​Is your home the next to be burglarized? Take these 5 simple steps to prevent crime in your neighborhood.

There will always be neighborhoods that experience less crime than others.  There is no such thing as a neighborhood that is immune from break-ins and crime. Even areas that are historically quiet and safe can be prone to a crime spree as city dynamics change.  Believing that your neighborhood will always be free from crime creates a false sense of security causing homeowners to leave their homes under protected.

The best thing to do is to be proactive and protect your home before anything happens.  If your neighbor experiences a break-in, it is important that you take action to make sure that both your home and your neighborhood are safe and protected before the burglars return for a repeat visit. If you wait, you could find that your home is the next on the list to be broken into.
 
These are some simple ways that you can work together with your family and community to make it more difficult for criminals to make their way in and take advantage of your safety and security.

Meet With Your Neighbors

If you do not already know your neighbors, you should meet them. By everyone getting to know one another, you will be able to set up a valuable network that will help you form a solid unit.  By being familiar with your neighbors everyone will become aware of each other’s coming and going.  When something seems amiss such as a garage door open mid-day when a neighbor should be at work, other neighbors will know this is a red flag and call the police.  In addition to community awareness, having a relationship with your neighbors allows you to inform them when you will be away on vacation and even ask for help with taking trash and newspapers up to your house.   Having a set of eyes out on your home will help in the event of suspicious activity and keeping the trash, mail and newspapers will remove an indicator to burglars that you are not home.

The Modern Day Neighborhood Watch

This is a way of protecting your neighborhood that is easy to do and it gives criminals the message that you are truly serious about keeping them out of your area. Online community groups provide instant messaging and alerts that work as daisy chain communication system alerting the community to suspicious activity throughout the day.  Sites such a myneighborhood.com and nextdoor.com offer an outstanding online neighborhood watch.  By working together, neighbors throughout a whole community can stop crime before it happens. There are also mobile apps available that will allow community members to report suspicious activity to the group and make a decision to contact the authorities that are supported by local government.  Visit your cities municipal page to see if one has been set-up in your area.  If you find that the resources you need are not yet available, consider starting a group yourself.
Keeping a regular meetings schedule is also be very helpful and suggestions should always be welcome on the different ways that you can further beef up security in the neighborhood. Whenever possible, get your local law enforcement involved to have a professional prospective on your methods for protecting your homes.
 
 
Learn About Current Crime Trends

Knowledge is power. Taking steps to educate yourself about crime in your city and neighborhood will help you stay ahead of burglars.  Pay attention to the latest crime trends and what burglars are doing to get in and what they take once they are inside a home.  This will allow you to have a better course of action to prevent burglaries. Website such as crimemapping.com and crimereports.com offer a map layover of various dangerous home crimes from burglary to murder.   Additional online searches are offered by local counties and police departments depending on the city you live in.  Simply do an internet search for crime and your area.  Numerous sites will pop up showing you statics, local crime maps, and information from local police departments.  Many of these websites will also send you email and/or text alerts to your smart phone.
 
Take Steps to Not Be a Burglar Magnet

Be sure to inspect your own home for any security issues so that it won't be a target for any would-be criminals. Always keep your doors and windows locked. Don’t forget to shut your garage door and if you park in the driveway, but have a garage door opener in your car make sure you lock your car as well.  Make sure you don’t leave any keys under door mats or easy to find locations and keep trash, flyers, and mail in check.  Nothing screams I’m on vacation, please steal from me than a house that looks vacated.  Keep brush and trees neat and trimmed away from the home to avoid hiding places for burglars by windows and if you have a birthday party or during the holidays, make sure you don’t put large ticket item boxes out to the trash too early.  A big screen TV box sitting on the curb for few days is an advertisement for what waits inside.  
 
 
Install Security Cameras
 
Take action to prevent crime before it happens by installing a home security camera system. After building a good relationship with your neighbors, you can speak to them about pooling your resources and ordering security cameras as a group or working together to create a neighborhood nexus of security coverage.  If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA speak with your HOA about installing post cameras throughout the community.  By posting cameras throughout your neighborhood at certain check points you will have the advantage of tracking suspicious activity and even record the vehicles and license plates that are coming in and out. If you are unable to work as a neighborhood to achieve a universal surveillance goal, taking steps to protect your own home are simple.  CCTV camera systems are widely available to consumers from local retailers such as Costco or through local security camera installers.  While cameras from a retailer like Costco cost less, the product will need to be self installed and has a shorter lifespan than equipment you will receive from an installation company.  It is best to weigh all your options before making a decision.
 
Staying aware, alert and connected in your community will greatly increase your ability to fight crime and reduce the chances of your home being broken into.  Joining or forming a neighborhood watch will allow you to protect your own home as well as those around you.  Keeping your neighbors informed about how to protect their homes and showing them the information you’ve gather online will help the community work together to reduce overall crime in the area.  In addition to staying informed and working together, adding security cameras or an alarm system to both your home or within the neighborhood will deter and capture burglars.  Crime is preventable and following these simple steps brings you closer to being part of the solution.
  
About the Author

Ross Germano is a self-defense and security enthusiast. For great information about self-defense and top security products visit his site at Reveresecurity.com

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