by Officer John Thomas

A man’s house is his castle. Unfortunately a house is not as well fortified as a castle. Residential burglary is a costly crime. Fortunately there are things we can do to protect ourselves.

One of the best ways to reduce burglaries is to have a good neighborhood watch program. It doesn’t have to be highly formal with patrols and such. Something as simple as a higher level of awareness among residents can be very effective. An open line of communication between neighbors can go a long way toward making your neighborhood safer. You should always report suspicious circumstances in your neighborhood to the police. The Temecula Police Department Crime Prevention Unit is available to attend your neighborhood watch meetings and offer information and advice for your specific area.

One thing that might attract thieves to certain properties is a home that looks like an easy target. For example, a house with overgrown shrubbery or poor exterior lighting offers many hiding places. Another attraction for thieves is an open garage door in the middle of the night. The main garage door should be closed whenever there is no one outside. The side garage door should be locked.

Make your home appear occupied when you are not home. This can be done by putting interior lights on timers and varying the times they come on. Have a radio set on a talk station to create a greater sense of the house being occupied. You should have a light at each outside door. There are many highly efficient options like LED bulbs. Motion sensing lights are also a good option. Any exterior lights should be in tamper proof housings or be mounted at least 8 feet high, if possible, to prevent the bulb from being unscrewed.

The last defense is good physical security. Exterior doors should be solid wood or metal. Wooden doors can be reinforced with a metal plate surrounding the lockset and deadbolt. The door from the garage to the house should be considered the same as any exterior door. A metal door frame is most secure but if the frame is wood you can strengthen it by using 3” or longer screws through the striker plate into the studs of the door frame. Door hinges should be tamper proof. Exterior windows that have exposed screws should have tamper proof screws installed or the heads of the screws drilled out enough that a screwdriver won’t grip the screws.

Windows and sliding glass doors should have a secondary locking device installed such as a metal pin through the door and frame. You can also use a tension device that installs between the moving part of the door or window and the frame.

These simple steps should significantly reduce the chances of your home being burglarized.

Community Service Officer John Thomas is a long time resident of Temecula and is a Crime Prevention Officer with the Temecula Police Department Crime Prevention Unit. He can be reached at (951) 506-5132.