Avoid being the victim of home burglary

Now that Christmas has passed and households are full of new gift items, it is wise to make sure your family is secure by taking every precaution possible against home burglaries.

Fortunately, there are steps both homeowners and apartment dwellers can take to ensure their belongings are safe and sound come the holiday season.

Make things difficult. When a criminal chooses a home to burglarize, he wants a target that is both easy to break into and poorly lit.

More than 50 percent of burglaries involve some forcible entry, so the sturdier a home’s doors and locks and the more well-lit the property, the more likely the burglar will move on and choose another house.

The more difficult a home appears to burglarize, the less likely it will be.

Put away all tools. Tools can include hammers, screwdrivers, ladders and the like.

If you have left a ladder outside to help with putting up and taking down holiday lights, be sure to put it away. It could become an invitation to burglars interested in breaking in through upstairs windows, which are less likely to be locked.

In the meantime, screwdrivers, hammers and other tools can be used to break windows or doorknobs or pick locks. Be sure to lock all tools in the garage.

Keep all valuables away from windows. It’s fun to admire all the new items you bought or received for Christmas, but be sure to keep them away from windows where potential burglars can peer in.

Find a key buddy. Burglars are aware of all the potential hiding places for keys that a home has to offer. Under the mat, in a spare car’s wheel well or glove compartment or on the top shelf in the garage are all standard locales for hiding house keys.

Instead of hiding a key on the property, find a trusted neighbor or relative who lives nearby and exchange spare keys.

Have the mail held at the post office. Nothing tells a burglar that a house is fair game like a mailbox overstuffed with several days’ worth of letters and flyers. The post office will hold mail if requested to do so.