Your open garage door, perhaps more than any other feature of your home, is the preferred gateway for criminals. To the criminal an open door is an invitation for theft, robbery, and sometimes even rape or murder. It is literally a neon sign which not only facilitates crime, but encourages it. In other words, if you leave your garage door open you are much more likely to get targeted than your neighbor. The simple reason is ease of access. Criminals by and large are lazy so they’re looking for an “easy score”. What could be easier than entering a darkened garage to help yourself to tools, vehicle contents, or gaining unfettered access to the interior of your home.
What does your garage say about you?
Interestingly, a criminal can tell a lot about you and your personal wealth by looking in your garage.
• Do you drive an expensive vehicle that is kept clean and tidy?
• Is your garage finished and painted and kept neat and tidy?
• What kinds of tools, bikes, “toys” do you have and are they organized?
• Do you have dog food sitting out?
The cleanliness and organization of the garage usually correlates to the interior of the home as well. If your garage, and its contents, looks expensive the criminal will assume the interior of your home is that way too. That’s not to say I recommend keeping a cluttered garage, simply that you advertise your wealth with an open door.
What an open garage tells the criminal?
An open garage tells the criminal that you are either negligent or careless in regards to personal safety. Studies have shown that most people who routinely leave their garage doors open also leave their vehicles and homes unlocked. These same people also have a tendency to leave purses or wallets and car keys either in the unlocked vehicle or just inside the doorway to the home. Over the years I have investigated countless motor vehicle thefts that occurred because the keys were left in the ignition of an unlocked car in an open garage. It is just way too tempting a target for a thief to pass up even if they only intended to steal small items.
Open garages facilitate serious crimes too:
Some people believe that the worst that will happen to them is that the thief will take a few tools or sports items. Nothing could be further from the truth. As I have said, an open garage door is an invitation to come in. Criminals may enter a home believing you are gone and when the confrontation occurs it can have deadly consequences. Children are especially vulnerable to attacks by intruders that might otherwise not have intended rape, molestation, assault, or murder. Sometimes you may not even know you have been targeted for another reason (such as stalking) and leaving the door open makes it that much easier for the criminal to contact you.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
• First and foremost close your garage door (and teach your children to do the same)
• Install a deadbolt on any other interior doors to the garage or home
• Consider the use of a keypad entry device
• Get to know your neighbors and once a trust is developed, consider giving them the garage code and asking them to close your door if you forget
• Turn your door opener off and unplug it when away on vacation
• Lock your vehicle and interior doors to the home even when the garage door is closed
These are simple yet effective steps you can take to minimize your chances of becoming a victim of crime. Remember, criminals are looking for an easy crime…don’t make it easier for them.
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