For a lot of young people when they first move out of home the wake-up calls come fast and often. The dishes don’t do themselves. Neither do the clothes. The bathroom is not self cleaning, the garbage does not take itself out and rent is just one of many bills that has to be covered. The young person that has lived in a home in a fairly nice area their parents kept well secured may be lulled into thinking burglaries only happen to other people even when they move out into premises in a less than desirable area with a lower level of security than their parents had in place.
Such was the case at a house in North Fitzroy we attended recently where burglars had made off with a brand-new Xbox.(I mentioned this the one of the young guys here and with a straight face he said they should use the opportunity to get a Sony PlayStation instead because they are much better lol).
Jokes aside…. Was there anything this group of first-time renters could have done to improve their security? Well as it turns out… Yes!
- Get Some curtains Fellahs!. If the premises were previously rented without curtains often the exiting tenants will take to curtains when they go. That makes sense because they paid for them. Now if it was three young girls renting a new house I would expect them to solve the curtain problem quickly but for some reason when guys move into a house if it’s got no curtains they seem to think this is an insurmountable problem. I don’t know if they consider curtain money is money that could be better spent on beer..? But whatever the reason the guys houses just don’t seem to manage curtain purchasing.
The result? People can easily see into the house and see whether anyone is at home and what’s there for the taking.
- Make sure everyone has all keys
As it turned out of three tenants only two of them had keys to the back door deadlock and the back door had a glass pane beside it. The guys as a result, just didn’t use the back deadlock, only the door lock. If the back door had been deadlocked when the burglar broke the glass pane he would not have been able to reach in and unlock the back door. - Add motion detecting lights at the rear of the house.
Installing a motion detector connected to the back light is a great way to deter thieves. It’s even better than leaving a light on out the back. A dark backyard or porch is an ideal entry point for a burglar and when casing a property this is what they will look for. A well lit back porch will deter some but if the thief approaches the back door and a light turns on? They know the turning on about light may draw attention to someone who is looking at a window, it may draw attention from a dog etc. A motion activated light at the front and back of the house is almost standard practice to most homeowners as a security precaution as one which as a renter you should discuss with your landlord.
The main thing is to use your common sense. Understand that burglars can hit any property that they prefer easy targets. If you make your property are more difficult target than another property down the road chances are a burglar casing the area will target their property as opposed to yours. Secure your property as well as you can. Don’t advertise you have expensive electrical items just lying about.
The North Fitzroy boys learnt a pretty sobering lesson and the gaming is can be on hold for quite some time.
