Simple Steps Can Improve Chances of Being Safe at Home

Simi Valley resident Pete Latta and some of his neighbors decided recently it was time that they banded together to try to fight crime in their community. “There have been some things going on in the area that we’re not happy with,” Latta said, and the residents are now forming a neighborhood watch group and taking steps to make their homes more secure.

About 30 neighbors came over to Latta’s home last month to watch a video and get information from their local police department on how to do just that. “The key is paying attention to who’s in your neighborhood,” Latta said. Besides keeping an eye out for what’s happening in the street, Latta is also making a few simple changes at home that experts say could significantly reduce his chances of being burglarized.

All of the bushes surrounding Latta’s home have been trimmed so that intruders don’t have a place to hide. Latta also plans to add bars to sliding glass doors, clip locks for all the windows, a new deadbolt lock on his door and a neighborhood watch sticker. None of these changes, of course, will guarantee that burglars go elsewhere, but they are cheap and effective deterrents that can add to the safety and value of a home or condo.

“Crooks are opportunists; they’re going to take the easiest hit they can get,” said Karen Moore, a crime-prevention specialist with the Simi Valley Police Department. Burglar alarm systems are certainly popular with home and condo owners but there are other inexpensive alterations that can help minimize your chance of becoming a victim, Moore said.

Moore’s job includes visiting local homes and doing a two-page security survey for concerned citizens. She also helps organize fledgling neighborhood watch groups such as the one formed in Latta’s living room. Finally, Moore said, “we get a substantial number of calls from prospective homeowners.” The Police Department provides information about crime in the neighborhood and the history of law-enforcement service calls to a particular address, she said. “We just let them know the facts, we don’t recommend whether they should buy” the residence.

Some of the most important things to do include setting timers on indoor and outdoor lights. “They should come on and off several times during the evening,” Moore said. Lights that go on automatically when a person or car approaches the home are also very useful, she said.

Make sure that any wall trellises aren’t strong enough to support a climbing intruder and plant prickly bushes beneath windows, Moore said. Also, she advised, be sure no exterior doors have their hinges outside. These can be easily opened by an unwelcome guest.

Bruce Ramm, president of Security Design Concepts in Santa Ana, encourages his clients not to overgrow greenery. “Overgrown shrubbery creates the situation where neighbors can’t watch out for each other,” Ramm said. “Putting up a wall doesn’t necessarily make you more secure,” he added. In fact, private gardens are a great place for burglars to break in and unload their booty.

Ramm, who works with developers, architects and homeowners, does think that three- to four-foot walls and shrubs are effective as barriers without blocking views. “These symbolic barriers define space,” he said.

Bars on windows and doors help keep criminals out, and even unlocked gates are a deterrent, Ramm said. Too much ironwork, however, may be overkill and make the house less aesthetically appealing--it may also be a problem in case of a fire and prevent a fast exit. Ramm added that signs warning of a security system or of a guard dog on duty “may be of some deterrent value. How much I don’t really know.”

While safety is important to home buyers, they’re more concerned these days with price and location, said Barry Greene, owner of Century 21 Greene Realty in North Hollywood. Only about one in 10 buyers checks out neighborhood police records, he said, and a house that isn’t secure can always have safety features added--if the sales price is right, Greene said.

Condo buyers today are looking for secured entryways and parking spaces, Greene said.

But “it won’t necessarily make or break a sale.”