[StBernard] Vacationing families can curb burglaries

[Westley Annis]

Vacationing families can curb burglaries
Thursday, June 26, 2008By Kim Gritter
Imagine this: you spend months planning a family vacation. You make a check
list of things to bring and you find a great deal on hotel and flight
reservations. The weather turns out to be beautiful and you have the time of
your life. 

Until you return home and realize your house has been burglarized. 

Vacations are supposed to be about getting some much-needed rest and
relaxation, so most families do not think about being victimized while
they're out of town. 

Lt. Charles Borchers, director of crime prevention for the St. Bernard
Parish Sheriff's Office, said there are some simple things families can do
to help prevent such a setback. 

Borchers, who has been in law enforcement since 1976, said people going on
vacation should sign up for the Sheriff's Office vacation list, which means
patrolling deputies will make extra passes in the neighborhood to look for
suspicious activity. 

"This list is kept confidential and only given out at roll call to the
deputy in that sector," he said. 

To have your named added to the vacation list, call the Sheriff's Office
Patrol Division substation at (504) 278-7763. 

While Borchers said there's no guarantee a home won't be burglarized just
because of extra patrols, he can't recall a burglary of any home whose
owner's name was on the vacation list. 

Even if there is a break-in while the homeowner is away, Borchers said,
authorities would know how to contact the residents or someone else taking
care of their property. 

Borchers said other preventive measures homeowners can take before they
leave town include having a neighbor or friend collect their mail,
temporarily stopping the newspaper, cutting their grass right before they
leave and having a neighbor park their second vehicle in their driveway. 

"It's just basic common sense that you make it look like your house is the
same as always," he said. "Give your home a lived-in look." 

Borchers also recommends leaving window treatments at various heights,
installing timers for lights to come on at various intervals and leaving a
television or radio on while you're away. Turning down the ringer volume on
your telephone also is a good idea so passers-by won't hear the phone
continually ringing. 

. . . . . . . 

Kim Gritter is editor of the St. Bernard Picayune. She can be reached at
kgritter at timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3792.