Crime: Prevention An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – Benjamin Franklin Unfortunately theft and burglary are on the rise in the Gila Valley. Many factors contribute to this increase. While each of us as individuals cannot affect the overall trend, we can take action to not become a victim of these crimes. Apply an ounce of prevention. The most difficult aspect of prevention is convincing someone the effort is necessary. How many of us read about a person who buys a lottery ticket and wins $20 million, then buy a few tickets thinking “…that could be me”? How many of us likewise read about people whose homes are burglarized, costing them multiple thousands of dollars, and do nothing because “…that can’t happen to me”? I’d bet the odds of being burglarized are higher than the odds of buying a winning lottery ticket. How many times have we have we heard the story of people who came home to find their house had been burglarized while they were gone? How many times have we heard that burglars gained entry through an unlocked door or an open window? How many times have we heard that valuables, such as jewelry, cash, guns, coin collections, etc. were easily taken because they were not secured? Too many times. Strange how often people decide to install deadbolt locks, window locks and buy a safe to protect their valuables after they have been burglarized. Of course, they now have fewer valuables to protect. They were convinced crime happened to someone else. Don’t wait until after the burglary to take action. To get a feeling how devastating a burglary can be, let a trusted friend or relative have ten minutes in your home. You should be outside the building. Let your friend gather whatever valuables he can into a pile in the living room. When you look at the pile, just imagine all those items had been hauled away by a burglar. You might be shocked to see how much can be taken by one person in a few minutes. Often burglars hit in pairs—sometimes three or more. Take a few minutes to add up the cash value of all these items, then consider the sentimental values involved. Now, while you still have all these prized possessions, take preventative actions. Spending a little time and money today can prevent or at least minimize losses tomorrow. First off, buy a safe. I suggest buying a safe as a first step primarily because this is the most effective measure to secure valuables from theft, fire and loss. If you have $10,000 worth of guns, jewelry and such, spending $1000 or more on a safe to protect them would be a wise investment. All too often people will charge a $2000 ring, $1500 computer or $1000 stereo to their credit cards and think nothing of paying these off over time. Suggest they spend $1500 on a safe and the same people will claim such an expenditure beyond their means and unnecessary. Remember the pile in the living room? There is no such thing as too large a safe. Buy the biggest safe you can get into your home or garage. Buy a fire resistant safe. Keep the location of the safe secret—don’t show it off. A combination can be written down to look like a telephone number and entered into a phone index. Invent a name you can remember. A security assessment of your home is essential. Generally the local police will be happy to schedule a time to visit your home and perform a security assessment. They will walk around the house and suggest locks, lighting and other security measures. All at no cost to you. Another approach would be to stand outside your house and pretend you have locked your keys inside. Since you don’t want to admit being absent minded to the neighbors, you need to gain entry with as much stealth as possible. You might discover how effectively the trash can you leave next to the back door hides your movements from view. You might also discover the spring latch on the back door lock is easy to open with a pocket knife. Time to reposition the trash can and install a deadbolt lock. Repeat this test until you are forced to cheat and use the keys in you pocket. All the locks and security measures in the world are meaningless if not used. For heavens sake, lock your doors and windows when leaving your home or car. Try this, every time you come home or return to your car and find the door unlocked, take out a $10 bill and tear it up. I bet the habit stops very quickly. Can’t bring yourself to tear up a $10 bill? Remember the pile in the living room? Criminals are eternally watching for an opening—after all they don’t have jobs. A thief will walk for hours looking for the unlocked car door giving opportunity to steal a stereo, grab a purse or take whatever is left on or under the seats. Burglars may circulate neighborhoods for days or weeks waiting for their chance. An open window or unlocked door. In minutes materials you have spent years working for are out the door and down the street. By taking preventative measures you can make that thief walk by your car because the doors are locked and windows are up. Burglars will have to pass by your house because doors are locked, windows are closed, security lights are on and besides, your valuables are in a safe. Now, go ahead and spend that dollar on a lottery ticket—who knows you might win. |
