Things Police say you can do to Prevent Break-ins

October is crime prevention month. To help keep you and your family safe, local law enforcement has tips to keep criminals from breaking into your home.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo – October is crime prevention month, and to help keep you and your family safe the Springfield Police Department has tips on how you can keep criminals from breaking into your home.

Police say the best thing you can do is try to deter criminals before they ever get into your house. One way you can do that, is to have lights on the outside of your house. Motion sensing lights in particular are a great option to scare away criminals.

Here are some other things police say you can do to keep criminals out of your house:

• Have a deadbolt on your outside door. Police recommend it be at least three-inches long.

• Make sure your doors are about an inch and three quarters thick, or made of steel.

• Consider leaving a few lights on inside your home as well.

“When you have the lights all lit up on the outside, and it’s dark on the inside, the issue with that is, the perpetrator who gains entry into the home, and it’s dark, no one from the outside can see inside, so they have the time to do what they want to do, and get out without anyone seeing them,” explained Sergeant Jennifer Charleston with the Springfield Police Department.

Police say it’s also important to have a plan for kids.

• Teach them not to open the door to strangers.

• Have them practice getting out of the home in case of an invasion.

• Have a safe place in the home where they can hide.

You might think most home break-ins happen at night, but police say a lot of break-ins happen during the day as well.

Criminals often knock on the front door to see if you’re home, if you’re not, they go around the back of the house and try to break in. That’s why it’s important to have your back door securely locked.

Here are some other things police say you can do to keep criminals out of your house during the day:

• Make sure windows and doors are locked and secured when you leave home.

• Have an alarm system that can alert police and scare off a criminal.

• Know you’re neighbors, that way if they see anything suspicious they can call police while you’re away.

So far this year, in Springfield, there have been more than one thousand home invasions. In 15 of those, the criminal made contact with a resident.

By Jonathan Wahl, Reporter

Copyright © 2014, KSPR News

Things Police say you can do to Prevent Break-ins