Eastside Defender

From the 2nd Precinct:

Facts:
On September 25, there were five burglaries or attempted burglaries of garages in the area between 30th and 31st Avenues NE and between Hayes and Cleveland Streets NE.

What you can do:

1. Call 911 if you hear strange noises or see suspicious behavior in the alley.
2. Be on the lookout for suspicious activity. Look out your back windows; keep outside lights on to increase visibility for both you and your neighbors.
3. If you have valuables in your garage, secure your service door with deadbolt looks with a 1" minimum throw. Cover the area around the lock with a metal door jacket.
4. Keep your garage door closed and locked. Cover the windows so your possessions are not visible. Secure the windows by locking, pinning, or permanently closing them.
5. Do an inventory of your valuables. A suggested form for this is at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-prevention/docs/Home-Inventory-For...
6. Secure snowblowers and bicycles inside the garage. Chain them to the garage frame or to a bolt sunk into the floor. Remove keys from snowblowers, motorcycles, cars, etc. and keep the keys in the house.
7. If you don't have an electric garage door opener, install a padlock 1/4" above a roller in the overhead door track when the door is closed.
8. Attach a 12" piece of angle iron to the doorjamb, centered over the area where the bolt goes into the doorjamb.
9. Install a maximum-security strike plate. Use 3"-4" screws to hold it in place.
10. Lock your car doors.

For additional information, contact Crime Prevention Specialist Carol Oosterhuis at 612-673-2874.

I’ve been a multiple victim of garage burglaries:

Yes, you see, I have heard these before. It took losing a bike when I forgot to lock the garage, and on another occasion, catching a notorious NE bad guy shuffling through my yard, to finally take more steps.

Last year, somebody broke the cheap locking doorknob—which I had been meaning to upgrade—to get inside my garage. They got away with only the 37¢ I had in the car. But they broke my glovebox—$200, which I still haven’t fixed—to find there was nothing in it. Now the garage has a proper deadbolt.

Another point to be mindful of—If you park outside but keep an garage door opener in your car, you’re making it easier for crooks to get your goodies. Maybe you locked the garage, but did you lock the car? Is the opener visible? A quick smash and your garage is theirs.

Time to re-check my locks.