from:
The Miami Herald
Posted on Fri, Jun. 26, 2009
Secure your home before you leave town
BY CARMEN GONZALEZ CALDWELL
Special to The Miami
Herald
B
efore we start on our vacation safety tips, I want to
share with you a great experience while attending my National
Crime Prevention Association meeting in Alexandria, Va.
Our meeting was held at the Kimpton Morrison
House Hotel, and the General Manager Robert Hannigan along with
Brett Graves and their staff, were so hands-on that our stay was
amazing. What service! I have never stayed in a hotel so unique
and very safety conscious!
Vacation season has started and as in the past,
let's review what needs to be done to enjoy ourselves and leave
our homes properly secure.
Let's start with our mail and newspapers. If
possible, have a neighbor pick them up. Most people do call to
suspend delivery, but when you call do you really know to whom you
are speaking? Even if you use that wonderful automated service
that tells you to press 1 for this and 2 for that, you are
advertising your absence. A trusted neighbor is much better.
Depending where you live, notify your police
department and ask an officer to place a ''watch order'' on your
house. Police departments of many municipalities and Miami-Dade
county offer this service.
You will have to give them certain information.
If you do this, let your neighbor know. You don't want your
neighbor stopped by an officer because he or she is picking up
your paper or mail.
Also, remember to leave lights on in the front
and rear of the house. Get a timer or use solar-powered
lights.
Trim hedges, especially if they are near your
windows. Overgrown bushes can cover windows, giving a burglar a
hiding place and blocking your neighbors' view.
Check windows and other areas that may be
vulnerable. Consider window pegs if the windows don't have locks.
If you have a window air conditioner, secure it with brackets and
screws.
Turn on a radio, get timers for your lamps and
set them to coincide with the time you are usually at home.
Advise your alarm company that you are going on
vacation and that no one will be entering the house during your
absence, if that is the case. Give the company your contact
information so if the alarm is triggered you will be contacted
immediately. Again, here is where a good neighbor comes in. The
neighbor can be on the lookout should the alarm go off and can
contact police.
Do not leave a message on your
phone saying that you are gone. Give your neighbor your contact
information in case he or she needs to reach you. And lastly,
please, if you go to the bank to withdraw money, be vigilant and
don't make stops on the way home.
Vacations are fun, but they can be less so if we
have to worry about our homes. So, start to plan at least a week
before it's time to leave and you will feel a lot better.
Carmen Caldwell is executive director
of the Citizens' Crime Watch of Miami-Dade. Send
feedback and news for this column to
carmen@citizenscrimewatch.
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