These summer months are a hot time for thieves to target neighborhood homes. In fact, July and August are the top months for break-ins.
According to CSPD from January to June of this year there were 1,153 burglaries.That’s up about 16% from numbers we saw last year. We spoke to Pueblo Police who tell us there were 581 burglaries from January to July of this year. This is actually down 4% from last year.
The majority of break-ins happen between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. with over 30% of thieves entering right through the front door, but there are ways you can prevent this!
Many of these crimes are "crimes of opportunity". This could be anything from an unlocked door, to a garage door left up, even something as simple as missing a strikes plate in the front door. The good news is there are easy fixes that don’t take a lot of time and money!
The best ways to combat thieves are to secure your sliding doors using a pin and rod.You also need to make sure you have a strike plate. It’s a metal plate where your dead bolt sits. Not all doors have them, but they re-enforce the dead bolt so if someone tries to kick in the door they can’t.
Smart garage doors are another easy fix. They alert you if your garage is open. Finally, consider getting locks for your home that you can control from your smart phone.
Remember, it doesn’t take much to sway a burglar and there’s dozens of ways to do it on a budget.
