While I was off spending time with my loved ones over the weekend, it turned out that someone else was trying to spend time in my house with my things. Honestly, I was really glad I was not home, but I thought I would share a few things I've learned from this experience:
1. The perpetrators can be absolutely anyone. It turns out I was a witness to one of my neighbors being broken into and didn't even know it. The burglars just looked like anyone else. They didn't have anything covering their faces and they didn't look like they were in much of a hurry. In fact, they looked like people moving in.
Unfortunately this newfound knowledge has made me second guess every individual I run across that fits the description of who is currently breaking into houses around my neighborhood. :(
2. You don't have to look like you have a lot of money or like you are even gone from the house for someone to attempt to break-in. While we were gone from the house, we left the radio on inside and both of our cars in the driveway. It would have been very difficult for the perpetrator to actually move anything big to their vehicles with our vehicles in the way. Did that stop them from trying? No.
In fact, Justin and I don't own anything of much value. We had my laptop, camera, and both of our iphones with us when we left the house. All that was left was paperwork, some change, and our car keys. In fact, we don't even look old enough to own much of anything. Half the time, people stop me and ask if I'm twelve. They get dumbfounded looks on their faces when my dad walks into an a shop and announces, as he is prone to do, that he has a son-in-law and his daughter is ... old. ;)
3. Don't leave your car keys out on the kitchen table. Granted the perpetrator is usually after something bigger than car keys. They typically want something sell-worthy or money. I'm thinking in terms of big screen tvs, video game consoles, and laptops. I don't know for certain though that someone looking for something and being unable to find it would not just go for the keys on the table, even if the car itself is only worth very little money. After all, a title is needed to sell the car. The likelihood of a thief having time to find that too? Probably not likely.
However if you do have secure information, the best place for you to put it is in your child's bedroom if you have a child. Don't stash money in the master closet, the freezer, or your underwear drawer. Those are some of the first places a thief is bound to look. You'd be better off sliding important paperwork into books on your bookshelf or taping them to the bottom of drawers (assuming you do not have a safe box that is screwed to the ground).
4. If you are aware of your neighbors homes being broken into, keep an eye out for the perpetrators or anyone that looks suspicious. Take pictures of things that seem unusual with your cell phone. Even if you weren't comfortable calling the cops right at that moment, if you discover your pictures are worth something to the police later, it is all the better.
Be aware that you will more than likely judge people based on their looks or personality for a while after. For example, the people that have been breaking into homes near us have usually been juveniles with black skin. Therefore, as Justin and I walked to get frozen yogurt on the square last night, we just so happened to pay more attention to black juveniles than we might have otherwise. This is not necessarily a bad thing as Justin reminded me. I'm not trying to discriminate, but I do want to notice if anything seems unusual.
5. When you go on vacation, if you have an alarm, set it. If you can, set it to go off immediately if someone opens the door and you aren't there. If you don't have an alarm, let your neighbors know you are gone so they can help keep an eye on your house. Stop your mail for the time you are gone. (You can do that on the USPS website.)
6. Finally, if you do get a call, try to think back over what was available to be stolen in the house. Hopefully you have copies of your debit and credit cards somewhere to make it easy to call the bank and cancel these cards. Write down serial numbers for electronics to make it easier for police to contact you if something of yours is found. Even having a back up of gift card numbers can make it easy for you to replace gift cards that were stolen. Above all, homeowners or renters insurance that covers what you own will be perfect in situations like this.
I definitely had an awesome time at the beach over the weekend, but I can't say I am yet over the phone call that my house had been entered while I was away. It makes it hard for me to sleep or get comfortable when I'm home alone. I also double and triple check that the alarm is armed when I am home and when I am away. I sincerely doubt that anyone will try to break in again, but the fear still remains with me.
Hopefully my little tid bits of information will help you remain save and your house secure while you are on vacation, if and when you go.
Thankfully the police arrive at our house within 5 minutes of the break-in. I can only hope that others would be so lucky.
