Dozens of Macon County households have been broken into this season and dozens more probably will before winter is over, but there are a few simple steps homeowners can take to keep their homes safe.
Sheriff Robert Holland says burglary is a year-round problem that his office responds to, but winter is an especially active time for break-ins. This is because a large volume of people with second homes head south when the weather gets cold and leave their Franklin or Highlands houses unattended for extended periods. A relatively wealthy household with plenty of space from its neighbors and nobody around for months on end is the perfect target for burglars.
“It’s a problem any time we see it, but the reality is that a lot of the time when this happens, it’s affecting second homes,” Holland said.
Holland has three key pieces of advice for preventing burglary. First, if you are going to be gone for several weeks or months, try not to advertise it. Burglars know it will be easier to get away with theft from an unoccupied house, so making your house look “lived-in” gives them a reason to skip you over. When scouting out locations, thieves take notice of things like uncollected mail, an unkempt lawn or windows that show no lights on, all signs that nobody has been home for a while.
“One thing we see a lot is when people have locked gates in front of their house,” Holland said. “That’s a dead giveaway.”
The second tip is to invest in security technology. Home security systems that can notify both the homeowner and the police of a break-in as soon as it happens have been around for years and have gotten more advanced and more cost-effective over time. Even a simple security camera in your house or at the front door can make a big difference. Holland said his office recently apprehended a thief who he doubts they would have found so quickly if the homeowner hadn’t caught them on video.
“In today’s society, cameras are a very helpful thing to have,” Holland said. “There’s not an overwhelming cost anymore to putting up a few cameras.”
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Holland recommends that homeowners talk to their neighbors and ask them for help when needed. Whether it’s setting up a neighborhood watch patrol or just telling your neighbors when you’re going out of town and asking them to keep an eye on your house, having a physical presence near the house when you’re away makes a burglar’s job much harder.
“Make sure that you know your neighbors and that you’re communicating with your neighbors,” Holland said. “We’ve all got to look out for each other.”