| When people think of burglars, they tend to think of | | | | found. Thieves won't waste their time looking |
| a wiry individual, clad in black, sneaking their way | | | | through a dresser drawer searching for one or two |
| through the premises looking for the most valuable | | | | valuables: They'll generally dump every drawer in the |
| items. This is something that makes for great cinema | | | | dresser on the floor and dig through the whole pile. |
| but which is not an accurate reflection of reality. | | | | Of course, a service-person's van and uniform greatly |
| When burglars wear uniforms, they're typically not so | | | | conceals this sort of activity. The noise involved |
| obviously criminal. | | | | doesn't seem out of place if someone is servicing the |
| A common tactic employed by burglars is donning the | | | | home. |
| garb of a service person, such as a meter reader, | | | | When you're getting locking hardware and window |
| plumber, etc., and doing their work in broad daylight. | | | | glass, orient your choices toward defending against a |
| Thieves depend on not being noticed and anyone | | | | smash or a kick instead of someone artfully picking |
| who's ever hidden anything-whether their intentions | | | | the lock. The vast majority of break-ins do involve |
| were nefarious or quite innocent-knows that | | | | actually breaking something to get access to the |
| plain-sight is the best hiding place of all. | | | | house, hence the term. Reinforced doors, deadbolts, |
| One of the best ways to defeat this scam is to | | | | break-resistant glass an burglar bars are all incredibly |
| cultivate a relationship with neighbors. Get in the habit | | | | effective. |
| of telling one another when a service person will be | | | | Alarm systems have always been and still are the |
| at your home so that the arrival of anyone | | | | best defense against any of these strategies. The |
| unannounced is immediate cause for suspicion. If that | | | | alarm doesn't care if someone has a uniform on or |
| burglar happens to trigger an alarm while they're at | | | | not; if they don't know the shut-off code, the alarm |
| the home, there will most certainly be cause for | | | | will go off, every time. Whether they come in |
| concern on every neighbor's part and an implicit | | | | through the door or by smashing the window, the |
| permission to take action. | | | | alarm will trigger. If the monitoring service receives no |
| The sneaking about the house part of the burglar | | | | information that verifies the alarm as false, the police |
| stereotype is another creation of moviemakers that | | | | are on the way. |
| doesn't necessarily reflect reality. Burglars, once they | | | | All of a thief's tactics are oriented toward two goals, |
| know they have the time and space to commit their | | | | preserving stealth and creating time for them to get |
| crimes, tend to destroy anything and everything in a | | | | away with their crime. Knowing your neighbors, |
| home. Recently, reality television shows that feature | | | | investing some time and money in your security |
| ex-thieves have illustrated this to terrifying effect. | | | | hardware and, most importantly, having a monitored |
| Remember that anything you've hidden will likely be | | | | alarm system installed make both goals tall orders. |