The holiday season is upon us! This means different things to people. For some, it is time spent with family, a holiday vacation, and even presents. To criminals, the holiday season means empty homes with vulnerable valuables; valuables that can become gifts for their families and not yours.
Xpress Protection Security would like to remind everyone to be watchful and keep your guard up to protect yourself and your home from burglars this holiday season. We want you to take all necessary precautions to safeguard your houses and businesses. Here are steps you can take to preserve safety:
- Trim any bushes or trees that may provide hiding places for criminals. Check all of the entry points into your home (windows and doors) and make sure they are locked and secure. Sliding glass doors are the easiest points of entry. Install a pin or locking mechanism that prevents the door from being lifted up and out of it tracks, as well as stops it from being opened.
- If your home or business has an alarm system, make sure that you and your family use it, even when you’re home. Alarm systems and visible advertisements (stickers & lawn signs) are some of the best deterrents against home intruders.
- When you leave your home, even to run short errands,make your home look occupied. Putting some of your interior and exterior lights on timers, leaving the TV on or playing the radio are a couple quick ways to prevent burglaries.
- Consider putting up exterior holiday lights. The lights not only will make your house look beautiful, they will also light up your home and yard, making it more difficult for burglars to lurk in darkness around your home.
- Keep the receipts for all your major purchases in a safe place. Take time to record the serial numbers of the property on the
corresponding receipt or on another list. If these items do get stolen, these records will show proof of purchase and greatly help the police in identifying any of the stolen items.
- You should always be very cautious about solicitors, but especially during the holidays. If you have side windows by your entry door, cover them to make scoping out the inside of your home difficult. Also, do not open the door. Talk to them through a locked and secure door. If you did not invite them to your home, they should not be allowed inside.
- If you shop online and will be having merchandise delivered to your home, schedule the deliveries on a day and time when you
will be home and will accept the package. Packages left on doorsteps are susceptible to thieves passing through the neighborhood.
- Many of us will have a brightly lit Christmas tree with presents around it. If the tree and presents are visible through a window or doorway, you could be tempting a burglar scouting the neighborhood. Consider hiding the presents in a bedroom or garage and place them under the tree at the last minute.
- Do not advertise your new high-dollar purchases after the holidays. You should break down boxes of TVs, stereos, computers, etc. so they will fit inside of your trash or recycling bin. If you are not going to keep the boxes for possible returns, try to stagger the time you throw these boxes out.
We always encourage you to NOT advertise any upcoming trips or vacations on social networking sites. Letting people know that your home is unoccupied and vulnerable is an invitation to criminals. Make sure your children and grandchildren are following the same precautions and that they are careful about discussing travel plans with friends.
- If you are traveling for the holidays, ask a trusted neighbor to watch over your home while you are gone. Either have all mail and newspapers collected each day or have your services suspended. Give a key to the person watching the house so they can make your house look occupied, either by turning on lights, turning on the radio, or moving a car in the driveway.
- Notify your local police department that you will be away and provide the contact information for the neighbor who will be watching your home. If you have a monitored security system, also notify them of your absence and the name of the person watching your home.
- If you are traveling but leaving your four legged children at home, consider having that trusted neighbor, a family member, or friend pet sit at your home instead of using a kennel. Dogs of all sizes and barks are a deterrent to burglars.
