Often, the best way to understand something, anything or anyone is to think like it or him. For example, if you want to keep your dog from escaping your yard, you might want to get inside your dog's head-even in the yard-and look at the world from the pup's perspective. Then you can begin to strategize how to proactively put systems in place.
And when it comes to burglary, getting inside a crook's drug-infested head isn't so hard to do.
Burglars want you to:
- Post on Facebook or Twitter that you are traveling and how long you will be gone.
- Tell everyone you know, including contractors and cleaners, that you are not home.
- Leave all your doors unlocked because really, "It won't happen to me."
- Use cheap locks that can be easily picked or bumped.
- Let your bushes overgrow so a burglar can snoop around.
- Not install motion-sensitive lighting so they can go undetected at night.
- Let mail and newspapers pile up when you travel.
- Leave ladders in your back yard for easy access.
- Make sure your home is dark all night, giving it that "we're on vacation" look.
- Place a set of keys in your flowerpot, under the mat or in the mailbox.
- Leave a few windows unlocked.
- Neglect to install an alarm system because you think have nothing to steal anyway.
- Never put lights on timers that would give your home that lived-in look.
- Throw the box from an expensive purchase in the trash so everyone can see it.
- Leave windows open when you leave the home, even if it's just a few minutes, when it's hot out.
