SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Have you ever forgot to close your garage door or noticed you left the front door unlocked all night or a window open? Many may be guilty of such oversight, and now police are offering tips on what to do if you see a neighbor’s garage open.
As the weather warms up police are seeing more and more burglaries because people are simply forgetting to close the garage door at night.
In some neighborhoods, dozens of garage doors are left open, even past midnight.
Sergeant Robin Snyder with the Salt Lake City Police Department says closing your garage door is a sure way to prevent a burglary case. She says to call your neighbors if you notice windows or doors open. Additionally, she says if you notice someone burglarizing your garage or coming into your home, don't confront them, and get away as fast as possible and call 911 immediately.
Snyder says it's a good idea to have a routine or make a lock down check list every night.
Here are a few more tips, as offered by Armitage.org:
1. Lock your doors on your home. If you have an alarm system, use it.
2. Once it’s warm again and windows are open, pin your windows to prevent unwanted people from entering your home.
3. Lock your front door even if you are in the back yard doing yard work.
4. Be aware of strangers at your door. A common tactic is for someone to occupy you at the front door, while their partner enters your home from the rear. For this reason, keep your valuables in a secure place in the home.
5. Don’t store vehicle keys on hooks or in a drawer by the back door or garage service entrance. Break-ins to homes with this method of key storage frequently experience the loss of a vehicle or two in addition to the burglary of the home.
6. Lock your garage, both the overhead door and the service door. Deadbolt locks are preferable to simple spring type locks that are standard on most door knobs. Deadbolts provide a higher level of security.
7. Do not store valuables in your car; items like wallets, purses, cell phones, iPods, laptop computers, GPS units, or anything else of an identifying nature. Thieves target vehicles with obvious valuables showing. Invest in GPS technology for computers and cell phones. If stolen they are fairly easily found within a short time. This technology allows the equipment to phone home and say where it is. It allows us to capture and prosecute the offender at an earlier point in time.
8. Many thefts from auto cases involve the use of your credit cards within the hour, or your identifying information is stolen for use in larger frauds. Protect your personal information.
9. If storing valuables in your car, stow them prior to arriving at your final destination. If you drive to the lakes for a walk, do not store valuables in the car at all. Thieves have been monitoring the lakes and wait for you to leave. They know you will be gone for some time to walk a lake, so they have a lot of time to enter your car and find your valuables, even if you hid them prior to arrival. They know all the hiding spots too.
10. Remove your garage door opener(s). These are the key to your garage and in the cases of attached garages are frequently the way into your home.
