Here's What To Do First:

• Don't leave a note anywhere announcing your absence and when you will return. Don't have any publicity on your trip.
  
  
• Cancel all deliveries of newspapers, milk, mail (or arrange with someone to pick up these things every day) to prevent accumulation of such items-it is a dead giveaway that no one is home.
  
  
• Install an automatic timer to turn on the bathroom light and another light in the house every evening while you are away.
  
  
• Do not pull the curtains or drapes while you are away-leave the windows the way they always are when you are there.
  
  
• Make sure all windows and doors and other possible points of entry are nailed, screwed or locked.
  
  
• Ask a neighbor to watch the place and perhaps check it daily while you are gone.
  
  
• Notify the police you are leaving and when you are returning; ask them to check the house (or apartment) for you. They do this as a courtesy and will leave you a note advising you of each time they stopped by in your absence. Be sure to tell them when you have returned.
  
  
• Make sure you do not leave tools, ladders, wash, etc., outside the house or garage.
  
  
• Turn the telephone bell or chime down before you leave . . . an unanswered telephone alerts someone that no one is home.
  
  
• Make sure you have arranged to have the grass mowed or snow shoveled while gone . . . this too is a giveaway that no one is home.
  
  
• Do not leave your keys or any form of identification in your car if you have parked it anywhere while away (including if you parked it at an airport parking lot); this is a great place for burglars to learn who isn't in town.

   

• Carry very little cash with you when traveling; rely on traveler's checks and selected credit cards.

   

• Bring only those valuables with you that you will need on the trip; use hotel safes to store them if staying at a hotel.
  
  
• Make sure your insurance adequately covers theft.
  
  
• Use a traveler's lock for hotel or motel doors.
  
  
• Always keep passports with you when traveling abroad.
  
  
• Consider an alarm for your car and install an auxiliary turn lock.
  
  
• Be careful of anyone flagging you down on the highway and of hitchhikers.
  
  
• Pick up your luggage quickly at airports; pieces not picked up right away are easy marks for theft.
  
  
• Keep luggage and other valuables in the trunk; when stopped at restaurants and other public places, such items inside the car are tempting to thieves.

• Keep valuables stored out of sight in compartments and keep the curtains closed when your recreation vehicle is parked.
  
  
• Do not keep your recreation vehicle packed and ready to go when it is at your home, even if it is for overnight.
  
  
• Get the best door and window locks possible for the vehicle.
  
  
• Do not stroll off the campsite leaving gear and equipment (or an unlocked vehicle).
  
  
• Permanently install a small security chest or safe inside the recreation vehicle.
  
  
• Chain your recreation vehicle to a tree when possible; also use a "deadball" hitch.
  
  
• Paint a name on your vehicle in large letters and for added security, paint a large identification number or letter combination on the roof.
  
  
• Always carry your vehicle registration and any other identifying data with you (not in the vehicle).
  
  
• Avoid parking along isolated roads . . . other recreation vehicles offer added security in most places.
  
  
• If building a new home, add on a garage that houses the recreation vehicle to provide added security against theft or vandalism.

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For more information, contact the Office of 
State Senator Vincent J. Fumo.

E-Mail: Senator_Fumo@fumo.com.