Safety Alert for You & Your Family

Christmas was less than a week ago but the crime scene never slows down. Burglaries are on the rise and there are a few things you can do to prevent yourself from becoming a victim. Whenever you put your brand new boxes on the curb, you are accidently advertising for the items inside your home. Unfortunately, no one sticks their boxes outside thinking anyone is going to steal from them but it happens.   “People are in possession of new items, more items than they initially had, and they’re displaying the items,” explains Sid Newman, the executive director of Baton Rouge CrimeStoppers.

Believe it or not but your trash is showing off your holiday treasures.  “Some people may take advantage of that, and say ‘well, if the boxes are outside, more than likely the property is inside, so I’m going to burglarize that house.” These crimes are something that happens every year even when Law Enforcement does everything they can do to stop it.  “You don’t want to advertise the fact that you got a 40-inch screen or a 50 -inch screen TV or that you got a new microwave or whatever,” Newman says. “You don’t want to advertise what you got.”

Try and tear up the boxes and sticking them in something that does not show which items you bought. If they are out of sight, then it makes it a little harder to find them. It’s pretty easy to try and hide the more expensive boxes and keep those burglars away from you.  “They’ll ride around and look and they see an opportunity and they’ll take advantage of it,” Newman explains. Try and write down the serial numbers from those expensive items and keep them in a safe place.  “If they are victimized and they do become burglarized, that’s the one bit of evidence that the police can say that the person is in possession of your property.”

Some people do not realize that their trash tells a story of the inside of their home. Vandalizes drive around looking for evidence of things that are inside the home. All they need to do is spot your loot and then make a run to steal it from you. Also make sure to keep things like the receipts out of your trash. Receipts give a person an idea of what’s in your house as well. Things that you do not even think about, the thieves do and that makes you an easy target. This is not just information for Christmas time but for any time of the year. Crooks are always up to no good and you are always at risk for potential harm if you do not watch your actions. Try and follow these simple tips to keep you and your gifts safe this holiday season.