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Protecting Your
Property During Vacation
By W. Ruben Collazo, WCA President |
The end of school is upon us and many of you plan to take vacations.
Unfortunately criminals know that communities like Westchase experience
a high vacancy rate over the summer. You should therefore take some
common-sense steps to protect your property.
A popular myth is that many Westchase cars have been broken into. The
truth is quite different. Virtually every recent Westchase automobile
“break-in” actually involved cars left unlocked. An unlocked car is an
invitation to steal everything in it. Don’t leave your wallet,
electronic devices, firearms and other property in your cars and be sure
to lock them. Criminals prefer “soft” targets and nothing is softer than
an unlocked vehicle.
When you leave your home, set your alarm system every time. Also, make
sure that you prominently display an alarm company sign in your front
yard. Nothing deters theft more than an alarm system. While not
foolproof, it is extremely effective. What do you do if you don’t have
an alarm system? Simply purchase an alarm company sign on the Internet
for about $25 and post it on your lawn. Criminals don’t know the
difference. They just move along to the next house.
One of the biggest vulnerabilities our homes have is their sliding glass
doors. Criminals lift these doors off their tracks and pull them out of
place. Most sliding glass doors are designed with extra space at the
top, specifically for lifting the door in and out of the track. The
trick is to eliminate the space at the top of the door with three or
four drywall screws. Screw the drywall screws into the top track and
leave the heads sticking out far enough to lightly miss the door as it
slides by. Three or four screws thus placed will serve as an effective
and virtually free way to eliminate the space at the top of the door.
Another entry method criminals use is to kick in the front door. They
know that most builders’ doors are not strong enough to withstand such
blunt force. For very little money, however, you can purchase the
hardware you need to fortify your door against this threat. I highly
recommend that you stop by the local home center and discuss the options
with a sales associate. While you’re there, don’t forget to pick up a
few motion sensor lights and mount them on the back of your home. Please heed this advice very carefully. If you see something
suspicious, call the sheriff’s office. I can’t tell you how many times
I’ve heard reports of burglaries here in Westchase and then, after the
fact, heard that a neighbor either saw or heard something suspicious and
did nothing about it. Folks, please, when in doubt, call the sheriff.
They can sort out the information and prevent any bad things from
happening. Don’t sit idly by and allow crime to happen. Make a phone
call and help a neighbor.
Last, if you go out of town, don’t forget to leave a few lights, your
television or your radio on a timer. Give a neighbor access to your home
as well as your cell phone number. Remember, when it comes to preventing
crime, we are all this together. Please do your part.
As always, I like to close by reminding you that your Westchase
Community Association’s board of directors is here to protect your
investment in this community. If you have any issues, comments,
criticisms or even compliments, your board members and I would like to
hear them. Our numbers are
here. Call us. We look
forward toward to hearing from you.
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