Take Steps to Burlgar-Proof Your Home

• Keep doors locked. Whether you are home or leaving the house to run a quick errand, it's a good practice to keep doors locked.
• Walk around your house, and go room to room to look for easy ways for intruders to gain entry. Opportunity and access can make your home a target.
• Buy timers that automatically switch lamps and radios on and off when you're not at home. Install a motion detector light over your garage, and at entryways. At night, the lights will go on when you arrive home, or if someone walks up to your house.
• When you move into a new home, have the locks changed immediately. Get a deadbolt lock system. Your installer will provide a lock system for all doors that use the same key.
• Avoid giving copies of your house keys to service providers, such as housekeepers or dog walkers.
• Trim overgrown trees and shrubs around your house that may shield an intruder from view.
• It's never a good idea to allow a stranger into your home, whether the person is asking you to sign a petition or offering to trim your trees. The person may be trying to "case" your home and return later to steal valuables.
• If you are going on vacation, make sure you stop newspaper and mail delivery, or ask a trusted neighbor to collect the items, so they do not pile up at your house.