It’s important that you, your kids, nanny or babysitter always answer the door when someone knocks or rings the doorbell… not open it, but answer it so that it is clear that someone is home.
My experience is that the vast majority of burglaries on the Westside are committed by drug addicts who are stealing to support their habit. These individuals want the easiest and quickest way to obtain the next hit of their drug. For homeowners, this means that most burglars are looking for a simple burglary, one without any conflict. In fact, most crooks will go to some effort to ensure that the house they are considering is empty. In almost every case, they will knock on the door to double check that no one is home before attempting to kick it in.
Before starting Provident, I worked as a Special Constable with the Surrey RCMP. I saw a lot of burglaries but have always remembered one in particular. Two young girls (ages 9 and 11) were home alone watching TV in South Surrey when two men knocked on the door. The girls heard the knocking, but did exactly what they’d been told to do by their parents, they ignored it.
Thinking that no one was home, the two men used a small crowbar and a strong kick to break down the front door. The girls were smart enough to run and hide in the TV room closet while calling 911 from a portable phone. The two men ran straight past the girls in the closet in order to get to the master bedroom. The 911 operator asked the girls if they thought they would be able to safely get out of the house and run to their neighbour’s . Fortunately the girls were able to get out and waited at a neighbour’s until we arrived.
We later apprehended the burglars and I talked with one of them while he was in the back of our car. He was a habitual offender with many burglary convictions and was quite upfront with the fact that for him, property crime was the only way he could “pay his bills”. When I told him that young kids had been in the house, he was quite remorseful and was very adamant that he “always checks first”. He said he would never have broken in if he had known anyone was home.
Lessons to be learned?
1. Whenever someone knocks at your door, it is very important that you let that person know that someone is home. This can be done through an intercom or simply by tallking through the door.
2. If the person at the door looks suspicious to you, call 911 and then Provident to come by and check it out
***UPDATE*** click here to read about how the typical residential burglary happens