House Break-Ins on the Rise, NPD Offers Prevention Tips

The following is a statement from the Norwood Police Department:

There has been a recent uptick in housebreaks in Norwood over the past couple of months. Breaks tend to occur during the day and criminals often take measures to avoid entering houses where someone is home. They look for a house that looks empty, and then knock to make sure. The tips below are offered by Detective Rich Giacoppo.

• Never open your door to strangers. But if someone knocks on your door, answer from behind a closed locked door or from an adjacent window so they know the home is occupied.
• If you encounter someone on your property that you don't know, you should always get their vehicle type, color and registration number, their physical description, how many people there were and then call the police.
• Even if the police confirm that they are ok, this is still a great crime prevention practice and could save you or your community from being victimized in the future.
• Always keep the doors and windows to your house locked. Always lock car doors and don't leave valuable property in plain view.
• Be a "nosey" neighbor and keep an eye on your community. Call the police if you see any activity, any person or any vehicle that you think is suspicious or out of place (nobody knows your neighborhood better than you do). You could be saving your neighbor from losing valuable possessions or even from getting hurt themselves. Be the eyes and ears of the police and help to protect yourself and your community!
• Please record the vehicle registration number and state, color, type, number of doors, make (Toyota), model (Camry). Another important observation would be anything specific about the car such as a dent on a door, a rusted area, broken window, bumper stickers or window stickers. These help the police to quickly identify and possibly confirm a suspect vehicle.
• Things to observe about a person that you could describe to the police; race, sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, facial hair, clothing, speech/accents, tattoos, scars, marks, jewelry and anything that is distinctive about that person. For example you could describe a suspicious person to the police as a white, male, approximately 5'10", 200 lbs., brown eyes, short brown hair, clean shaven, wearing a blue red sox baseball cap, white short sleeved shirt, blue jeans and brown work boots. He had a diamond earring in his right ear and had a tattoo of a dragon on the right side of his neck. He spoke with a southern accent and was carrying a blue backpack.
• Photograph your valuables and record all make, model and serial numbers of your electronics. Keep receipts for high-value items in a safe place. Should you become a victim, this information will greatly assist the police investigation.
• If you discover that your home has been broken into, leave the house immediately and call 911. Do NOT touch anything in the house until the police have cleared you to do so. Evidence may be destroyed just by you checking around your home for missing items. Wait to be instructed by the police to do that.

Additional Home Security Tips provided by NPD Crime Prevention Unit

• To protect your home when you are away, we suggest you:    
• Make sure all exterior doors have good locks-preferably dead bolts with at least a one throw.
• Always lock up even if you’re gone “only a few minutes.”
• Make sure doors are of solid construction 1 ¾” metal or hardwood.
• Secure sliding glass doors with bars or locks or place a wooden dowel in the door track. (Must be tight).
• Make sure all windows have good locks especially those on ground floor.
• Make sure all porches, entrances and outside areas are well lighted. Perhaps motion sensored.
• Trim all bushes that hide doors or windows.
• Consider installing an alarm system.