There are many misconceptions about how to prevent home burglary in San Francisco and about home burglaries in general. The most common scenario many people think of is a burglar lurking around at night, checking to see if backdoors or windows have been unlocked when in fact most home burglaries in San Francisco happen during daytime hours.
Common tactics of home burglaries in San Francisco include burglars:
- Knocking on doors to see if anyone is home.
- Pretending to be a service worker that needs access to the inside of your home.
- Locating unlocked doors or windows.
- Breaking in during daytime hours when they know homeowners will be out of the home at work.
- Burglaring as a team, so that one person can distract the homeowner or lure them outside while the other burglars enter the home.
Over 30,000 property crimes occur in San Francisco every year. Prevent your home from being part of this statistic by taking appropriate steps to burglar-proof your home.
5 Ways to Prevent Home Burglary in San Francisco
When it comes to protecting your home against burglary, prevention is key. The following five tips are a few of the ways to prevent home burglary in San Francisco.
- Invest in a home security system. While home security systems can be costly, the protection they afford is well worth the investment. Homes without security systems are more likely to be broken into than homes with a security system in place. Plus, home security systems do more than protect against burglary; they also alert you to fires, carbon monoxide levels, and other suspicious activity that could cause damage to your home. If you can’t afford a home security system, you can still put signs up alerting people that you have a home security system in place, which will at least act as a deterrent.
- Use landscape designs and strategies. Prune hedges and grass regularly so that burglars cannot hide behind them, place barrier shrubs with thorns (such as roses) under windows, keep tree limbs pruned so that burglars cannot climb up them into upstairs windows.
- Always lock all doors and windows. Home burglaries in San Francisco occur when homeowners are at home and when they’re away. Be sure to lock ground level windows and front and back doors even when you are home, unless you can keep a close eye on these points of entry. When you’re outside of the home, lock even the upstairs windows; you’d be surprised at how well people can climb.
- Instead of hiding a spare key, purchase a combination lock box. To take this one step further, don’t leave the lockbox in plain site, but keep it hidden as an extra level of security. Combination lockboxes are an inexpensive way to safeguard your home.
- Be extra cautious when people you don’t know knock on your door or are hanging out around your property. Oftentimes burglars scope out a home before they attempt to break in. Always report suspicious activity right away and take a detailed description of the suspect. If a stranger knocks on your door, avoid letting them in or even opening the door for them at all. If it is something important, the person will find a way to contact you that doesn’t involve you inviting them into your home.
By implementing even just a few of these steps you will be fortifying your home against burglars in San Francisco.
Steps to Take Immediately after Your Home Is Burglarized
If the worst case scenario does occur and your home is burglarized, the following action steps can be taken:
- If you are inside when the burglary is taking place, exit your home so that you are not harmed by the burglars, and then immediately call the police.
- If you are not at home, do not go inside. Call the police and let them enter first.
- After the police have made sure your home is safe, take an inventory of what you believe has been stolen.
- Follow the guidance of the police officers and answer all questions to the best of your knowledge, even if they seem unimportant to you.
- If you have video surveillance as part of your home security system, review the footage to see if the burglars have been caught on camera.
- Call your insurance agent. It’s in these worst case scenarios that you should take advantage of having homeowner’s insurance. Your insurance agent should be able to guide you through the process of filing the claims.
We hope that by taking these steps to prevent home burglary in San Francisco and understanding what to do if a burglary occurs, you feel safe and confident in your home.
If you are looking to buy or sell a home and have questions, please feel free to reach out! We at Danielle Lazier :: SFhotlist Team Keller Williams San Francisco are happy to help.
