SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Keeping you safe this holiday season, did you know, every 13 seconds a burglary occurs in the U.S.? With the holidays fast approaching many people are stocking up on gifts and have a lot of valuables in their vehicles and homes.
For many your home is your sanctuary, a place where you feel safe, where you want your kids to feel safe, a place where you keep your most prized possessions. But how safe is your home from those who will risk anything to get inside?
Burglars, they are out there, looking for their next target. South Burlington Police Chief Trevor Whipple knows it's a real problem, "We shouldn't say, it's safe Vermont it'll never happen here, it could and it does."
As scary as a home invasion sounds there are ways police say you can make your home unattractive to burglars. I wanted to break them down for you. Let's start with this stay at home, "They really look for it to be unoccupied that's the optimal for them, then they don't have to be worried about getting caught,"
If you're headed out of town this holiday season, make it look like you're there. How?
Have someone collect your mail.
"When mail accumulates or newspapers accumulate, to someone making a quick walk-by to say, is this a good place to try and burglarize, if right away they can see things without having to get out of their car that clearly is a draw to them," said Whipple.
He also suggests using a light timer, "If a house is dark all night long and you are gone for a week somebody that's really savvy might pick up on that."
When it comes to home security, an alarm system isn't necessary but police say they are effective.
"If you don't have a bunch of false alarms and remember to turn it on then they can be fairly helpful," said Whipple.
If you don't have one, upgrade to a deadbolt, "Some people have the old fashion just in the doorknob lock, some of those are really easy to bypass with either a pocketknife or a credit card," said Whipple.
And the last thing a burglar wants is to be seen, "That's a motion detector light so that it would not come on until someone walked by," said Whipple.
Installing a motion detector light would expose the burglar or hopefully scare them from trying to break in, especially since they may try to go around the back of the home.
"People that are trying to burglarize a home, they aren't going to go on the heavy traffic side," said Whipple.
From the inside of you home be sure to lock your windows, a simple thing many forget, if you have an air conditioning unit.
"Some will slide that window, take the a/c out and then they have free access to the house," said Whipple
So here's a quick way to make sure that doesn't happen, wedge a board in there so that way the window can't move. Most importantly particularly anyone on pain management just take the extra precaution and keep them out of sight.
Chief Whipple says a high percentage of crime in our area is because of one main problem, "Almost always people that have a prescription drug problem. So keep medications away from window sills and out of sight."
There's one more possession that is an easy target, that's not even in your home.
"Regularly, several times a week, we are receiving calls where people wake up in the morning and someone has rifled through their car," said Whipple.
Often times a burglar simply walks through a neighborhood just trying door handles, looking for valuables like ipods or computers.
"Those things have value. They can barter for drugs or cash in for money and then use the money to buy drugs," said Whipple.
Making simple changes like locking your door and hiding your valuables in your trunk can make your vehicle unattractive for burglars.
