Whether it’s in your home or in your car, break-ins are always a serious problem. Fortunately, there are some surprisingly easy ways to protect both your home and your vehicle from would-be thieves. Here are just a few things that you can do right now to keep your belongings safe.
Lock Your Doors and Windows
Locking your doors and windows may seem like common sense, but it’s easy to forget to do so when you’re in a hurry. Lock your doors and your first-floor windows at night, and always check to make sure that your front door is locked when you leave your home. The same goes for whenever you have to park your car in a parking lot or on the street.
Keep Your Car in the Garage
Keeping your car in your garage is one of the easiest ways to protect it from break-ins. Just make sure that your garage is locked and that your automatic garage door opener is secure.
Park in a Well-Lit Area
If you must park your car outside of a garage, park in a well-lit area. Thieves will be less likely to try to break into your car if someone is likely to see them. Most parking lots will be reasonably safe, especially if it’s in the middle of the day and it’s under surveillance.
Install Deadbolt Locks and Reinforce Your Windows
About 95% of home invasions involve forceful entry, whether that means kicking down a door, picking a lock, or smashing a window. Installing deadbolt locks on your doors will make them much harder to kick in while reinforcing your first-floor windows with safety glass or metal bars will make them harder to break.
Repair Your Cracked Windshield
Even though 90% of stone breaks in windshields never crack, the floater cracks that do form can make a windshield much easier to break. On top of being a safety hazard while you’re driving, a cracked windshield will make your car much more vulnerable to break-ins.
Keep Valuables Out of Sight
You can make your home and your car less attractive to thieves by keeping your most valuable items out of sight. If you have something you want to keep safe in your car, keep it in the glove compartment or trunk. If all else fails, you can also stow it underneath a seat. As for your home, keep things such as expensive appliances away from large windows. That may be easier said than done depending on your home’s layout, but people shouldn’t be able to see what you own when they walk past your house.
Beware Social Media
If you’re going to be away from home for an extended period of time, try not to post about it on social media too much. You’re essentially telling the entire Internet that your home is empty and vulnerable. If you must post about your latest vacation, keep those posts locked down so that they can only be seen by people you trust. Better yet, hold off on posting your vacation photos until you get back home.
Get Homeowner’s Insurance and Keep Records of Your Belongings
A homeowner’s insurance policy can protect you financially in case of a break-in while keeping detailed records of your most valuable belongings can be useful when it comes to pressing charges against a burglar. There is a window of 30 days after conviction to file a notice of appeal in the state of Massachusetts, so make sure that any records you keep are thorough.
These are just some ways that you can keep your home and vehicle safe from break-ins. As you can see, most of them come down to common sense, but people tend to forget about that when they’re in a hurry. Remember these tips to keep your property safe, and always be on your guard.
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