Laguna Niguel Neighborhood News July-September 2017 July - September 2018 | Page 3

Home Security: Protecting Against Garage Door Break-Ins a Favorite Entry-point for Thieves. Thieves know it, but not many home owners know how easy it is to gain access into a home through a traditional garage door. The second that garage door closes, most home owners mistakenly assume that their home is secure, protected from the bad guys. Unfortunately, it’s often one of the first place criminals will check; but don’t worry, there are a couple things you can do to make it even more secure. One of the weakest points of your garage door is the opener itself. Every garage door opener has an emergency release – something that comes in handy should the power ever go out, but also something that is a major flaw in your home’s security. The problem with these emergency door releases is most criminals know how to use them to their advantage. By simply running a wire through the top of your garage door – in the same way thieves used to jimmy old car locks with a Slim Jim – a thief can easily pull the emergency release and gain entry into your home in seconds. How To Secure Your Garage Help Keep Your Community Crime Free – Join Neighborhood Watch • It works! Throughout the country, dramatic decreases in burglary and related offenses are reported in communities with active programs. • Many families have two working parents and children involved in many activities that keep them away from home. An empty house in a neighborhood where none of the neighbors know the owner is a prime target for burglary. How Does a Neighborhood Watch Start? To prevent break-ins through your garage door, there are a couple of things you can do: Zip Tie your Emergency Release Shut Simply running a Zip Tie through the holes in your emergency release switch will make it almost impossible for a thief to use the jimmy method. Keep in mind that the zip tie should only be used when you are going on vacation. I probably would not keep it on there when actually in the home, because during an emergency situation where you need to quickly evacuate having it on the emergency release could be dangerous . Install a Vacation Lock A heavy duty vacation garage door deadlock is a great solution for securing any garage door. They are easy to install, can be found for under $10, and make it that much harder on the bad guy to gain entry through your garage door. The lever slides right through the garage door track, making it almost impossible for the door to be raised once the lock is engaged. A motivated individual, or a few concerned residents, can spearhead the efforts to establish a Watch. As part of the program, a Crime Prevention Specialist will come to your neighborhood watch meetings and share valuable information about home/vacation/vehicle security tips. In addition, you’ll learn how to identify suspicious activity, how to provide suspect information when calling the Sheriff’s Department and much more! Be involved, call today! To start or to reactivate a Neighborhood Watch program, call Crime Prevention Specialist Kimberly Sawyer at 949-362- 4305 or email at [email protected] 3