"The Key Pedaler" - Yuba City, CA - (530) 674-3890

Home Security
Weapons In The Home
Neighborhood Watch
Apartment Watch
Rural Crime Prevention

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If you were locked out of your house, would you still be able to get in? Maybe you keep an unlocked window in the back, or a hidden key in your mailbox or on top of a window ledge?

You may think this is a good idea, but guess what? If you can break in, so can a burglar!

One out of ten homes will be burglarized this year. For a small amount of time and money you can make your home more secure and reduce your chances of being a victim.

Many burglars will spend no longer than 60 seconds trying to break into a home. Good locks - and good neighbors who watch out for each other - can be big deterrents to burglars.

• Did you know that in almost half of all completed residential burglaries, thieves simply breezed in through unlocked doors or crawled through unlocked windows?
• Make sure every external door has a sturdy, well-installed dead bolt lock. Key-in-the-knob locks alone are not enough.
• Sliding glass doors can offer easy access if they are not properly secured. You can secure them by installing commercially available locks or putting a broomstick or dowel in the inside track to jam the door. To prevent the door being lifted off the track, drill a hole through the slide door frame and the fixed frame. Then insert a pin in the hole.
• Sliding windows can be secured with channel window locks. Lock double-hung windows with key locks or "pin" your windows by drilling a small hole into a 45 degree angle between the inner and outer frames, then insert a security pin (see locksmith supply) or a nail that can be removed. Secure basement windows with grilles or grates.
• Instead of hiding keys around the outside of your home, give an extra key to a neighbor you trust.
• When you move into a new house or apartment, re-key the locks.

Check the doors

• A lock on a flimsy door is about as effective as locking your car door but leaving the window down.
• All outside doors should be metal or solid wood.
• If your doors don't fit tightly in their frames, install weather stripping around them.
• Install a peephole or wide angle viewer in all entry doors so you can see who is outside without opening the door. Door chains break easily and don't keep out intruders.

Check the outside

Look at your house from the outside. Make sure you know the following tips.

• Thieves hate bright lights. Install outside lights and keep them on at night.
• Keep your yard clean. Prune back shrubbery so it doesn't hide doors or windows. Cut back tree limbs that a thief could use to climb to an upper-level window.
• If you travel, create the illusion that you're at home by getting some timers that will turn lights on and off in different areas of your house throughout the evening. Lights burning 24 hours a day signal an empty house.
• Leave shades, blinds, and curtains in normal positions. And don't let your mail pile up! Call the post office to stop delivery or have a neighbor pick it up.
• Make a list of your valuables - VCRs, stereos, computers, jewelry. Take photos of the items, list their serial numbers and description. Check with law enforcement about engraving your valuables through Operation Identification.
• Ask local law enforcement for a free home security survey.

Consider an Alarm

• Alarms can be a good investment, especially if you have many valuables in your home, or live in an isolated area or one with a history of break-ins.
• Check with several companies before you buy so you can decide what level of security fits your needs. Do business with an established company and check references before signing a contract.
• Learn how to use your system properly! Don't "cry wolf" by setting off false alarms. People will stop paying attention and you'll probably be fined.
• Some less expensive options...a sound-detecting socket that plugs into a light fixture and makes the light flash when it detects certain noises, motion sensing outdoor lights that turn on when someone approaches, or lights with photo cells that turn on when it's dark and off when it's light.

Burglars Do More Than Steal

• Burglars can commit rape, robbery, and assault if they are surprised by someone coming home or pick a home that is occupied.
• If something looks questionable - a slit screen, a broken window or an open door - don't go in. Call the police from a neighbor's house or a public phone.
• At night, if you think you hear someone breaking in, leave safely if you can, then call the police. If you can't leave, lock yourself in a room with a phone and call the police. If an intruder is in your room, pretend you are asleep.
• Guns are responsible for many accidental deaths in the home every year. Think carefully before buying a gun or keeping weapons in the home. If you do own one, learn how to store it and use it safely.

There's More You Can Do

• Join a Neighborhood Watch group. If one doesn't exist, you can start one with help from local law enforcement.
• Never leave a message on your answering machine that indicates you may be away from home now, say "I'm not available right now."
• Work with neighbors and local government to organize community clean-ups. The cleaner your neighborhood, the less attractive it is to crime.
  

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When we talk about violence, we can't ignore weapons. Nine out of ten murders involve a weapon - eight of ten involve a firearm. Most robberies involve the use of a weapon, most frequently a handgun.

One in seven teens has reported carrying a weapon - like a bat, club, gun, or knife - at some time to protect himself. Weapons can make violence more deadly and less personal. A gun in the home increases the likelihood of homicide three times and the likelihood of suicide five times.

Reduce the risk

• Think long and hard about having weapons, especially firearms, in your home. Studies show that a firearm in the home is more than forty times as likely to hurt or kill a family member as to stop a crime.
• Look at other ways to protect yourself and your home. Invest in top-grade locks, jamming devices for doors and windows, a dog, or an alarm system. Start or join a Neighborhood Watch.
• If you do choose to own firearms - handguns, rifles, or shotguns - make sure they are safely stored. That means unloaded, trigger-locked, and in a locked gun case or pistol box, with ammunition separately locked. Store keys out of reach of children, away from weapons and ammunition. Check frequently to make sure this storage remains secure.
• Obtain training from a certified instructor in firearms safety for everyone in the home. Make sure it's kept current.
• Teach your children what to do if they find a firearm or something that might be a weapon - Stop, Don't Touch, Get Away, and Tell a Trusted Adult.

Stop violence

• Show children how to settle arguments or solve problems without using words or actions that hurt others. Set the example by the way you handle everyday conflicts in the family, at work, and in the neighborhood. Don't forget that common courtesies like "please," "thank you," and "excuse me" help ease tensions that can lead to violence.
• Discourage name-calling and teasing. These can easily get out of hand, moving all too quickly from "just words" to fists, knives, and even firearms. Teach children that bullying is wrong and take their fears about bullies seriously.
• Take a hard look at what you, your family, and your friends watch and listen to for entertainment - from action movies and cop shows to video games and music lyrics. How do the characters solve problems? Do they make firearms and other violence appear exciting, funny, or glamorous? Are the real-life consequences of violence for victims and families clear? Talk about what each of you liked and didn't like.
• Stick with friends and family who steer clear of violence and drugs. And encourage your children to do the same. Research shows use of alcohol and other drugs is closely linked with violence, including the use of guns and other weapons.

Take action in your community

• Be sure you know where and how to report potentially violent situations or concerns about conditions in the neighborhood that could lead to violence. Ask your police department for help in identifying what to report, when, to whom, and how.
• Support efforts to keep guns, knives, and other weapons from menacing the everyday lives of children and teens. Encourage children to report any weapons they know about in or near school to staff or the police.
• Look around to see what happens to young people after school hours. Are there supervised programs for younger children? In many areas, after-school programs are located in schools themselves and called Safe Havens.

For More Information

Center to Prevent Handgun Violence
1225 Eye Street, NW, Room 1100
Washington, DC 20005
202-289-7319

National School Safety Center
4165 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Ste 290
Westlake Village, CA 91362
805-373-9977

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Don't let your guard down just because you live in the country. Rural communities have their own unique crime problems - like theft of crops, timber, livestock, and expensive farm equipment. Vandals do more than break mailboxes, they can destroy crops and fields. Alcohol and drug abuse problems plague rural youth as well as those in the suburbs and cities. And of course, crimes like burglary, rape, assault, and auto theft happen in rural areas, but less frequently than in cities.

Invest some time and money in prevention now. What's the payoff? Better security around your property, less worry about crime and your family's safety.

Be a good neighbor - when you're out and about, keep an eye on neighbors' homes, livestock, and equipment. Tell them and the sheriff or police about anything that makes you uneasy or suspicious.

• Make sure outside doors - in your home and outbuildings - are solid wood or metal and have dead bolt locks.
  Use the locks!
• Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks or with a broomstick or wooden dowel in the track to jam the door in case someone tries to pry it open.
• Insert screws in the upper track going into the fixed frame, to prevent anyone from lifting the door from its track.
• Secure double-hung windows by sliding bolt or nail through a hole drilled at a downward angle in each top corner of the inside sash and part way through the outside sash.
  Secure basement windows well.

Check the outside

• Thieves hate bright lights. Install outside lights and keep them on at night.
• Keep your house, driveway, barns, and other buildings well-lighted at night. Use timers that automatically turn on outside lights when it gets dark.
• Consider motion sensors that set off lights or alarms.
• Prune back shrubbery that hides doors, windows, lights, and would-be burglars.
• Keep your fences in good repair. Secure all access roads with gates or cables stretched between posts cemented in the ground. Make them visible with flags or streamers.
• Warn thieves that you're on the alert with "No Trespassing," "No Hunting," and other signs around your property.
  

Protect equipment and livestock

• Operation Identification - marking tools, guns, and equipment with a permanent identification number such as driver's license or Social Security - has helped reduce theft in many rural areas. Work with law enforcement to determine the best methods, and make it a community project.
• To help stop modern rustlers, tattoo all livestock (usually on the ears). Although it's easier to use eartags or neck chains, these can be removed. Mark young stock soon after birth.
• Take regular counts of all livestock.
  Secure gas pumps, gas tanks, storage bins, and grain elevators with sturdy padlocks or dead bolts.
• Keep small equipment - like mowers, bikes, snowmobiles - locked in a barn or garage.
• Keep guns locked and unloaded in a secure place away from curious children and would-be thieves.
• Never leave keys in vehicles or farm equipment.
• Always lock your trucks and other vehicles when they're not in use. And don't leave tools in the open back of a pick-up truck or in an unsecured truck bed toolbox.
• Don't leave major equipment in a field overnight. Lock it in a barn or shed near the house, or park where it can be seen from your house or a neighbor's.
• If machines must be left out for long periods of time, disable them by removing the rotor, distributor, or battery.
  

Guard your crops

• Store harvested crops in protected and locked locations.
• Consider marking grain, hay, or similar crops with nontoxic confetti that is easily removed by storage or processing facilities.
• Keep a record of your valuable timber. Mark each with a paint stripe.
• Keep storage areas neat and well-organized so that any theft will be noticed immediately. This also warns potential thieves that the owner is watchful.
• Check employees' references. Before they start, talk about your crime prevention measures.
  

Help your neighbors

• Get together with others in the community to start a Neighborhood or Farm Watch group. Involve all ages, and work with law enforcement. Use CB radios or cellular phones to patrol and report suspicious activities to the sheriff or police.
• When you go away, stop delivery of your mail or newspapers or ask a neighbor to pick them up. You want to create the illusion that someone's at home and following everyday routines. Have neighbors check your property, and return the favor when they leave on business or vacation trips.
  

Take a stand

• Educate young people about the hazards of operating farm machinery and being around livestock. For example, tractors are involved in 69 percent of farm machinery deaths, and young people raised on farms often operate these machines at early ages.

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Just like Neighborhood Watch, members of an Apartment Watch learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for each other and their community, and report crime and suspicious activities to the police. Here are some ways to get an Apartment Watch going and growing.

• Help arrange with local police for apartment security surveys and Operation Identification.
• Check the complex on a regular basis for problems such as burned-out light bulbs, dark corridors, uncollected trash, or broken locks on mailboxes and doors. Report problems to the building manager.
• Try to help each other, such as starting an escort service for the elderly or after-school care for children.

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