Maintenance, Lighting, Visibility and Apps
Fixing broken glass, openings in fences, cleaning/covering graffiti and overgrown areas creates a well-maintained property that appears well cared for is less inviting to criminals and vandals.
Consider upgrading your gate locks to locks that are more secure against bolt cutters. These type of locks have a less visible and accessible hook as the hook is buried with the lock housing.
Keeping bushes, shrubs and tree limbs trimmed near windows and doors will reduce dark areas where criminals can hide. The 3-7 Rule recommends keeping shrubs and bushes near your home to be no more than 3 feet high and to keep tree limbs at least 7 feet away from the side of the house. In addition to reduce intruders access to second story balconies, doors and windows, tree limbs should be at least 12 feet off the ground.
Motion sensor lighting illuminates areas around your home discouraging potential criminal activities. Landscape lighting looks inviting to visitors but not to potential criminals.
Crime happens at all times of the night and day. Creating timer routines for indoor lighting throughout your home will discourage potential criminal activity. Criminals are less likely to break into a home if they believe someone is home.
Apps connecting to switches, bulbs and plugs allows the homeowner to schedule lighting routines for various times on different days including outdoor porch lights. Leaving a porch light on all day when you are not home can be information you do not want criminals to know.
Forgetting to close a garage door will provide easy access to your garage and possibly your home. Technology is available to connect your garage door opener to an app for letting you know if your garage door has opened and/or closed and automatically close the door if it has been open for a set amount of time. Even if you have a really old garage door opener you may be surprised to find one that works.
Most important is to report issues and alert your neighbors. If you see a broken streetlight report it to 311. If a property appears to be vacant or has broken windows, doors or other direct access points report it to 311. If you see something, say something.