| As I review the papers across North America, I am | | | | 6 ) Get an alarm system - learn how to use it - |
| disheartened to read about the rise in brutal home | | | | activate it even when you are home - put a keypad in |
| invasions. | | | | your master bedroom and learn how to use the panic |
| What is a Home Invasion? | | | | emergency buttons all alarm systems come with. |
| Home invasion occurs when a person or persons | | | | 7 ) Take a look at the Smart Home Technology |
| enter an occupied home with the intent of committing | | | | available to you. This technology enhances your |
| a crime while threatening the residents. This crime has | | | | traditional alarm system. My favourite is |
| a tendency of being particularly brutal where by the | | | | 8 ) Change up your routine! Do not be predictable. |
| residents are usually tied up and sometimes beaten or | | | | 9 ) Appear to have lots of people who live in the |
| worse. | | | | home or are there when a stranger comes knocking - |
| Home Invasions are scary and threaten our belief that | | | | better yet - get a dog or make it look like you have a |
| we are the safest in our homes. | | | | dog. |
| These bad guys and gals are looking for opportunities | | | | 10 ) Above all else - TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! |
| to enter your home with the least amount of effort, | | | | God forbid you become a victim of a home invasion. |
| the lowest risk with the highest gain. Your job is to | | | | What should you do? |
| make your home less attractive to the criminals! | | | | You need to be quiet, calm, co operative and |
| You do this by making it very difficult to gain access, | | | | observant in order to keep your safety and to help the |
| restrict their ability to view their possible gain and make | | | | police catch the bad guys. |
| your home look like they will be seen or caught if they | | | | 1 ) Quiet and Stay Calm - now is the time to keep level |
| enter your home. | | | | headed. |
| Top 10 tips to keeping you and your family safe: | | | | 2 ) Co-Operate but do not go anywhere with them - |
| 1 ) Keep your doors locked at all times! | | | | Remember that no material possession is worth your |
| 2 ) Secure your windows and their screens. | | | | life! |
| 3 ) Prune or remove trees and shrubs that hide your | | | | 3 ) Observe -Your job now is to remember as much |
| windows and doors from view or give the bad guys a | | | | as you can about the bad guys - scars, tattoos, eyes, |
| place to hide. | | | | nose, mouth, odours - tobacco, alcohol, aftershave or |
| 4 ) Leave your lights on at night or install motion | | | | cologne, do they have an accent etc. |
| sensors that turn your lights on when there is | | | | And my final tip for today is - Get to know your |
| movement. | | | | neighbours and your neighbourhood. Protect one |
| 5 ) Make sure your lights are out of reach and | | | | another and look out for one another by knowing what |
| protected so that they can not be broken or removed. | | | | is "normal" for your neighbourhood. |