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Weekly Safety Tips from RKA’s own Gary Connor

Make Your Home Safer

The US government says that a home is broken into every 18 seconds in the US.  (there are 125 million homes per the gvt)  There is an aggravated, physical assault on a person every 35 seconds in the US.  (there are 332 mill of us)  I like to think I can spot most “bad guys” in 5-seconds.  Bad  guys are people who I need to watch to keep my family safe.  My family depends on me to keep them safe.

I also notice who are the bad guys “easy targets” and make my escape plan.  My family can tell when my ears perk up, there is something I spotted and am watching.  I will draw a line between the easy target and the bad guy and walk around that line, not over it.  Often they will ask what I see ….

I have a check list of Safety Items that I make sure everyone in my family knows about and participates to some extent in.  It’s kind of a personal list, works for my family, so please read with caution, and take what YOU think would work best to keep your family a little safer.  This will a 2-week 2-page topic. (sorry)

Home Safety this week and Personal Safety next week.

After all, who is more important than family ??

Reduce Burglary of Your Home

  • Be wary of un-invited guests. You know, the smiling, waving, bringing packages UPS Driver, FedEx Driver, and the ever-loving blue AMAZON van Driver. They may “moon light” or have friends in low places they talk to. Don’t invite them IN.  Don’t give them security codes or garage codes.
  • Don’t be lured to think the family pet will save you. Most family pets are just happy to see anyone and pose no threat to an un-invited guest. A pat on the head or a treat and the tail will be wagging as they follow the crook around your home.
  • By TWO air horns. Where I live, the houses a too far apart to hear a neighbor scream for help. My closest neighbor and I both have cheap air-horns in the kitchen.  Our plan is to call 911 and come running if you hear it.
  • Turn off the location tagging on your phone. If I “friend you”, and you have geo-locate turned ON, I know when you are not at home !!
  • Think like a burglar. Walk around your home. Can you see expensive items from the windows ?? Which windows or doors are covered by shrubs or not facing the road and can be easily busted to get into your home?
  • Be a second story man. That is a crook who knows most people DO NOT LOCK the second-story windows. Easy-Peezie Folks !!  Remember how easy it was for you to sneak out of the house ??  Crooks can sneak in that easy !!
  • All sliding doors and windows should have a security bar on them. In less that 60 seconds I can be through any sliding door or window that use the little locks or tabs on them without breaking the glass.
  • Lock your garage door. Yea – I know it’s heavy and you think a crook can’t get in … W-R-O-N-G. That over head door can be forced open enough to let a crook in.  Once inside, there is light, there are tools and a door to get into the house which probably is NOT Locked.
  • Check the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home monthly. I know the experts say change the batteries yearly, but in the middle of the nite, your life depends on these little things working !!
  • Have a Safe Spot, Safe Room or Safe Place in your home, or outside like a meeting place that, depending on the event, fire, burglary, storm, medical emergency everyone runs to. More next week on this.
  • Back to checking electronics, if you have a home alarm, does everyone know how to use it ?? Does anyone use it ?? Most people that have home burglar alarms only use it when they are on vacation.  The rest of the time your home is just “Easy-Peezie”  folks !!

That’s enough for one reading.  I thank you for your time.  I hope you take at least one-thing away from this to make your family home safer tonite.

Stay Safe my Friends

Gary S. Connor
Safety and Compliance Manager