*Don’t Welcome Burglars By Telephone
Burglars often try to find out if anyone’s home by phoning. If you get several suspicious “wrong number”calls or “nobody at the other end”
calls, tell the police.
Warn family members, especially
children, not to give out information by phone, especially about who is home, who is out and how long anyone is
expected to be out. If you use an answering machine or voice mail
service, do not indicate on your greeting that you will be gone
for a specific time. A more appropriate message should be “We’re not available right now.”
*Don’t Open Your Door To Anyone Who Has No Business there
This isn’t just to guard
against robbery by force or threat of
force, sometimes burglars
who have no intention of using force
will first try to get in under some pretext so they can scout out
valuables and study locks, windows and other means of entry.
Ask repair people and others who claim to have business inside
to show positive identification, and keep the door closed while
your study the identification through the peephole.
If you have
the slightest doubt, call Public Safety.
When you do admit a
worker or a salesperson you were expecting, do not leave them
alone at any time.
*Don’t Reward The Burglar Who Does Get In
If, despite your precautions, a burglar does get into your home,
don’t offer a “bonus” of cash or easily carried jewelry. Never
keep large sums
of cash around the house. Keep valuable
jewelry
that you don’t often use in a safe deposit box.
*Make Your Home Look and Sound Occupied.
By
day, leave drapes and shades in normal position – the way
you have them when at home. Don’t leave easily movable
valuables in sight close to
windows or in plain view! At night,
leave
on some inner lights – bathrooms and hallways, for
example. Consider buying automatic timers that turn lamps on
after dark, then off a few hours later or at dawn. These timers
can turn a radio on, too, your
home sounds occupied.
*Don’t Advertise Your Vacation Plans
Inform one or two people of your vacation plans– a trusted
neighbor who can keep an eye on things while you are gone.
Have your neighbor pick up your
newspaper and other deliveries.
(Do not inform
any delivery people that you will be on vacation.)
If you are a member of the R.U.O.K. program, please notify
Public Safety if you will be away.
*Be A Good Neighbor
Keep
an eye on your neighbor’s apartment and get them to do
the same for you.
*Install Good Locks and Lock Them
When you first moved into your
apartment, Riverbay Corporation
provided you with
bottom lock access. The top lock is for the
responsibility of the cooperator to install. Make sure you buy a
sturdy lock and
install it properly. Always lock up with both
locks, even if you’re away from home for only a few minutes.
Remember a lock is not a lock unless you lock it.
*Change Locks At The Drop Of A Threat
Any
licensed locksmith can change the tumblers in your outside
door locks quickly and inexpensively. So when you move into a
townhouse or apartment, have it done. If you lose a key, change
the lock tumbler. Don’t be generous
in passing around extra
keys. One might end
up in the hands of someone you don’t
trust. Don’t leave an “emergency” key under the doormat, on top
of the door-frame, or in any other “hiding spot”
so well known to
burglars. Keep car keys and house keys
separate. This way your
house keys are never left in the possession of a stranger when
you park your
car at a garage or parking lot. Never have a name
or license tag attached to your house keys. If keys are lost
or
stolen, you’ll have an unwelcome visitor
very quickly.