The three L’s of home safety are lighting, locking and landscaping. This week, I will discuss these a little more in depth.
Lighting: Keep lights on, both inside and outside of your home. Use motion lights on the exterior wherever it is practical. Remember the backyard when considering lighting, and use light timers inside when you plan to be away.
Locking: Always lock your doors, even when you are home. This includes exterior doors as well as doors leading into the house from the garage. There are specialized locking mechanisms for your garage door available at local home improvement stores.
If you park your car in the driveway, remove the garage door opener. Don’t give thieves an easy way into your home.
Install 1-inch case-hardened steel dead bolt locks on all exterior doors. Buy locks that have four screws as opposed to those with only two.
Keep windows locked, too. Install window locks, dowels and/or alarms for added security. Home security systems, yard signs and window decals can help deter crime.
Don’t forget to lock your vehicle and use a car alarm if available. Please do not leave anything valuable or visible in your car. This includes purses, briefcases, personal identification, musical CDs, etc. Remember, $4 change in the ashtray might not be valuable to you, but it might be to someone else. It can cost you several hundred dollars in repair bills to your vehicle windows.
Landscaping: Imagine you have a prowler outside of your house. You call the police … you want the officers to be able to see the person and arrest them. You don’t want the prowler to be able to hide behind the landscaping on your property.
Help the police by doing the following: Keep the area around your windows and doors free of tall trees/shrubs or other things that obstruct views; leave at least 6-12 inches of space between the ground and bottom of your trees/shrubs. Also keep walkways well lit.
Keep an eye out for your neighbors and report suspicious activities immediately to the police. When one person becomes a victim, we are all potentially the next one.
Tina Ransom is a dispatcher with Boulder City Police Department. She is coordinator of the Boulder City Citizen’s Academy.
