Download the Safe & Secure Brochure 2.8 MB

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Your Possessions

Engrave your social security or driver's license number on valuables. Thieves find it harder to sell marked merchandise. You can borrow an engraving pen free of charge from many police departments.

Don't flaunt your belongings. Leave burglars guessing at what they will find and where to find them. The more valuables inside your home, the more persistant burglars tend to be.

When you make large purchases, do not leave the empty boxes on the curb. Break them down and place them on the bottom of your trash pile on the day of pickup.

You never know what you got until it's gone, so take an inventory of your possessions now. Don't rely on a panicked memory to give police or insurance agents a description. A written inventory is satisfactory, but other methods of documentation, such as video taping or still photographs, are also effective. Make two copies of your inventory, keeping one copy in your home and another in a safe location outside of the home. It will do you no good if the burglar inadvertantly takes the inventory along with him.

Should a thief enter your home, he will probably be in a hurry to leave. Chances are, he will not take the time to evaluate his loot. If you provide a few decoys, he might not look deeper to discover your real treasures.

Keep inexpensive jewelry in the jewelry box on your dresser and put your irreplaceable pearls in a plain paper box. A thief might take the obvious jewelry box and overlook the real one.

An inexpensive safe in the master bedroom could serve as a decoy. A burglar will assume that your valuables are inside and probably won't spend time trying to open it in your home. Instead, he'll just take it with him.

In case he opens the safe immediately, make him think that he hit the jackpot. Fill it with convincing fake jewelry and important looking papers.