Home Security Audit Guide

Protect Your Valuables

You can limit the overall impact of a burglary taking the following steps.

Don’t Advertise Your New Purchases!

If you’ve purchased big-ticket items, (e.g. TVs, stereos or computer equipment,) fold the cardboard box inside out before putting it in the recycling bin. This keeps the identity of your purchases private and doesn’t alert would-be burglars.

Where Do You Keep Items of Sentimental Value?

Make a list of the items in your home that are irreplaceable and keep them in a safe place. When not in use, these items should be stored in a place no one would suspect. For example, should not be kept in a jewellery box – this is the first location a burglar will look. A safety deposit box or a permanent safe within your home could be used. If you have a safe in your home, it should be kept in an isolated location – away from the main traffic areas.

Is Your Vehicle A Target?

Manufacturers are making vehicles harder to steal with the use of anti-theft systems. So professional car thieves are simply stealing keys. Protect your vehicle by keeping the keys in a secure location. There are a couple of things you can do to protect your vehicle:

Don’t leave your keys where they can easily be found. Don’t leave your car keys at the front door! It is quick and easy for a car thief to take keys that are in plain view.
Always keep your vehicle locked, regardless of where it’s parked.
If you have a garage, use it!
Always keep your garage locked.

What’s In Your Wallet?

The contents of your purse or wallet are extremely valuable. Your identification, credit cards, health cards and other valuable items are all kept in this one convenient spot. Leaving your purse or wallet near the front door makes it easy to grab. Keep it in a convenient, yet out of sight location.

To avoid losing your identification or credit cards and limit your exposure if you are robbed:

Don’t carry your social insurance card and birth certificate in your wallet – they are generally not required as identification.
Limit the number of credit cards you carry.

Can You Identify Your Property?

Each year, police auction thousands of unmarked property items that were either lost or stolen. Engrave your valuables with a personalized identifying mark. These marking should be in plain view and easy to spot. Items with identifiers are less valuable on the black market and burglars are less inclined to take them. The police use these unique markings to identify the owner of stolen property they retrieve. To mark your valuables, create your own unique identifier of at least eight characters (e.g., a phone number.)

If a theft does occur and your property is located by the authorities, you will want to be able to identify and claim what is yours. To simplify this process, you should:

Take an inventory of the items in your home, garage and tool shed.
Take photos or video recordings to show what you own.
Write down the serial numbers.
Keep receipts for the more expensive items.

Keep this information and a record of your identifying number in a safe location separate from the actual property, preferably in a fire resistant safe or a safety deposit box. This information will be useful when making a claim to your insurance company as well!

Items Most Frequently Stolen

Thieves prefer to take smaller items that can be easily pocketed. Favourite items taken by thieves include:

Jewelry
Cash
Camera equipment
DVD/CD players
TV/VCR/DVD recorders.

Remember: thieves prefer to take small items that can be easily pocketed!

Operation Identifcation

Operation Identification is a free, national mark-your-property program that encourages the engraving of valuable property with a personal identifying number such as address or telephone number. The Operation Identification program includes window and door stickers that are in the shape of a stop sign. This can deter a burglar from targeting and selecting your property. For more information about identifying your property, your local police service.