Crime Prevention Tip of the Month
Garage Security

January 2005
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Dear Reader,

Welcome to the Crime Prevention Tip of the Month. I am a working Police Officer with 30 years experience with a major North American Police Service. My involvement in Crime Prevention has spanned 9 years, and my specialty lies with Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). In my position, I consult with homeowners, businesses and developers in their attempt to "design out" crime.

I am a strong believer in the use of visual and physical deterrents to raise the level of a premise's protection.

Close your garage door!!!
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The most common type of break-in to a residence is into the garage. And that's often as far as thieves will go. Why? Because your garage contains all kinds of things worth money: bicycles, tools, lawn mowers, golf clubs, other sports gear and Bar-B-Ques. And get this. In most cases the bad guy need do nothing more than walk in and take it.

There are 3 really common scenarios in this type of invasion. In the first, Joe Homeowner gets, say, the lawn mower out of the garage. He's going to close the door, but decides to see if the thing will start first. One thing leads to another and, while Joe is finishing up the back lawn, somebody else is giving new meaning to "cleaning out the garage".

Drive down a few residential streets tonight. You can tell who's home and who isn't by the open garage doors. People tend to not bother closing the door if they're just running to the corner store or dropping the kid off at soccer practice. They'll only be gone a few minutes.

Here's the bad news. Crooks don't need a few minutes. They only need a few seconds.

The third way people get into your garage is, believe it or not, through your car. What happens is that the car is left on the street with the garage door opener clearly visible. The thief breaks into the car, ransacks it, then opens the garage and saunters right in. You can ensure this doesn't happen to you by using a key fob type opener rather than one you keep in your car.

It's also important to remember that, for many of you, your garage affords direct access to your home. And it often contains the tools needed to get through the connecting door. Protecting your garage is just as important to your security as protecting your doors and windows. Once again, all it takes is a little common sense.

Can We Help?
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Questions about securing your home or business? Send us an email. We'll respond in the next edition of the newsletter.

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