Picture it:  It’s an absolutely gorgeous summer day.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing, lawnmowers are humming here and there around the neighborhood.  You go out in your back yard for a few minutes to water the garden or decide to sit outside and read a few chapters of the book you started last night.

Now, let me ask you this:  Did you lock your doors and windows?

When I was a kid, we only locked our doors and first floor windows when we went to bed at night or when we left the house.  When it was exceptionally hot out, a lot of times the first floor windows were left open.  This came in handy one day when I was locked out of the house with no one home (back in the days before cell phones).  I found out exactly how easy it was to break into our house.  I got the screen out of the family room window in about two minutes, thanks to a barrette in my hair.

Once I moved out on my own, I was a little more cautious.  At my parents’ house, we had a very large dog and we were always coming and going.  When I lived by myself, it was just me and a cat and, although that cat would give some serious attitude to strangers, he probably wouldn’t have been much of a match for an intruder.  While I normally kept my doors locked, I wasn’t fanatical about it.  However, I turned fanatical approximately ten years ago when a woman who lived down the street from me, but whom I’d never met, rang my doorbell and, before I could get up from where I was sitting, she opened the door and just walked right in.  That was enough to turn me into a vigilant doorlocker.

Although keeping your doors and windows locked is an excellent way to help keep yourself and your property safe, there are also a lot of other things you can do.

• If you have an alarm system, make sure the alarm company installs the control panel where it cannot be seen from outside a door or window.  That way, if you forget to set the alarm when you leave, no one will be able to tell that from the outside.
• Look to see who’s at your door before you open it.  If you don’t recognize the person at the door and/or are at all uncomfortable about opening the door… don’t open it.   If you have a locking storm door, you can keep your storm door locked and just open the inside door to ascertain what the individual wants.
• If you have a garage, keep your garage door shut.  It’s too easy to duck into a garage on foot and leave on a bicycle, with or without other items.  It’s also a good way for someone to get access to a car and/or what’s in the car.
• And while we’re talking about cars… always lock your car.  Even if it’s in your garage or driveway.  As the saying goes, “lock it or lose it.”
• If you’re going to be out of town… for a month, for a week, or for a day… have someone pick up your mail/newspapers and remove any leaflets/advertisements that may have been left on your door by restaurants, political candidates, or religious organizations.  If you’re going to be away from home for any period of time during the winter, ask a neighbor to either shovel for you or at least create footprints and/or tire tracks in the snow around your house, in your driveway, and up to your doors.  Virgin snow and snow drifts are a dead give-away that either no one is home or whoever is home may be too old/frail to take care of the snow or leave the house in inclement weather.
• Don’t hide a key to your house under the doormat/in a flowerpot/etc.  Burglars know where to look.
• Don’t let your shrubs or trees grow to the point where they could conceal someone breaking into your home.  This includes basement windows.  Also, be aware of any areas on your property and the properties next door where someone could hide.
• Leave the television or a radio on when you leave the house… and turn the volume up.  If it sounds like someone’s home, a burglar may be deterred.  Additionally, in the evening hours, the glow of the television can be seen from outside, giving the appearance that someone is home.
• Put timers on a couple of lamps.  That way, if you’re late getting home from work or are gone for an extended period of time, lights will go on and off, again, giving the appearance that someone is home.
• As daylight wanes and you start turning on lights inside the house, close your drapes/blinds.  It’s much easier to see from the sidewalk/street what’s in someone’s house when it’s dark outside and lit up inside.  If someone likes the looks of your flat screen television, your stereo system, or that laptop on the coffee table, s/he may come back to get it later.
• Don’t let your kids leave their toys out in the yard.  Not only do they risk having their bikes and other toys stolen, but advertising to burglars the approximate ages of your children will give them clues as to what you might have inside the house… computers, gaming systems, iPods, etc.
• Always, always, always lock your doors and windows.  Did I mention that you should always lock your doors and windows?
• If you don’t have at least one-inch deadbolts on all your doors, install them/have them installed.  And install security locks on your windows, especially the first floor ones.
• A dog that barks when someone rings the doorbell/knocks on the door or when s/he hears someone outside is a good thing.  Burglars won’t know that the worst thing Fido will do is lick him to death.  He just knows there’s a noisy dog.
• Pay attention to what goes on in your neighborhood.  Do you know the make/models of your neighbors’ cars so that you’ll recognize a strange one?  If there’s a van parked down the street that you’ve never seen before, make a note of the description and license plate.  It might be your Nancy Neighbor’s Aunt Millie visiting from Albuquerque.  Or it could be someone in the process of emptying out Nancy’s house.
• And, lastly, speaking of your neighborhood, join your local Neighborhood Watch Group.  If you don’t know if your area has an active Neighborhood Watch, contact the Erie Neighborhood Watch Council at 814/454-3808.  If your area doesn’t have an active Watch Group, consider getting together with some of your neighbors and starting one.

Have any tips that aren’t listed here?  Feel free to add them in the comments.