How to fool would-be burglars

In a part of the city where break and enter is one of the most common crimes, the local police division is trying to help residents avoid becoming victims. Constable Kelly Downie, crime prevention officer for 33 Division, which saw 22 break and enters from May 15 to 28 alone, has offered tips on how to lower your chances of being victimized:

Create the illusion of occupancy, whether you’re home or not

This includes having a car in the driveway, keeping blinds open and having lights on. If you’re on vacation, make sure someone is collecting your mail, and have your driveway shovelled if it’s winter.

Answer your door even when you’re not expecting company

“That becomes a problem because now you’ve got a robbery situation if the person breaks in thinking nobody’s home,” Downie said. “These guys are cowards, let’s face it … They’re breaking into your home when nobody’s home and they don’t want to run into anybody. They’re there for your stuff.”

Privacy doesn’t always mean security

Downie warns that measures designed to increase your level of privacy in your home can actually decrease your level of security.

“If they’re feeling comfortable that nobody’s going to see them and they can work on that basement window or work on that basement door, that’s the house they’re going to pick,” she said. “They’re not going to pick the corner house where everybody walking by can see them at the side door or front door.”

Maintenance of large shrubbery and trees can make a difference

Homeowners need to start applying what the police call the three-foot rule, Downie said.

“Trim your trees down three feet and your trees that are overhanging up to three feet, so that anybody driving by or walking their dog can see it and give that would-be criminal the sense that ‘everybody can see what you’re doing.’ ”

Once homeowners practise a lot of these techniques, it will decrease their chances of becoming victims of a break and enter, since Downie says those criminals are always looking for the highest reward for the least amount of effort.

“That’s the natural criminal template, they’re always watching for that,” she said. “ ‘What’s going to be my jackpot, and for how much risk is this going to cost me?’ ”