This is the first in a series of five articles on home security by Ricardo Butler, Police Crime Prevention Officer and Reserve Constable.

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Have you ever locked yourself out of your home and started looking for a way inside without calling for a locksmith, family member or a close friend who has a spare key to your house? If so, you have looked at your home through the eyes of a burglar! Chances are you saw enough ways to get inside to feel a little frightened, and you should be!

Your home is your castle, or is it? Are you really safe once you get home and lock your door? Bob and Carla Caisey of South Shore, Warwick (not their real names) had gone to sleep for the night. Carla woke up after hearing a noise from downstairs and woke Bob, who went downstairs to check. He found a burglar in the dining room who immediately ran out of the open back door. Bob called the Police who arrived and then investigated the incident. Bob was confused because he locked the back door before going to bed. So how did the burglar get inside?

The fact is, many homes are fitted with poor quality locks. To protect your home and loved ones, you need to make your home secure from burglars, by investing in time and money to buy quality locks and bolts for your windows and doors. Do not settle for inferior products because they are cheaper.

Housebreaking on the rise

During the first six months of this year, Police recorded 220 cases of housebreaking , compared with just 137 cases over the same period last year. At the time of going to press, third quarter statistics were not available.

Housebreaking has been defined as a "crime of opportunity". You can eliminate or reduce the "opportunity" by making your home less inviting and more difficult to enter. There are many causes for the continued increased in the number of housebreaking offences. The temptations and opportunities increase because our society is a working society, where we spend less time at home. More homes are left vacant for longer periods of time as adults work and children are at school or day care. We live in homes poorly designed or constructed to reduce crime. We leave messages for the criminals that we have property worth stealing and provide clues that no one is home. Bermuda is still a society where some people leave their homes, with the doors and windows unlocked! Residents still have the attitude of, `it won't happen to me'.

Some common things we do which make housebreaking easy:

Develop habits - patterns that tell burglars when you are gone, and, therefore, when it is "safe" to burglarise your home;

Telephone answering machines that tell burglars that you are not at home;

Leave keys in "secret" hiding places for your kids and the maid etc.; and

Talk loosely about your vacation plans, security systems and the valuables you have in the house when you are out in public.

Features that attract burglars:

Leaving benches, ladders or other items accessible, so burglars can easily reach windows;

Doors, which are fitted with poor quality locks that can be overcome by first time criminals; and

Windows and doors, which are hidden behind bushes or in dark isolated areas, which tempt burglars. They prefer to work in areas where they are not easily seen.

Time To Act

The time to take preventive measures is now! Do not wait to lock the door after your valuables have been carried away. A modest investment in time and money plus some "common sense" behavioural changes, can make your home burglar proof. Do not gamble with your home and family - begin practising crime prevention today.

For specific advice on home security matters, telephone the Police Drug and Crime Prevention Unit at 299-4286.

In the following articles you will learn how to secure your home and property and reduce risks to yourself.