Iowa City police give burglary prevention tips

IOWA CITY (KWWL) -

While the temperature may not feel like it, it's definitely summer time, and the Iowa City Police Department wants to remind everyone that the risk of having your home, business or vehicle burglarized can be reduced.

The police department says by taking these few simple steps, your property will be more difficult to enter and less enticing to would-be burglars:

Secure and lock all residential and vehicle doors and windows before leaving for the day or going to bed for the night. This includes shutting overhead garage doors.

Make your home look occupied. This could include connecting inside lights to an automatic timer or installing motion sensitive lighting on the outside of your home.

Make it time consuming for a burglar to enter your property by installing deadbolts on exterior doors and placing additional locks on all windows and patio doors.

Do not leave valuables (electronics, purses and wallets, money, etc.) in plain view inside a vehicle. Even if the vehicle is locked, seeing an item through the window may encourage a burglar to break in to take the item.

Be aware and call 9-1-1. Many burglary arrests are initiated by a person viewing what they believe may be a suspicious person, activity or burglary in progress and officers responding to the area. Even when an arrest is not made, a simple call to activate a police response can deter a burglar from committing the crime.

Most burglaries are simply crimes of opportunity. Remember the greatest weapons in the fight to prevent burglaries are light, time and noise.

Officers want to remind residents that burglaries don't just happen during night-time hours, burglars strike in the day and evening hours as well.

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Iowa City police give burglary prevention tips