Recently there has been a string of burglaries in North Scottsdale. As a wife with a husband who travels all the time for work, this totally freaked me out! We had a guy come to our door one day, the entire interaction was very suspicious as he was looking over my shoulder, showed me pictures on his phone and at the very end pulled out an old, torn up paper of cleaning products he wanted to “sell”. I said that I wasn’t interested and he quickly ran off. I am pretty sure our house was being scouted. Our neighborhood kept great communication with details of each burglary and worked together to TRY and catch these guys. During an HOA meeting a Scottsdale police officer came and gave some pointers on how to keep your house “less attractive” from potential criminals.
Here are some pointers the officer provided:
• Lets begin with the obvious, always keep windows and doors locked, including garage doors. Most burglaries happen through an open garage and property will not be discovered missing till much later.
• Take photos of the serial numbers on electronics, and have pictures of your jewelry. This allows the police to track the belongings on Craigs List and at Pawn shops.
• Have plenty of outdoor lights all around your house. Make it look like someone is home! Motion sensor lights, porch lights, and other outdoor lighting will help people be seen if around your house!
• If someone comes to your door ALWAYS respond! Almost all the time they will ring the doorbell before attempting a break in.
• Having the Nest, or Ring doorbell allows you to see and communicate to someone at the door with out having to open the door.
• House alarms only keep SOME people away but not all. Criminals know that they have 3 minutes to get in and out before police arrive.
• Cameras around the outside of house will act as deterrents
• Keep car doors locked.
• Be observant of your neighbors. Know their cars, pool service cars, etc. If you see something suspicious, always report.
• Communicate with your neighbors when you leave out of town. Ask for them to put your trash cans out on trash day, and help keep an eye on your property.
We may not be able to completely prevent a home burglary but we could make it a lot harder for them to get in, and by being more aware of our surroundings will help keep your neighborhood safe!
