• Aug 11, 2019 Home burglary protection easier than you think
    Gary Sandler
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    Published 11 August 2019

    Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one.

    I described in last week’s column the details of a Saturday morning burglary that took place at the home of my dearest friend. I took away from the experience one simple notion: The burglary could have been prevented.

    Two factors led me to that conclusion. One is that that even though three neighbors noticed unusual activity at my friend’s home that morning, none thought about looking into the situation. The other is the reality that my friend’s home was simply ill protected.

    Would more attention have been paid to the illicit activity if a Neighborhood Watch program had been in place? I think so. The whole purpose of the program is to raise awareness of any unusual neighborhood activity.

    At a minimum, keep your house and garage shades drawn so no one can see your belongings from the outside. And don’t let your mail and newspapers pile up. Next, secure your doors and windows. All exterior doors should be secured with heavy-duty deadbolts ($10 to $20 at Sutherland’s), and can be further beefed up by installing a metal security door in place of your screen door (as little as $79 at Home Depot). You can also use a product such as the Master Lock Security Bar ($17 at Lowe’s), which is a beefy, steel device that fits at a 45-degree angle between the interior doorknob and the floor. The gadget is designed to make it much more difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to kick in your door.

    When it comes to securing patio doors and windows, there are as many ways to get the job done as there are types of openings. In the case of traditional windows and doors that move up and down or slide from side to side, use a patio door pin (about $6 a piece at Ace Hardware). It’s a simple device that prevents anyone from lifting the window or patio door out of its track or sliding it open. The pins fit into holes drilled through the top flange of the door or window and into the frame behind. Most people drill one hole for the closed position and another three or four inches from the first hole. The second pin allows the door or window to be left slightly ajar while at the same time remaining secure.

    Want to make sure your car stays in the garage? Once in your home, it’s easy for burglars to locate the spare keys to your vehicle. A heavy-duty padlock ($12 at Hayden’s Hardware) inserted into the track of the door will make it nearly impossible to open from the inside.

    Need more security? Install a basic security system that detects breaches to entry doors and senses interior movement, dials the alarm company and sets off a siren. Installation is often free, and the monthly monitoring fee runs between $15 and $40. Opt for the digital dialer. It adds a few dollars per month to the cost but it eliminates the possibility of someone severing your phone line and disabling the system. The alarm company signs are also proven deterrents.

    Opting to install an expandable security camera system ($149 at Lowe’s) that can monitor and record exterior and interior movement is also a good idea. For a few dollars more, features such as the ability to tap into the camera from a cell phone or laptop can also be added. When all was said and done, the cost of beefing up a home’s security is often about the same as the cost of an insurance deductible.

    What if the unthinkable happens and you’re burglarized before you have an opportunity to beef up your security? Whether you’re a homeowner or a renter, having insurance to cover the replacement value (rather than the depreciated value) of the stolen items is a must. Before your insurance company will compensate you for your loss, however, they’ll want proof that you actually owned the pilfered items.

    Take digital photos or videos of every room in your house, including closets and drawers. Do the same for the exterior of the property and the garage, and keep track of your receipts. To aid in the recovery of your items and the apprehension of the perpetrators, scratch the last four digits of your Social Security number or some other unique identifier onto your electronic items.

    And for gosh sakes, don’t store the pictures or receipts at home — one small fire or spilled beverage could wipe out your entire body of proof. This exercise, while cumbersome, will give you the muscle you’ll need to arm-wrestle your insurance adjuster into submission.

    Before I go, I want to impress upon you the importance of securing your home. According to the FBI, only 13.6 percent of burglaries committed in the U.S. were solved in 2014. By comparison, the Las Cruces Police Department’s Annual Crime Statistics Report for the same year shows that their clearance rate of 33 percent was significantly above the national average. Kudos to LCPD. Still, the statistics also say that two-thirds of local burglaries go unsolved. If there’s ever a time to be safe rather than sorry, this is it.

    See you at closing.

    Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and owner of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com.

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      Gary Sandler