What Attracts Burglars to Your Home?
Before breaking into a home, burglars often come up with an effective plan. They case an area and look for particular features in houses, such as:
• Easy access - open or unlocked doors and windows, garage and pet doors are common entry points
• Quick departure - houses along a highway or adjacent to an expressway provide a quick escape
• Indication you are away - burglars generally try to avoid running into homeowners. This means, a large number of residential burglaries occur in locations where mail is piled up, lawn is tall or after people leave for work, school or errands
• Greatest reward - thieves target locations with the greatest potential reward. Visibility of valuables are a sign of wealth
• Low security and visibility - homes without a dog, security sensors, cameras and associated equipment are more attractive to burglars
Once Inside a Garage or Home, What do Burglars Look for?
• Cash
• Jewelry
• Firearms
• Tools
• Electronics (particularly small items, such as cell phones, laptops a and gaming systems)
• Bicycles
• Medication (particularly opioids and other prescription drugs that can be resold)
Discreet storage areas for these items can keep you from losing money and assets.
How Can I Make My Home Less Attractive to a Burglar?
There are many ways to deter thieves. From incorporating visual cues to adding alerts, you can minimize the risk of burglary.
• Close and lock all doors and windows, including your shed and garage
• Don't leave a spare key under a doormat or in a nearby planter
• Hide your valuables, particularly jewelry, cash, electronics and tools
• Keep firearms in a locked safe
• Take in your mail, newspaper and packages daily or contact the U.S. Post Office for a mail hold if you are going to be out of town
• Pay attention to what you put in your trash. A box from a recent high-end purchase is a signal to a thief that you own an item they may find attractive
• Install motion activated lights
• Equip your home with a security system and use it
• Monitor the growth of landscaping so it doesn't cover too much of your house or provide places to hide
• Change up your daily routine. The less predictable your schedule, the more likely you won't be an easy target
• Wait to post vacation photos online until you've returned home
Our Home Has Been Burglarized. Now what?
• If you arrive to find your house was robbed, call 9-1-1 immediately. Since you don’t know if a perpetrator is still inside, find a safe place to wait, like a neighbor’s house, until authorities arrive. If you experience a break-in while you are home, seek safety for yourself and your family and text or call 9-1-1 as soon as possible
• Locate your family members and pets
• Document everything (e.g. photograph each room, note what is missing or damaged, jot down a timeline of events, etc.)
• Contact your insurance company to file a claim
• Call your bank and credit card companies to cancel or temporarily freeze accounts
• Secure your home (e.g. clean up or fix broken items, change your locks, replace keys, etc.)
• Inform your neighbors
Address/Location
Santa Clara Police Department
601 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 408-615-5580