Soccer Mom Thieves
I was not surprised to read Jill's post about the burglaries in Palo Alto. But there may be a even more sinister side to these burglaries. I also heard from other moms two situations in particular where a house was burglarized while a mom left for 30 minutes to pick up her kids from school or another about a car that was broken into while a mom took their kids to class at a local community center. I think all moms should go on a neighbhorhood watch for the following:
- Punks walking out of your neighbor's (with kids) house, with computers and their flat screen TV during school pick-up time...
- Cars pulling up to next to other cars that are parked for a kids sports event or class, and there is the sound of glass breaking...
As Jill said it is important to make sure that all doors are locked, but even more to have a comprehensive plan in place. Here are some of the home security steps that I have seen mentioned in numerous places:
- Locking windows and doors
- Leaving lights on in and outside of the house to look as if someone is in the house
- Don't leave purses in cars, no matter how short of a visit you are making to pick up or drop off a child
- During a Security at Staples event I went to, we discussed not answering door for people we don't know (using the peephole to check), disposing properly of documents with personal information to protect from identity theft (putting a dirty diaper on top of documents will not do) and using laptop locks at home or at public cafe's if the laptop will be unattended.
Maybe the best line of defense is getting to know your neighbors and keeping an eye on each other's houses. Along with arming all soccer moms with a soccer mom whistle - and not being afraid to use it (along with a call to 911).
Any other security hints?
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