Rule #1 for burglars: No sleeping on the job. In California, a resident came home to find the formerly clean kitchen a little messy, food gone and a "burglar" (Ham-Burglar, anyone?) sleeping in the shed in the back yard.
The Sacramento Bee reports, "When they arrived, officers said they found [the burglar] inside a shed on the property. They later determined that he had broken into the house, ate some food and took a nap. He was awakened when the resident returned home."
OK, so is he a burglar or just a homeless guy looking for food? Chances are the guy's relatively harmless, but why make it easy for him to break into a home...or did he just walk into the back yard and open an unlocked door? Come on, people! Whether it's a crazy, hatchet-wielding home invader, a brazen, door-smashing burglar or a harmless hobo, you need to take certain precautions before you are targeted!
- Lock your doors! Getting good-quality locks and using those things called keys is the first step in home security.
- Lock your windows! OK, sure, windows can easily be broken. But bad guys don't like getting cut by glass any more than you do, and chances are that if they smash a window, someone's going to hear it.
- Use security signage! If you have a "This Home is Alarmed" sign along with "Beware of Dog!" or even "Smile: Video surveillance in Use" ones, you reduce your chances of your home being broken into.
- Alarm your home! It's pretty simple: If your home security system is set when you're home or away and a door or window is opened, the alarm goes off, sirens blaze and the police are called. No napping burglars allowed.
Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.
