How to Avoid Burglars and Break-ins

While crime in Clawson is statistically very low, a recent police report of led the Clawson Patch to ask Police Chief Harry Anderson for tips on how residents can best keep their homes and cars safe from burglars.

A good first step is to think like a thief, Anderson said, and use common sense.

Take a walk around the inside and outside of your house and try to think like a burglar who would like to break in undetected, and get away quick. They like the path of least resistence. If not, they'll move on to an easier target.

“Criminals are looking for safe targets,” Anderson said. “So the best thing you can do is make your house ‘unappealing’ from the burglar’s perspective.”

That means properly secure all entry-ways into your home – especially the doors and windows on your house and your garage. Also, avoid having shrubs covering windows or providing places for thieves to hide.

Keep your house well lit at night; timers and motion sensors are also very helpful.

If you’re away for periods at a time, close your curtains and blinds, keep your lights on timers, and stop your mail and/or newspaper, or make arrangements with neighbors.

In police terms, these common-sense items are called “target hardening" – making your home a more difficult target for would-be crooks.

Cars and Common Sense

Among the most common personal property larcenies are vehicles being broken into. And while cars technically might be “softer targets” than homes, simple common sense precautions can significantly reduce your risk, Anderson said.

Lock your doors. According to Anderson, many people, despite the fact that a locked car is much more difficult to break into, still leave valuables in their cars and do not lock the doors.

“It’s nice that people feel so safe here, but you’d still be surprised how many times people don’t lock their car doors,” he said.

Anderson also recommends that residents never leave valuables in a car – locked or not – and in plain sight. Laptop computers, cell phones are the most common items stolen from parked cars.

He also recommends parking your car up in the driveway and not on the street if at all possible – again, avoid being an easy target.

“Burglars don’t like to go near or in-between homes,” he said.

Be Vigilant

Keep your eyes open to what’s going on around you and your home, Anderson said, and watch out for people wandering around parked cars, looking into them, and otherwise out of place.

If you suspect something or someone out of place, call the

“Trust your sixth sense because quite often it pans out to be something,” he said. “The worst thing is it’s nothing.”

And get a dog, Anderson said. Any breed will do, just as long as it barks.

“I’ve interviewed a lot of burglars and they say they don’t like animals, especially dogs,” he said. “Even a small dog in a house, because if it makes a lot of noise, that will send them somewhere else."

Securing Doors and Windows

Here is a check list to help make your home a more difficult target:

• A solid wood or steel exterior door with a deadbolt lock works best. A strike plate secured to the door jamb with three-inch screws into the framing is recommended.

• Electric garage openers are usually more secure.

• Avoid windows on exterior doors that can be quietly broken and allow access to the door lock.

• Sliding door-walls should have screws to prevent the door from being lifted from its track. Also, use additional security devices such as a pipe or dowel rod to prevent the door from being pried open.

• Windows are the least secure entryways into the typical home. Sash windows should have a proper sash lock. Ground level windows should be glass block instead of the typical sash window to improve security.