As the calendar turns to May so the season of travel looms: Graduations, confirmations, vacations, weddings, and, years later, milestone anniversaries of weddings one once attended lure thousands to the road. Planning a trip, whether a long weekend or an extended holiday, there's little for which one hopes more than a good journey and eventual return to a safe and welcoming home. Bon voyage and happy homecoming pretty much sum up the good wishes of all involved and observing.
Except when some of those "observers" have less than honorable intentions.
Home healthcare nurses develop finely honed skill at ascertaining whether a home is occupied when there is no response at the door and, if so, whether the lack of response portends an emergency or simply something such as a change of heart about the visit, an unplanned stay elsewhere, or a deep sleep with bell, buzzer, or knock unheard. Over the years on the other side of locked doors I have found people too ill to get up, injured and on the floor, and, yes, dead. Knowing when to walk away muttering ("Dammit, Joe forgot our appointment again!") and when to heed the intuition that says to look further, contact property managers or family, or call the fire department to break down a door can be as valuable an ability as knowing how to examine a patient and what to do about the findings.
I also have listened to police officers lecture about safety many, many times, and learned a great deal in the course of my one-to-one time with the officers who told stories and offered tips as they escorted me into and through Chicago's Cabrini-Green and other "dangerous" areas. And I have German Shepherds. We walk at all times of day and night and observe, they via their noses, and I watching.
All of this has taught me that often it is astoundingly easy to tell if a home is occupied. And if I can pick up on this, so can those who may be looking for opportunities to relieve rightful owners of their possessions or to engage in other untoward activities there.
Indeed, not terribly long ago I knew within sixty seconds of emerging from my bedroom one morning that my next-door neighbors were away. With just a couple cursory passes in the course of dog walks I know if other neighbors are out of town. Gladys Kravitz I'm not (only people of a certain age will recognize that neighborhood busy-body!); some things simply are glaringly obvious, except to the people responsible for them.
My next-door neighbors since have moved away or I'd not tell this story; my intent is not to identify or embarrass anyone. From the time they moved here, though, they opened a large window on the side of their house as soon as the weather grew warm, and that window stayed open until autumn chill necessitated its closure, unless the weather was extreme or they were away. And, every morning they opened a sun umbrella on their back porch, tilting it to shade their sitting area and kitchen window. Unless, of course, they weren't home.
So on that lovely summer day when I emerged from my bedroom and looked around for my dogs I noticed their big window was closed, and once downstairs and opening the door to let the dogs outside I saw that the umbrella wasn't open. The neighbors were away, and it wasn't just a day trip or, although the umbrella might be closed, that window would be open. I knew this within a minute of stepping from my bedroom, even with no particular interest in my neighbors' whereabouts and with no effort.
If their absence was that apparent to me, imagine how quickly a potential robber watching the neighborhood for opportunities would reach the same conclusion.
Some advise that when away from home it's a good idea to leave a light on in a bathroom, because that is the one room where someone could be at any time. True enough. But when I walk by a home and notice a light in the bathroom, and then see on my return trip that it still is on, and then that it is burning during the day and into the next night, guess what I conclude, particularly if I've observed that when those neighbors are home that light is turned off? Similarly, if a house is dark save for a single lamp, but when people are home that lamp never is the only light that's on, it's an easy leap, no, baby step!, to the conclusion that the house is unoccupied.
When you go away, your objective should be to make your home appear not just occupied, but the way it looks when you occupy it.
If you leave windows that are well above ground level open when you're in and out in the course of your daily life, leave them open when you go away and ask a neighbor or family member to close them if it rains. If there's a lamp in the living room that's on every night and another on your bedside table that you use morning and night, put timers on those, and set the timers to mimic your usual habits.
Timers are sophisticated these days. They can turn a light on and off, and later on and off again. Some can be programmed to turn on the same light or appliance at different times every day, so the kitchen light goes on at 5 AM one day, 4:39 AM the next, and 5:11 the day after that. Etc. They are inexpensive and effective, particularly given that most of us don't turn our lights and appliances on and off at precisely the same time every day.
A safety precaution that's kind of fun is using timers to suggest that there's an insomniac in the house. A light goes off in a bedroom at bedtime, and with sophisticated timer this hour can vary from night to night, but pops back on in the wee hours of the morning. About ten minutes later a light goes on in the living room as the "insomniac" gets up to read or have a snack. Awhile later that living room light goes off, and several minutes after that the bedroom light goes off as well, as the "insomniac" goes back to bed. By varying the timing of these "escapades" one can convey the message that someone in the home doesn't sleep well and is likely to be up at any time of night. A burglar would rather have an easier target and is likely to move on. But again, those timers should be in use all the time and not just when residents are away.
If you regularly watch the 11:00 news or Masterpiece Theatre or anything else, consider having a timer turn your TV on for those shows and off when they're over. The flickering light from the television will be visible from the street, and it will appear at the same time that it does when you are home watching your shows.
If you're going to leave a light on in the bathroom, or anywhere, when you're gone, then leave it one when you're home as well. A fifteen watt bulb in a lamp placed near a window makes is appear from outside as though the entire room is lit up; two or three well placed lamps like this with creatively programmed timers will leave burglars looking for a target easier than trying to figure out what's going on at your house.
Be mindful of your windows. If you normally don't close all the blinds in your house, don't do so when you're away. That's a clue that you're gone, and an opportunity for a thief to work inside your house without being seen. Ask a friend to change the positions of your window coverings from time to time, raising and lowering blinds and adjusting the slats differently. Beware not having any bedroom where the blinds never are closed, as when most people are home they seek some privacy when dressing and sleeping.
Of course when you're home the mail carrier does not walk by your house without stopping every day; no indeed, you must have your share of bills and junk mail! Opportunists watch mail carriers. Don't have the postal service hold your mail while you're gone, but have someone pick it up instead.
Opportunists also watch trash dumpsters. Sometimes these contain treasures, and almost always they reveal something about the people whose trash they hold. If your trash is picked up on Wednesday but your dumpster remains empty on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday . . . then someone looking for opportunities is likely to look more closely for evidence that your home is vacant. Ask your neighbors to deposit some of their trash in your dumpster.
If you are taking a road trip or driving to the airport, load your car in the garage if you have one, and keep the door closed. If someone else is driving you, ask her or him to pull into your garage and load the car there, instead of your standing on the front walk with suitcases waiting for your ride. If you normally park on the street or in a carport, ask a neighbor to move your car from time to time so it appears to have been used.
It's common knowledge not to let newspapers pile up or grass go uncut and snow unshoveled. Of course those are important. But this observant home healthcare nurse and walker of dogs notices that far too often efforts to secure a home and make it appear occupied are so far removed from the normal course of daily activities there that they become a "vacancy" sign for intruders. To maximize safety and home security the key is to be mindful of the daily rhythms in your particular household, and to mimic and perhaps augment their appearance to outsiders. And for heaven's sake don't proclaim your absence on social media!
With summer fun and celebrations on the horizon, let's not lay out the welcome mat for the wrong "guests"! Equal care to planning for one's home as well as one's travel is the recipe for a
Bon Voyage and Happy Homecoming!
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