TIPS | watchdogproperty

SAFETY TIPS

1. Place lights, radios and televisions on a timer switch.

2. Employ a lawn service to cut grass and trim bushes.

3. Keep detailed records of household goods and appliances that include serial numbers, makes, models and descriptions.

Photographs can help, too.

4. Make a video tape of all personal belongings.

5. Hire a service to have someone go to the house several times a week.

6. Inscribe a driver's license number on the back of personal property.

7. Do not leave expensive collections such as porcelain figurines or heirloom jewelry locked in the house. Instead, place the items in a safe deposit box at a bank.

8. Place stoppers in sliding door tracks. A piece of wood or an old broom handle cut to fit should do the trick.

9. Leave a phone number with a friend, relative or neighbor who can reach you in an emergency.

10. The same precautions apply to residents who are leaving town for several days or weeks, said Shirley Dietrich, a crime prevention specialist with the local Police Department.

ADVICE FROM FPL

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One Case:

Detectives accused Bauer of breaking into 39 homes, but say he later admitted to a total of 67 burglaries. Investigators say his targets were snowbirds and some don't even know they've been victimized yet!

"Some of these people aren't home yet, they live up north," explained sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll. "They're seasonal residents, they only come down in the winter. So we expect to have maybe some more cases once they do come down and they're able to tell us if indeed there were things stolen from their homes."

Some advice from the Pros

"People will come to visit and then they will be going back up North but not everyone will be taking all their belongings home in a suitcase. They will probably leave behind their TV sets, VCRs, stereos, microwave ovens, jewelry and other valuables.

And whether those valuables will still be there when they return next season depends on the precautions they take before they leave.", local law enforcement official said.

"People need to prepare for the worst when they leave," he said.

Most of the preparations are common sense, such as stopping newspaper deliveries, forwarding mail, installing outdoor motion-detector lights, using sturdy deadbolt locks and hiring a service to visit the homes a couple days every week.