Break-In Prevention - Ask The Expert with Greg Marcyniuk

Greg shares tips for protecting your home from burglaries in Saskatchewan, Regina, and Moose Jaw. 800 CHAB radio presents Ask the Expert with Greg Marcyniuk of Heritage Insurance located in Moose Jaw.

Here's the transcript of this episode:

Rob Carney: With Greg Marcyniuk from Heritage Insurance in downtown Moose Jaw. Greg, there was a time when in Moose Jaw you didn't hear a whole lot about cars getting stolen, and houses being broken into and entered, and thefts from those houses. Times have changed though. There are ... it's pretty regular. You hear about cars getting stolen and just lately another rash of break and enters. There are things we can do to help prevent being the victim.

Greg Marcyniuk: That's correct Rob. It's unfortunate these things are happening, but it's just a sign of the times. More and more people are just going out and doing these things. In fact right now, break-ins happen every 90 seconds in Canada. As well, 80% of these break-ins happen during the daylight. A lot of us think it's during the night-time but in actual fact, 80%. And most of the time they break in through either a ground-floor window or a basement window. The biggest thing most of these thieves just rely on being concealed and speed and force. They gain entry, just in and out really quick. The biggest thing that you want to do is crime-proof the inside of your home.

The first thing is securing your premise. You want to make sure you close your blinds and curtains in the evening so that burglars can't come and can't scope out what you have there. Lock all the doors and windows before you leave home. And even when you are at home it's a good idea to do that. Any windows that you can't lock, you can drill a quick hole and drop a pin in there and make sure that the pin is easily removed in the event of an emergency situation.

The other thing again that we talk about all the time is take photos of what you have with the technology that is available. You can have your son or daughter do that really quickly. Go through, go and take a look at it. The other thing again we talk about all the time Rob, is monitored alarm systems. If they do break into your home and you do have a monitored system, they take a lot less property because they have a lot less time because your alarm system goes off. They know the cops are on the way, they're just going to go through real quick so you're not going to be hit as hard.The other thing that an alarm system can do is it can tell whether or not there's fire, smoke, temperature, carbon monoxide, and water as well. And you do get a discount on your insurance, so there are so many pluses. I just try and encourage as many people as possible to get that system in place.

Something else that you shouldn't do is don't install a name plate outside of your home, and don't leave a note on the door or a mailbox telling friends or family that you're not home. That's just a big, red, flashing light. And don't leave spare keys out in obvious places such as in a mailbox or under a doormat. That's the first thing. And don't leave any cash or handbags in plain sight in or around your home because again just a quick, bang, crash, and grab. Again, I really encourage that you leave your door locked even when you're outside working in the back. There's been lots of instances where the front door has been... But we don't have to worry about yard-work just yet but with this weather, we might be soon.

These are just a few tips that you should keep in mind. We're seeing B&Es; increase so please take the time and if you want you can come online. We've got this posted. Go through it and if you have any questions, please contact us here.

Rob: Greg Marcyniuk, Heritage Insurance on 800 CHAB's Ask the Expert.

(Video transcription by Speechpad)

Break-In Prevention - Ask The Expert with Greg Marcyniuk

No Comments