How You Can Avoid Being a Burglary Victim

Jacksonville can be a great place to live with a consistently warm sunny temperature and beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, a downside is the city’s property crime rates, including burglaries. Despite falling numbers in crimes over the past few years, property crime rates still remain higher than the national average. The good news is that most burglars are inexperienced and easy to thwart. By taking some simple precautions, you could avoid becoming a victim of a home burglary.
Look Around Your Home
The first step to avoid becoming victims is to prevent a burglary from occurring in the first place. Burglars look for an easy target to hit, and some of the most common mistakes homeowners make include leaving a house key under a doormat or an obviously fake rock, poorly lit homes, doors that are just out of street view, or shrubs and trees that either block the view of your home or can be used as cover.

• An entry door with glass panels or window that can be broken, allowing a burglar to reach in and unlock it
• Doors without heavy-duty deadbolts or reinforced door frames that can easily be kicked in
• Burnt-out exterior lights
• Small entrances such as mail slots, pet doors, or dryer vents
• Ladders or tools left in the yard that could assist a burglar in breaking into your home
• Trees or latticework that could make it easy for a burglar to access second-level windows
• Unprotected basement or ground-level windows

Be Smart and Guarded
Make yourself familiar with your neighborhood and know who your neighbors are. There is strength in numbers when you and your neighbors watch out for one another. Trust your instincts when you think you see something out of the ordinary in your neighborhood. Always ask for credentials from repairmen and never let someone you don’t know into your home.

• Don’t post on social media or tell people you don’t know well that you are going away on vacation. Instead wait until you return to post photos of your trip.
• Keep a list and take photographs or a video of your valuables for insurance purposes.
• Invest in a safe to keep valuables secure.
• When purchasing, selling, or giving items away on online sites, arrange to meet people at a public location with others present instead of your home.

A Good Way to Discourage Burglars
Putting up a fake sign or placing decals on your windows that you picked up at a big box home improvement store will not protect your home. Neither will a sign proudly proclaiming your home is protected by Smith and Wesson either. All that accomplishes is telling would-be burglars you have guns in your home for them to steal.