SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The average burglar spends less than 10 minutes in a home seeking jewelry, cash, and small items, and, after a spike in home burglaries, Roseville police say there have been some common occurrences happening.
"We've had just over 100 home break-ins, and the vast majority of those break-ins were related to an open garage door or an open side garage door," said Baquera.
Amid that burglary increase, the police are offering the following safety tips:
1. Close Your Garage Door
An open garage door is an invitation to criminals, but many people tend to forget or even a kid might forget. However, there are devices that can automatically close your garage door after a period of time.
2. Don't Leave Your Opener In Your Car
If a thief breaks into your car and steals the remote, he has an easy way into your home.
3. Downsize Your Remote
Thieves know where to look for your garage door opener - it's usually clipped right to the visor, however, consider replacing that remote with a small key-chain version. They're sold at home improvement centers that sell garage doors.
4. Secure The Emergency Release
Use a zip-tie to secure the emergency release on your garage door, so thieves can't disable the lock and compromise the door.
5. Lock Your Garage From The Inside
Padlock the throw latch on your garage door when you're out of town.
6. Consider investing in a home surveillance system
The Roseville Police department actually has a program called "Keep Watch" that might add an extra sense of security.
"The keep watch program is an extra set of eyes on the street in the community that helps us solve crime," said Rob Baquera. "And it's basically the resident's way to register their security camera with the police department. If we have a crime that happens in your neighborhood, we'll reach out to you and ask 'Do you by chance have any video surveillance that might be useful for us.'"