One of the most basic things that people can do to protect themselves from a break-in is lock their doors.

It sounds obvious but countless people leave their doors open, particularly when they are at home. They do it because they are tired of getting up to let the cat in and out; because they don?t want to feel like a prisoner in their own home; because they live in a safe neighbourhood and for many other reasons. The bottom line is that too many Bermudians are making life cushy for the sticky-fingered crowd.

This exact problem was illustrated in a recent article in whena man accused of breaking into a number of houses and stealing a box of sneakers, told the Magistrate, ?You should be charging me with trespassing because I never actually broke into anyone?s house. The door was open.? reporter Jessie Moniz and photographer Glenn Tucker met with Crime Prevention Officers Melinda Benevides and Eric Bean to learn steps people can take to protect their homes. Mrs. Benevides has been in the security field for a number of years. Mr. Bean is a former policeman and his speciality is alarm systems.

People often call the Crime Prevention Office for advice about how to protect their house after they have had their house broken into.

?If someone hasn?t been broken into but would like help shore-up their house, they can still call Crime Prevention,? said Mr. Bean. ?We prefer that. It is better from the beginning than after they have become a victim of the crime.?

When the Crime Prevention Office comes to your home to do a home survey they assess the perimeter of the property. They look at shrubbery, how visible the property is to the neighbours, and any shadowed areas where a burglar could hide. They also look at anything that might be lying around that might be used to gain entry.

?It is about opportunity reduction,? said Mrs. Benevides. ?You can?t control the ability of the intruder and you can?t control the desire. So we try to focus our efforts on opportunity reduction. We help them to take the necessary precautions, and harden the property.?

Mr. Bean said he loves crime prevention, and his years as a police officer have given him a special perspective on the situation.

?Every house that we go to has its own unique circumstances,? he said. ?Once you become involved in crime prevention it becomes second nature. No matter where you go, you are always a crime prevention officer. You are always looking at things and thinking why is someone doing that??

Mr. Bean said once, before he was a police officer, his own house was broken into. ?I know the feeling of becoming a victim,? he said. ?You feel violated.?

Mrs. Benevides said her way of looking at things has also changed since she became a crime prevention officer.

?In my personal life, since I have that knowledge of crime prevention I am questioning a lot more things,? she said. ?There are things that I wouldn?t have questioned before, but I do now because I have that instinct about crime prevention. I try to be geared for that in every aspect of my life.?

Mr. Bean said an example of something he would notice would be the greeting that people leave on their voicemail or answering machine. He said people should leave a little mystery about where they are. ?Don?t say, ?We are not at home right now?,? he said. ?Say ?we can?t come to the phone right now? or something like that.?

Mrs. Benevides said that if you go abroad, have your mail and newspapers collected or delivery stopped, so a heap of uncollected mail outside your door doesn?t betray your absence. People should also have the grass cut regularly while they are away.

But Mr. Bean said crime prevention did not necessarily stop someone from breaking into the house.

?If a person has a desire to get in, they will get in,? said Mr. Bean. ?The idea of crime prevention is to delay them entry. The longer it takes for that individual to break-in, the greater the chances of them being caught. That is what crime prevention is about, to delay criminals from getting in. From that delay period they could be caught.?

Although in Bermuda?s crowded setting privacy is highly desirable, having the neighbours able to peep in can be a good thing when it comes to crime prevention.

?A high fence around your property can be a double sword,? said Mr. Bean. ?It may stop a criminal from coming in, but it can also shield his activities from your neighbours. However, we do recommend fencing for certain areas.?

He said that having a dog is often good for alerting the neighbours when a stranger is on the premises, but people can overestimate their dog?s ability to guard the property.

?Criminals have ways of getting around dogs,? said Mr. Bean.

Mrs. Benevides said that when there is a break-in it is essential that people report it to the police, and also network with their neighbours.

?If you live in an area and you get broken into and you report it, and other neighbours report the same thing, it lets us know that there is a certain trend in the area. We might get all the neighbours together and form a neighbourhood watch group.

?It is very beneficial to network with your neighbours. There are a lot of success stories with neighbourhood watch groups. They would report suspicious activity in that area. You don?t know what the information can do for police. It might not solve a crime in that area, but solve a crime somewhere else. The information that people give the police is what helps them to solve crimes.?

Mr. Bean said people?s fear after a break-in is often a concern to the crime prevention officers.

?One of the biggest things that we fight is fear,? he said. ?Once someone becomes a victim, then they become a prisoner in their own home. The measures we advise can be just as effective and still give people their freedom without making them feel like a prisoner. That is why we encourage people to contact our department ? so we can answer their security needs and give them the recommendations.?

Mrs. Benevides said she hesitates to recommend bars on the windows, due to fire safety concerns. There are new window products on the market that make it difficult for people to break-in through a window. Mr. Bean said if you come home and find your front door open or unlocked when you locked it earlier, don?t go in.

?Go to a neighbour and call the police,? he said. ?If they are still inside you don?t know what frame of mind that person is in.?

It is difficult for them to assess whether their crime prevention techniques have been successful. If someone has failed to break-in or decided on someone else?s house because of the measures, the occupant would probably never know. However, the Crime Prevention Office does send around a survey to find out if the recommended measures have been carried out, and whether there have been any further problems.