By Steve McDougall Suburban Staff – June 23, 1993
Every year, thousands of homes in the west end are broken into, especially when the residents are away on vacation. Many people feel helpless about preventing such break-ins, and just hope their insurance policies will cover the losses.
But George Manoli says there are things that can be done to keep the home from becoming a target.
“You don’t have to make your house a Fort Knox,” the off-duty police constable told a small crowd at the Prohome hardware store at the Cote St. Luc Shopping Centre.
“You just have to stop making your house a target. You have to think of ways to make your house a less attractive choice than another house for a breakin.”
He added that many of the measures to make the house burglar-proof are not expensive. A simple method of locking the windows is to drill holes in the frames on the inside, and insert nails at an angle so that the windows cannot be opened from the outside.
He also recommends getting locks that have to have a key on both sides, so that a burglar cannot open the door from the inside by smashing the door window.
He said the best way to scare off a burglar is to leave the impression that a dog is present.
“I know of one home where they put out a giant dish of dog food with the name ‘killer’ on it. And then they put a large chain leash beside it,” he told the audience. “If that won’t scare away burglars, 1 don’t know what will.”
He said that when travelling, keep valuables out of sight, especially in the car, and don’t advertise your wealth.
“When you are carrying a handbag, don’t put any valuables in it, anddon’t clutch onto it for dear life. That just draws robbers to you. They will know you have something valuable inside, and they will get it from you.”
He suggested that if you are in a high crime district, to carry “mug money,” usually small bills wrapped inside a larger bill on a paper clip. He said many people in cities like New Yodc carry it, knowing they will be mugged.
“All you do is take the mug money and throw it in one direction, and when the mugger lunges for it, you run off in the opposite direction. The trick is to get away with the least amount ofloss.”
He said when someone gets money from an aqtomatic teller, to put the money in different pockets, and not in a wallet, because that is what robbers and pickpockets go for.
He added that receipts from the machine should never be left in the garbage, because the robber can then read it and find out how much money is in the account, then stalk the victim.
“Some robbers watch people in the bank. Once they know that the person is withdrawing money, he goes over to the person’s car and punctures the tire. When the person drives away, he follows and waits for the tire to go flat, offers assistance, then robs the person.”