Summer time is here. Kids are out of school. Roads are less crowded because no school buses are parked for the summer. So, what now?
When you thought that summertime would come with stress free days and no traffic, you would have never have thought of the negative aspects that come with this long break for kids. Now children are turner to burglary as a pass-time during those long summer days of nothing to do. That's just great. First, we have to worry about people stealing oil from our cars because gas prices have increased so quickly. Yes, people are stealing gas out of parked cars. So with that piece of horrible news it is just sad to know that those who leave their homes daily now have to worry about the neighborhood kids robbing them.
You may be wondering where this is coming from. Well, today my best friends house got robbed while she was out of town. The assailants broke into the house yesterday but took nothing. They came back this morning and attempted to steal....drum roll please....... A VIDEO GAME CONSOLE. They also tried to take the television, but I guess they needed that in order to play the video games.
Thankfully, a neighbor saw the kids through the open front door that they had kicked in. She quickly called the police and they were able to arrive at the crime scene fast enough to arrest all four intruders. The sad part...they ranged from ages 10 to 14. So, they have caused hundreds of dollars in damage, taken away the safety of the home, and gotten away with nothing. They did all of this for a video game console. WOW.
Now, a few things bother me at this point:
Now, a few things bother me at this point:
A. Why were these kids out at 11pm and 7am? What ever happened to a bed time and Saturday morning cartoons?
B. Where were their parents? It's a weekend and a holiday, so shouldn't your kids be accounted for?
C. Why did they do all of this to steal a video game console? (Sidenote: I'm glad that was one of the only things they were after.)
I am greatly bothered by this because these kids will all be out of jail today. Also, they will be out of school for the entire summer. So, they have plenty of time on their hands. What can be done to prevent matters from getting worse? What can be done to prevent this from happening to someone else.
After today's happenings, I've done some research on how to safeguard your house from theft. This house had an alarm system and was still broken in to, so what can be done when the alarm can save you from a thief:
1. Invest in secure locks and deadbolts. Get the locks with bump guards to protect yourself from thieves who can bump locks.
2. Get a lock and door reinforcer from a store like Home Depot, Lowe's or Wal-Mart. The reinforcer helps to prevent theives from being able to kick your door in.
3. Make sure your door frame is secure and withstand the kick of a thief.
4. Burglar bars. This is an old school approach, but effective nevertheless. Just be careful in the event of a house fire.
5. Keep your lights on and let your presence be known (even if you are not at home). Thieves are smart. They have lookouts. Their lookouts could even be one of your neighbors, so just be mindful that thieves pay attention to everything.
There are so many things that can be done to protect your home. Just be mindful and aware that thieves are always out lurking for new places to steal from. Don't let your home be the next. The economy is not doing to well right now. In this case, kids lack home training and just don't care about the consequences of their actions...unless they get caught. So, protect yourself.
*Picture from Doug Jones Art
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