trymahjong Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 from Citizenet enewsletter HPD to Homeowners: Help Us, Help You Protect Your HomeThe Houston Police Department wants to help you make your home as safe as possible and a nuisance to would-be burglars.For example, many intruders enter through weak doors. Having strong doors and door frames, including garage doors, is essential to your security. Steel doors and frames provide enhanced security because they are harder to destroy. If you have hollow-core doors, it is recommended you replace them with a sturdier type. There are wooden doors being manufactured to withstand a tremendous amount of pressure from would-be burglars.Secure windows and sliding glass doors can be secured with a locking device placed along the track. A broomstick or a wooden rod may work just as well if placed on the track between the door frame and the door. Glass sliding doors are usually secluded from public view and special care must be taken to secure them. Bolt locks can be installed to help prevent the door from being opened or removed from its track.Burglars will sometimes log your departure and arrival times from and to your home. Help ruin their plot by:Don't advertise you'll be out of town to casual acquaintances or in social media. Instead, tell a reliable neighbor and have him/her watch your property.Leave a few lights on or use timers that will turn lights on and off periodically.Leave drapes in a normal position. Drapes or shades fully closed give a deserted look.Use an etching device to mark your valuables with an identifying mark known only to you.Make an inventory list of all your belongings, include serial numbers.Stop all newspaper deliveries and have someone pick up your mail.Store an inventory of your valuables in a safe deposit box or fire safe, or file it with your insurance company.Share this safety information with your neighbors verbally and through social media.The more citizens heed such advice, the more we can continue the trend on reducing home burglaries, which have decreased about 8 percent in the city for the first six months of 2014, after dropping more than 10 percent in 2013.To see a home security demonstration by HPD crime prevention experts on best practices of protecting your home, go to the HPD YouTube channel at For more information on scheduling an officer to perform a home security check at your residence, call HPD Public Affairs at 713-308-3200 or your local law enforcement agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Buying a 1911 didn't make the list? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Buying a 1911 didn't make the list? These tips are geared more toward protecting your home from burglars when you're going to be away from home. Your 1911, while good to have for home protection, is not gonna do much good when you're across town at work when burglars hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 With the exception of not advertising that you are away from home on social media, these suggestions, which are all good, are the same ones being made 30 years ago. I guess they are for the benefit of people who didn't have their own residences back then; perhaps because they hadn't been born yet. Good ideas are worth repeating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwayne2014 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Even it was repeated tips still good to watch it. For sure not all are aware or known this kind of tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 They forgot to mention getting a very hungry, grumpy, one-eyed Rottweiler named Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0123 Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 ...these suggestions, which are all good, are the same ones being made 30 years ago.Problem is people keep ignoring this advice and need it beat into their heads. Take for example bmv's... despite yearly warnings, signs posted, news stories... people keep leaving purses, laptops, etc. sitting in their cars at night in perfect view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trymahjong Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Problem is people keep ignoring this advice and need it beat into their heads. Take for example bmv's... despite yearly warnings, signs posted, news stories... people keep leaving purses, laptops, etc. sitting in their cars at night in perfect view.I go the Citywide PIP (positive interaction Police program) and the Central one PIP and it's the same ole same ole-- most crime stats in Houston are down but. . . . BMV'sAvondale with all the Bars etc-- our #1 --BMV'sSometimes the HPD storefront (located within Avondale area) will walk up and down our neighborhood and leave those "report cards" on wind shields-- most of them are about "valuables in sight" But all those little tips are important-- no matter how silly it seems-- all those tips really do help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Problem is people keep ignoring this advice and need it beat into their heads. Take for example bmv's... despite yearly warnings, signs posted, news stories... people keep leaving purses, laptops, etc. sitting in their cars at night in perfect view. I don't like to leave anything of value in my car during the day, let alone at night, even if it's not in plain view. I've known several co-workers who made the mistake of leaving their laptops in the car when stopping off at a bar after work and returning to find them gone. I've only been the victim of one BMV, when I set my wallet down on the console after going through a drive-thru late at night and forgot to grab it when I arrived home. It was dark, and the car had a black leather interior, so I didn't notice it when I got out. Sure enough, when I got up the next morning and realized my mistake, the window was broken and the wallet was gone. Also, your chances of attempted BMVs increase if you don't have (or don't use) off-street parking. Often people intent on crimes of opportunity will walk around in the middle of the night looking into cars parked on the street or trying the doors in hopes of finding one unlocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trymahjong Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 I attended the central one and two district (Montrose and Heights) PIP tonite and thought I'd pass along just a couple of things-- about BMV's. . . . guess what-- the rate went down for both Montrose and the Heights! The Lt who spoke thought it was because of raising awareness and those HPD report cards on cars in areas where BMV are prevalent---but bad news also-- home burglary up 18%. Mainly because of the holidays and criminals being able to scope out houses where residents were gone for holidays etc. But. . . . . all the tips given were brought up as a sound idea to prevent burglaries to homes.a little something extra I learned-- 2 man bike patrol is beginning 5 days a week during evening shift in 1&2 districts. Also plainclothes HPD in "cool cars" ie late model muscle cars with tinted windows I think are being sent out also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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