Presenter: Deputy Nathaniel Payne
Basic facts according to the LCSO:
- Most home burglaries occur between 6am-6 pm and only take an average of 8 minutes.
- Home invasions, which occur during the night when owners are home, are rare
- Criminals have the desire, ability, and opportunity to commit a crime. It is our job to take away the "opportunity". One way this can be done is by building up the number of deterrents your house has compared to others.
Things you can do to deter criminals:
- Garbage: Don't advertise what you have or recently bought. When driving by your house, one should NOT be able to tell what items you have just purchased...cut up the boxes and containers. Also, make sure you shred your personal mail, old receipts, bank statements, etc.
- Landscaping: Try to keep bushes to about 24 inches high. You want a clear view of your yard from the widows of your house. You also want your neighbors to have a clear view of your home when looking from the street. Think about investing in bushes/shrubs that are thorny and place them under windows.
- Lighting: A good rule of thumb: When your outside lights are on, you should be able to clearly see someone's face when they are standing about 50 feet away. Motion lighting is a great investment. It can alert you as well as your neighbors to potential prowlers. When installing motion lighting make sure that it is high enough off the ground not to be tampered with.
- Doors: Consider investing in a high security lock/dead bolt. These can't be picked or bumped. However, they are costly and need to be ordered. Consider installing a door scope if you have a solid door....it is a good idea to install one in the door going into the garage. Doors going into your house should have a deadbolt including the door going into the garage. Door clubs, "charlie bars", etc. are all still good deterrents.
- Windows: Keep your windows locked and remember that screen really don't offer protection. Consider having security film applied to glass doors or some windows that you consider at risk.
- Interior of house: Store jewelry or other valuable in another location other than the master bedroom. If you have a safe, consider another area other than the master bedroom closet and be sure to have it bolted to the floor. If you have a security system, you may want to consider placing a secondary alarm on your safe.
- Inside lighting: Low level lighting or night lights are great. They provide just enough light for you to get around, but still keep intruders at a disadvantage.
Home security while away on vacation:
- Create an illusion of occupancy by using timers not only on lights but on radios and TV's
- Lock all the doors to your house
- Make sure your landscaping is maintained
- Lock your cars (yes even the ones in the garage) and remove any garage openers/GPS's/valuables.
- Do NOT post that you are going away on internet sites such as Twitter or Facebook. Only tell a trusted friend or neighbor
- Get someone to pick up mail or newspapers
Protect your valuables:
- Take pictures of your valuable items including the serial numbers and store the pictures somewhere safe.
If you ever see any suspicious activity, please call the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office at 703-777-1021.
Also, Deputy Payne is available Monday-Friday during business hours for home safety inspections. This is a free service. It takes about 20 minutes and a written report will follow. Contact him at Nathaniel.Payne@loudoun.gov if interested.
Our next community meeting will be on Monday, June 21st at the Hunt Civic Center at 7 pm . Deputy Payne will be discussing Resident involvement/Introduction to resident policing. Click Here to Sign Up
***These are unofficial notes from the meeting presented by the LCSO. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Deputy Payne at Nathaniel.Payne@loudoun.gov
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