Breaking and Entering

Regardless of whether burglary has increased or decreased in their neighborhoods, residents throughout the San Fernando Valley are taking steps to prevent their homes and businesses from being hit. Police credit community-based policing and Neighborhood Watch programs with reducing repressible crimes such as burglary.

Senior patrol officers spend many hours a week on community relations, and a vast network of several hundred citizen volunteers has been formed to report suspicious activity near their homes to police. Considered preventable, most burglaries are crimes of opportunity, and few are planned in advance.

Safeguarding Your Home

* Install motion-sensitive or bright lights outside, including the sides of the home. Place them high enough to prevent theft or vandalism.

* Trim shrubbery near doors and windows to prevent thieves from hiding.

* Install locks on doors, windows and sliding-glass windows. Change locks when you move to a new residence.

* Install an alarm system.

* Use timers on interior lights when away from home.

* Keep drapes and blinds closed when away from home to prevent thieves from “casing” the inside of the house.

* Keep the garage door closed at all times to prevent thieves from seeing what is stored inside or whether someone is home.

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Deadbolt lock: Throws a bolt from a door-mounted unit into the door frame through the strike plate. A double cylinder deadbolt requires a key on the outside and the inside. Useful for doors with windows. Most recommended by police and locksmiths.

Rim lock: Mounts on the interior surface of the door with a key cylinder hole to the outside. Considered an antiquated lock.

Mortise lock: Any kind of lock unit that is mounted in the side of the door. Normally includes both a spring-latch mechanism as well as a deadbolt lock.

Tubular lock: Has a wide barrel that fits through the door, usually with a spring-latch lock in the knob. Also known as a cylindrical lock or a key-in-the-knob lock.

Source: Los Angeles Police Department