Calgary, AB,
11
May
2017
|
08:26
America/Denver

Calgary police reminding citizen to secure their residences

The Calgary Police Service is once again reminding citizens to keep their residences secure as summer approaches.

This past weekend, 10 residential break-ins were reported in District 8 alone as a result of garages, vehicles, and homes being left insecure. Residential break and enters are often crimes of opportunity and are not isolated to one area of the city.

So far this year, the city has seen 35 house break and enters per week, or five per day. Typically, 50 per cent of these break-ins occur via an unsecure premise and can be prevented.

“We recognize that break and enters continue to be a top concern for the citizens of Calgary,” said CPS District 8 Sgt. Pete Barker. “Knowing that an intruder was inside your home can violate your sense of security. We want citizen’s to know that there are things they can do to protect themselves and help us address the amount of break and enters in their community.”

As the weather warms up, citizens are reminded of the following tips to help prevent break and enters, property crime and vehicle thefts:

  • Ensure that all doors and windows are secured at all times, even when you’re home. Culprits need mere moments to commit a theft or break in. If you do open any windows or doors, make sure you only open them for rooms that someone is present in.
  • If you are spending time in your backyard, then always make sure your front door is locked and vice versa. If possible, keep a key with you and lock all your doors.
  • Always lock your vehicles and close your garage doors, even if you are nearby or only leaving for a short period of time.
  • Establish a routine where you check that all doors and windows, including the garage, are properly secured before leaving your home or going to bed. Make sure to remove garage door openers from vehicles parked outside your residence. Thirty-six per cent of break and enters occur overnight.
  • Never leave spare keys for your residence or vehicle inside your vehicle or other obvious hiding spots around your residence.
  • Offenders will often break into a residence as a way to steal a vehicle parked outside the residence. When you’re at home, store your vehicle keys away from the entrance to your house.
  • Report any suspicious people or activity in your community by calling 403-266-1234 or 9-1-1 if there is a crime in progress.

Including commercial properties, residential properties and other premises, the Service responds to an average of 18 break and enters per day.