Police help spread the word on improving home safety
By CHRISTINA WALKER Special to the Daily Press
DOWNTOWN A rash of Westside home robberies over the summer have led the Santa Monica Police Department to ramp up its efforts to educate the public on home security.
The SMPD hopes to educate residents with steps they can take to prevent becoming the next victim. The effort comes in response to police officers’ observations that some of the recent victims could have benefited from more information to help them fortify their homes.
Many of the suggestions being cirrculated are common sense preventative measures that can be easily forgotten. For example, the SMPD advises residents to lock all windows and doors even when leaving for just a minute. Burglars can easily take advantage of windows and patio doors that are left open in the hot summer months. However, residents who prefer avoiding air-conditioning do not need to suffer inside with windows shut tight.
“We emphasize locking windows and doors, but there are ways to secure them even partially opened so that they can’t be tampered with,” said Ana Montalvo, client prevention coordinator for the SMPD’s Community Relations Unit.
The unit provides free home security surveys to residents of Santa Monica which are equivalent to a security evaluation by a private security service said Montalvo.
Residents can go to Home Depot and buy locking devices themselves, but Montalvo said that her unit prefers to explain the devices themselves.
“There are certain locking devices that are not very safe. Some may seem secure, but they’re not,” she added.
The home security evaluations offered by the SMPD are free and can be scheduled by calling (310) 458-8474. In addition to scheduling a home security evaluation residents can take the following actions to prevent becoming a victim: • Make sure all side and back gates are closed and well padlocked. • Keep curtains, blinds, and shutters closed when away. • Take advantage of variable timers to activate lights, radio, or TV when away. • Arrange for a trusted neighbor or friend to pick up mail while on vacation.
“If you take some of these precautions your chances of being victimized by a burglar will decrease,” SMPD’s Sgt. Renaldi Thruston said.
It’s also important for people to follow these tips year round and not just in the summer Thruston said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 10, 2008. Read the original PDF.