HOME SECURITY
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 remember if you can break in, you make it that much easier for a burglar to break-in.

Nationally one out of six 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 becoming a victim. Many burglars will spend no longer than 60 seconds to try and break into a home. Good locks – and good neighbors who watch out for each other – can be an effective deterrent to burglary.

The vast majority of residential burglaries that occur in Johnson County occur during the day. The intruder merely knocks on the door, finds no one is home and either uses physical force to that door or walks around to the back of the home and physically forces a rear door open.

Physical security
Specific recommendations can be found on the city’s web site at www.lenexa.ks.us Click on city ordinances and go to Title 4 (Unified Development Code). Then follow the leads to 4-4 S13 which is titled Physical Security.

Check your Locks
Did you know that in almost half of all completed residential burglaries, thieves simply walked in through unlocked doors or used unlocked windows?

• Make sure every external door has a sturdy well installed deadbolt lock. Key-in-the-knob locks are not enough.

• Sliding glass doors can offer easy access if they are not properly secured. You can secure them by installing commercially available “Charlie bars” or simply putting a piece of wood or broomstick in the track. To prevent the door from being lifted off the track drill a hole through the sliding door frame and the fixed frame. Then insert a nail in the hole.

• Lock double hung windows with key locks or “pin” windows by drilling a small hole into a 45 degree angle between the inner and outer frames, then insert a nail that can be removed. Secure basement windows with removable grills 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 and 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 at a height everyone in the home can use, so you can see who is outside without opening your door. Door chains break easily and won’t keep out an intruder.

Check the Outside
Look at your home from the outside. Make sure you know the following tips.

• Thieves hate bright lights. Install outside lights and keep them on overnight.

• Keep your yard clean. Prune back shrubbery so it doesn’t hide doors and windows. Cut back tree limbs that a thief could use to climb into an upper level window

• Clearly display your house number so police and emergency services can find your home quickly.

• If you travel create the illusion that you’re home by buying timers that will turn lights on and off in different areas of your home throughout the evening. Lights burning 24 hours a day signal an empty home.

• Leave shades, blinds, and curtains in normal positions. Don’t let your mail or newspapers pile-up. Have a neighbor pick them up.

• Make a list of your valuables and sign out an engraver with the police department so you can engrave your driver’s license number on the item

• Ask a member of the police department to stop by and offer a free home security survey.

Consider an Alarm

• Alarms can be a good but be wary of getting a false sense of security or being sold a system you don’t need.

• If you do want an alarm do business with an established company and make sure everyone in your home knows how to properly set your alarm.

• Alarm companies count on a police response. False alarms are a major problem for the police. They tie up resources, take officers away from other duties, and leave other areas unprotected.

• If you have more than three false alarms in a year fines start at $100.00.

• Other good options are sirens, strobe lights, and motion sensors with floodlights that will activate when tripped. They will attract attention and possible witnesses. Photo cell lights that turn on and off at dusk and dawn are another good option.

Burglars do more than steal.
They can commit rapes, robberies, 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! Leave. Immediately call 9-1-1 from a cell phone or neighbor’s phone.

• At night if you think someone is breaking in leave safely if you can and then call 9-1-1. If you can’t leave lock yourself in a room with a phone and call 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 one and keeping it in the home “for protection”. If you do want to have a gun in your home, learn how to store and use it safely. The police department will be glad to furnish you with a free gunlock for each gun you own.

There’s More You Can Do

• Join a Neighborhood Watch group.

• Set up your answering machine message to say that “you are not available right now”. Don’t say that you are not home.

• Keep your neighborhood clean, clean neighborhoods are less attractive to criminals.

“Working in Partnership to Protect and Serve the Community with Honor, Integrity, and Professionalism”