Keeping Your Personal Property Safe

The Department of Public Safety Crime Prevention Bureau would like to provide some helpful hints to keep your personal property safe:

Keeping Your Home Safe

Make your home look occupied while you are away. Burglars want easy targets and are more likely to move on to another area if it appears that the home is occupied.

Lock all doors and outside windows before you leave the house.

Don't leave anything out in the open that is valuable or appears valuable. It will make your residence look more appealing to burglars.

Never leave spare keys in easy hiding places around your house (under doormats, planters, etc.).

Keep your shrubs and trees trimmed so they cannot be used as hiding places for burglars.

Locks

Deadbolt locks make it more difficult for a burglar to break into a house.

Sliding glass doors are vulnerable. Install additional locking devices to prevent easy entry.

Keep your garage door locked and closed.

Vehicles

Always lock your vehicle and keep your windows rolled up. An unlocked vehicle is an easy target for thieves, even when it is parked in your driveway.

Park in well-lit areas.

Don't leave anything in plain view in your vehicle that appears that it might be valuable (backpacks, bags, etc.). Thieves will break a window to take a backpack, even if it doesn't have anything valuable in it. They don't know it isn't valuable.

Personal Property

Make a detailed list of all your property, and document all serial numbers. Download and print a sample personal property list (PDF).

For property that does not have a serial number, mark it with an engraver or other device with identifying marks. Do not use social security numbers or other personal information as an identifying mark.

Neighborhood

Form a Neighborhood Watch Group. Working with your neighbors will improve security and reduce your risk of becoming a victim. Find out how on the Neighborhood Watch Program page.