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Crime Deterrents for the Home

• Lights and locks are best arms against crime. When you're away, arrange lights on timers in various rooms of your house. Nothing tips off a would-be burglar like a dark house or a single light in the living room.
• Mark your valuables with your social security or driver's license number using an invisible marking pen or engraver. Once marked, items oftentimes lose their value to "fences" who convert stolen goods to cash.
• Use long locking deadbolts. They are more difficult to jimmy.
• Illuminate the outside of your house. A would-be thief prefers to work on locks in seclusion. This also deters vandalism. Motion sensor lights and high sodium lights work well for illumination and safety.
• Don't let anyone in your home, day or night, who doesn't provide proper identification. Don't be afraid to ask for a business card or ID or to call the business or organization the person professes to represent.
• Purchase a security system. Although they are not foolproof, a system can provide additional security to those who are routinely gone the same time every day. If you plan to purchase a system, make sure you learn how to use it properly.
• Keep all valuable heirlooms in a safe deposit box, not on your premises.
• Keep your shrubs and bushes trimmed to a height that provides ample visibility. Shrubs should be trimmed to 8" - 10" below window sills and away from the sides of windows. 
• Close your blinds and curtains at night to prevent the view of your belongings.
• Keep your yard as open as possible. As nice as privacy fences are, they provide the seclusion a robber needs.
• Cover basement windows with steel mesh secured by long screws.
• Place a stick or rod in the bottom track of sliding windows and doors.
• Don't rely on alarm system window stickers, especially without a system installed. Stickers do not always serve as a deterrent. Many robbers check homes to make sure there really is a system.
• Organize and publicize a neighborhood crime watch program.
• If you are usually away during the day, arrange to have packages delivered to a neighbor or place of business.
• Videotape and/or keep a list of your valuables, including their model numbers, in a safe deposit box.