring systems and Internet-controlled lighting systems are economically available to give the appearance someone is home while you are away. Therefore, you don’t lose the greatest deterrence — someone being home — despite taking no risk whatsoever.
Homeowners who have existing alarm system can exponentially increase their safety by upgrading from a traditional touch-key pad to a fingerprint pad. These also usually keep a log of who accessed the pad and when. Although by no means impregnable, biometric technology allows you to narrow the class and category of intruder from whom you might be at risk for a reasonably affordable expenditure.
Professional burglars thoroughly investigate the little details that the average person completely ignores. If you go away for the holidays, or at any other time, a totally free of charge strategy to keep your home safe is holding your correspondence at the post office. Criminals notice if mail accumulates because this is the best way they know if no one is home. Automatic light timers will not fool a diligent thief. When you are away, put a hold on your mail and newspaper subscriptions.
This year, keep your family’s safety your top priority. Try different tips and find the unique combination that is best for you. Remember that being unique is the best way to keep burglars away as they look for routine and uniformity.
Call us if you need us. (317) 569-1335.
