Break & Enter Prevention
Break and Enter Prevention Tips
You can do a lot to protect your home and property by taking a few simple precautions. Many break and enters happen when an opportunity presents itself, and small steps, like keeping doors locked, securing valuables and making your home look occupied, can make a big difference in deterring offenders.
Here are some proactive measures to make their homes, garages and vehicles less attractive targets. These will help protect your property and create a safer environment for you and your neighbours.
Residential
- Lock all windows and doors – even when you are at home.
- Keep valuables (purses, car keys, wallets) away from the front door. Do not leave your spare keys in an obvious spot.
- Consider using a safe for valuables and important documents. Keep the safe in a well-hidden area.
- Close your blinds to prevent people from looking inside your home.
- Install motion-activated or timed lights (smart light bulbs).
- Have secure, lockable basement windows.
- Trim the shrubbery in front of your residence.
- Post a contact list on fridge (name, renter/owner, phone number, email).
- Create a nightly routine for your household (for example, make sure the last person to bed checks that the windows, doors and vehicle(s) are locked).
- Update your alarm company with your contact information.
- Lock your gates.
- Do not leave ladders out.
- If you are outside doing yard maintenance, make sure your doors and windows are closed and locked, and valuables are stored out of sight.
- If you live in an apartment building, do not let anyone into the building that you don’t know. If you see anyone concerning in your vestibule, call police.
- Alarm systems can provide a great deterrent; however, police need evidence of the offender to locate and charge them. Consider installing security and/or doorbell cameras.
- Record serial numbers of electronic items and photograph all valuables. This aids police and you in identifying your property.
- Get to know your neighbours so that they know if a person belongs at your property or not.
Attached/Detached Garage:
- Always lock the main door between the garage and residence.
- When you are not inside your garage, close the overhead door to ensure no one can remove any belongings or break into your house.
- Lock vehicles that are inside the garage.
- Consider using tracking devices (e.g. AirTags or GPS trackers) for your vehicle and any other valuables.
- Arrange for a house sitter to watch your house/property while you are away. Make sure your house sitter has contact information for you and other homeowners (name, phone number and email).
- Arrange for someone to pick up your mail and packages. Mail and packages piling up over days or weeks will look like no one is home.
- Have someone shovel your walkway and/or driveway in the winter, mow your lawn in the summer, and put your garbage bins in and out (even if they are empty).
- Ask your neighbour to park their vehicle in your driveway while you are gone.
- Lock your gates.
- Do not leave ladders out.
- Put your lights on timers – both interior and exterior (smart light bulb).
- Do not advertise your vacation plans on social media platforms.
- Do not put your address on your luggage tags. Your name, phone number and email will be sufficient for someone to contact you in the event of lost or delayed luggage.
Vehicles
- Lock all doors and close all windows, even if you are parked inside a garage.
- When you leave your vehicle, take your garage door opener with you.
- Do not keep any valuables in your vehicle.
- Take your purse and wallet with you. Do not leave these in your vehicle at any time.
- Do not keep cash or spare change in your vehicle.
- Do not keep spare keys to vehicle or residence in your vehicle.
- Do not keep your insurance, registration documents or driver’s licence in your vehicle.
More Crime Prevention Resources
Stay one step ahead: check out more tools, tips, and crime‑prevention resources.
