When a criminal is casing a home, they may appear to be innocently walking or jogging by, but they will likely linger for a prolonged period.  Is there a jogger stretching in front of your home?  If you notice this type of behavior, take note of their appearance for future reference.  They might be doing more than running.  Be sure to get a good look at them and have an accurate description to give to the police; however, keep in mind that not every new person who walks past your home and casts a glance your way is a potential burglar.

This is why we have the incident report. It is meant to be used as a non-invasive tool. You can complete the forms and keep paper copies or save them to your hard drive or cloud. The form is set up to be used in any way that makes you comfortable. Then, if nothing ever comes of it, you can dispose of them; however, if you hear of a burglary that occurred a few homes down, you may have all of the information that the police need to help close the case on your incident reports!

If you see a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood, write down the license plate number or snap a photo.  I love the ease and convenience of taking pictures.  I can keep it for a few months, it is time and date stamped, and if it is nothing, I just delete it. Photos don’t lie either. Their memory doesn’t fade. They do not get confused.  Mind you, they can be manipulated. Nothing is perfect; however, some “witnesses” are better than others. The great thing is I can put them in their own folder and they are even sorted in date and time order.

Burglars often sit in vehicles with tinted windows to mask their identity.  If you notice a car parked near your home for a period of time with no explanation, don’t be shy about calling the police and voicing your concern.  Chances are they will be more than happy to swing by and look into it for you.  It might only be a visitor from down the street, but it won’t hurt to have the info if it turns out to be someone or something nefarious. 

Have you ever come home and found something odd on your porch?  Burglars like to see if we are home by placing items in high-traffic areas to see if they are moved.  They will also do things like flip the mat over or upside-down to see if we turn it back.  They will also take a piece of tape and place it from the door to the frame to see if the door has been used.  I have seen them use rubber bands, flyers, stickers, and even children's toys in the same way - sometimes in combinations.  Not only is an accumulation of paper on your porch basically a neon sign that you are out of town, but they can also tell how long it has been since you have used the entrance/exit.

In today’s world, pretty much everyone has a camera on their phone.  It is easier than ever before for people to snap a quick photo of your home for later.  With new home builds, it is simple to go to the model for a tour to see the layout of our homes or just go online. You can Google our home and see the listing on Realtor.com as well as a dozen other sites.  It doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies to think that someone knows where all of the bedrooms in my home are, but they don’t know the details of our security system either. I may have a few tricks up my sleeve. ;)

If you notice someone taking pictures of your house and walking away, this is likely a red flag.  The only time I have ever experienced that it was permissible is when it was a Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Agent, Builder, Property Investor, Surveyor, or Appraiser. Unless you unknowingly fall into foreclosure (for instance, your mortgage is sold while your now ex is out of town and he ignores the letters from the new company the four months he is away and paying the wrong company) or your landlord decides to sell without alerting you, you should know that these people have an interest in your home.  We must vigilantly look for suspicious activity and alert our local law enforcement if we perceive a threat.  Your help could aid them in an ongoing investigation or, better yet, stop one altogether.

Takeaways:

1. Please do not dismiss your gut intuition.

2. Do not open the door for strangers.

3. Record suspicious activity using the incident report.

4. If you think something needs urgent or immediate attention, call 911. That is what the professionals are there for.

5. Your phone will likely be your best line of defense because you can call for help and/or use it to take photos and videos.

6. Get to know the neighbors, so you can watch out for one another. Plus, you don’t want to think they are casing your place! ;)