Sandy Springs Police: "Don't Make Security A Priority After The Fact"

Editor’s note: the following are safety tips provided by Sandy Springs police Captain Steve Rose on how residents who live in apartment units can protect their belongings. These tips were offered in response to a string of burglaries the agency responded to last week.

What is going on here? If you didn’t notice, the number of burglaries here are way out of whack! If you look closely, and you know the areas, you see that almost all were apartment burglaries. The most common of denominators is the method of entry. Either a pry tool, consisting of a large screwdriver or a nail puller or something similar, was used. In most cases however, the door was simply kicked in. Apartment burglars are usually in and out in a couple of minutes because they will assume that the noise made during the forced entry was overheard. You can see that televisions and laptops are (always) popular as are jewelry items and other electronics such as X-Box and PlayStation video game systems.

What to Do?

Well first realize that as an apartment resident, you’re at a disadvantage simply because you can’t shore up your doors by building strong support for instance like reinforcing the door jambs. Deadbolts are only as good as the wood door jambs that support them. Too many are old wood. They come apart too easily. Even so, the deadbolts best for apartments have a two-inch “throw” or the piece that goes into the strike plate and into the wooden jamb. There are door stops that will keep the door shut and well worth the twenty bucks or so that they cost. They’re good however, only when you’re home unless you have a secondary way of coming in and out. It doesn’t hurt to install window locks either. You can at least make it difficult to get a window open. Some burglars won’t go to the trouble of breaking glass. Still, your weakest link is the front door.

Now What?

First thing is get renter’s insurance. At least you can recover some lost funds if you have it. Secondly, record serial numbers on all your electronic items including video game systems, laptops, and anything else with a serial number. (Don’t keep them on the laptop, by the way). Record and store them someplace else. You can always go old school and write them down and stash them.

Now days, video security is affordable. For the price of a PS4, you can set up a video surveillance system in your apartment with 3 or more cameras. We love cameras. Good digital quality gives us a face to put out there. Some of the higher end systems are wireless. No fuss. Think about it.

Where Do I Put My Stuff?

There are laptop locks and there are ways to discreetly secure a flat-screen TV, at least to the table or entertainment center. You could keep your video game system in a drawer and lock it down before you go to bed. There are several, even creative things you can do — if you aren’t too lazy to do them. Let’s be honest. Sometimes I think it’s a chore to just turn all the lights out before I go to bed. Remember though: we don’t really appreciate things until they’re gone.

What About My Really Good Stuff?

Jewelry? Unless you wear it all the time, park it off-site in a safety deposit box. If not, remember this: The burglar hasn’t a lot of time to rummage through your stuff. He works on the low-hanging-fruit theory: get in, see it, take it and get out.

Given that, just stash it where one would not look. Places not to stash it include under the mattress and in the freezer. How about a stash can? Some of you may not know what that is. Go to your local head shop and ask for a stash can. They come in a variety of cans including fake beer cans, fake candles, fake this and that although come to think of it, I’d stay away from the beer cans since burglars have, in the past, swiped the booze too.

Anyway, the thought is this: Make it harder and take more time, to find your jewelry. Just don’t you forget where you put it.

Be Creative

Look folks, technology can help you based on two facts:

1. Perception is reality
2. The crook has endless choices of who he wants to victimize.

What if I were to walk up on your porch with the intention of breaking into the home, and I find the following: A pair of size 18 work boots, dirty, sitting next to the doormat. Secondly, I find a very large dog bowl next to the size 18 work boots. What is your thought? Well, unless you’re a total idiot, and unfortunately some of our local crooks are, you’ll assume that some really big guy is home from his construction job and two, his really big dog is with him. Okay, let’s say you’re really stupid or have a death wish, you decide to try and force that door anyway. As you open the door, you hear the deep and menacing bark of what you believe to be a large dog, previously assumed by the size of the dog bowl. I’m thinking almost all would say, “Maybe I’ll move on.”

Is this far-fetched? Not at all. I know several people who have the barking dog recording that activates by a motion sensor either on the house near the door or on the driveway. Google or Bing it. You’ll find it because, thanks to Al Gore, everything is on the Internet. It all depends on how much effort you want to put in it.

Unfortunately, most folks don’t prioritize security until after the fact. Go against the grain out there and put some funky stuff on your security list. You could record a dog or large bear, the voice of John Wayne, a series of gunshots, or just about anything that could be recorded.

Last, but Not Least

Try and be proactive. Do what you can. Sometimes although you did, you still get burned but remember that burglars are skittish and if they get bad vibes on your place, they’ll scoot.

Call the cops. Report suspicious activity. People walking along the breezeway maybe checking door knobs. If you see that, call. People hanging around behind the apartment — maybe near the back patio. Suspicious people have a hard time NOT looking suspicious so don’t second guess yourself. Call.
Don’t advertise when you’re gone for a few days. If you have a courtesy officer who is a police officer, let him or her know.

Remember: Don’t make security a priority AFTER the fact. Do it now.

Photo credit: Shutterstock