With the good news last week of my Dad getting released from the hospital came some bad. While I was back home helping Mom some thieving bastards decided to break into my house. While I was very fortunate and did not lose much, it still quickly adds up dollar wise...and it makes me furious. I lost my room tv/computer monitor (a 32" LED), a bunch of tool sets (that's the one that really pisses me off) and an extra PS3. Not much in the big picture, but definitely enough. Anyway, here are some tips that I will pass on. While I hope none of you need them, they are good reminders anyway...
1. Photograph all of your valuables. For electronics, photograph the front and turn them around and take a zoomed-in photo of the back, capturing the model and serial numbers. Thanks to a discussion I had a while back with a detective, I did this, and I stand a greater chance of getting the thieves caught/my stuff back if they try to pawn it. I also have an easier time proving to insurance what I had.
2. Take those same pics with your cell phone camera and back them up to multiple devices. If you take them with a digital camera and stick it in a drawer, guess what: it'll probably be gone too. Your cell phone will most likely be on your person and thus will probably not end up stolen...you can also have the information easily at hand for the police.
3. If at all possible, make the deadbolt on your house's back door key-only from the INSIDE as well as the out. While a slight pain in the butt to have to have your keys on you to open the door, having my door this way most likely saved my larger possessions, because the thieves couldn't get the back door open to easily haul stuff out.
4. If you do suffer from a break-in, don't disturb the crime scene if at all possible even after the patrol officers leave, preferably for at least a day. I got a follow-up visit from some detectives and the CSI unit the next morning.
5. Have your alarm checked every other month. If you have a room with a glassbreak/vibration sensor, leave the door open so it stands a greater chance of picking up a break-in that does not happen in the room with the sensor. Make sure you have enough motion sensors to cover every route through the house.
6. Exterior lighting is your friend. The very week that my back porch light went out (I tried to replace it before I left, but the fixture itself was bad) was the week that my house got broken into. Now, besides a brighter, working back porch light the rear of my house also spots a motion-sensor LED spotlight that can probably be viewed from space.
7. If you rent your place, for Heaven's sake get renter's insurance. It's usually available from the same people you get your car insurance from (and you will probably get a discount on it as a package deal). Mine costs me just $40 a year. The value of stuff I lost from a SMALL break-in was $2000. It just paid for itself many times over.
8. Never make it obvious that you're leaving for a while. I seriously believe that I was being watched. Wheeling a big suitcase out to your car is like staking a sign in the front yard announcing that you will be gone for several days. Pack and load your car the day before you are supposed to leave, if you can...and it's easier to find items you would have otherwise forgotten to take with you that way, too.
9. An engraving tool will cost you around $25 at a home improvement center. Using it to engrave your initials on items like tools will make the thieves less likely to steal them and increase your recovery chances, too. It's hard for a pawn shop to deny that the tools in the tool box that just happen to have your initials engraved on them are yours.
10. While not an option for me, the police told me that a dog is just about the best theft deterrent there is. It doesn't necessarily have to be a pit bull or a rottweiler either.
While I seriously hope none of you ever need my tips, I hope I have at least given you food for thought and made you reevaluate your home security system.
