April 2011 Newsletter

Bordeaux HOA,

Within the last month we have reports of potential burglaries and numerous cases of vandalism. This Spring/Summer let’s continue to do what we can to prevent these type of activities from occurring. The best things we did last year was keep your outside lights on in your front and back and get an alarm system w/ signs on your windows and lawns. Our tree planting project to block off people who were jumping our fence off of 19^th has been working and we are seeing less traffic coming from the street through the Native Growth Protection Area. Last summer we removed homeless people from the same NGPA, please keep an eye on any strange activity in this area and by the pond and report anything you see to our management company which is distributed to the board/community. The common areas and NGPA have been noted as private property by the City of Everett and the board worked with the Everett Police Department last year to legally remove the homeless people from our property. The “no trespassing” sign does need to be present and we do have the right to remove anyone from our property that is causing harm/vandalism/disturbances. Thank you all for our success last year in limiting home burglaries and car theft to only 1 case which is the lowest ever. Let’s try and beat that this year with 0 cases. We again advise you to consult with some local security specialists for ideas on how to make your home safe and at least get to know your security system. It will work without monitoring and the alarm itself can alert neighbors to contact you and prevent a potential burglary. Please continue to get to know your neighbors as we have many new members in our community that you may not know yet.

The Three Ds of Home Security

Security strategies can be broadly classified into three categories often referred to as the three "Ds" of security. These are deterrence, denial and detection.

The First "D" — Deterrence

Burglars are basically lazy and will usually take the "path of least resistance." You can make your home or business look too risky to a burglar by using some of these techniques.

• Place inside lights, and even a TV and stereo, on a timer when you are away from home.
• Don't stop your mail, water, newspaper or other deliveries when you are away. Have a neighbor pick these items up for you.
• If you have a security system, make sure you post signs and window decals warning potential intruders that your premises are protected.

The Second "D"—Denial

Two-thirds of all burglars break in through doors. The remaining one-third get in through a window. Denial involves making these points-of-entry as impenetrable as possible by taking the following kinds of precautions:

• After moving into a new home or business, immediately replace all of the locks.
• Use interconnecting deadbolt locks. And make sure your deadbolts require a key on both sides of the door for access. (For fire safety purposes you can leave the key inside the lock on the interior when you are home to facilitate an escape.)
• Sliding glass doors are especially vulnerable. Make sure they are secure by pinning them, which will take care of both horizontal and vertical movement.
• Look for especially vulnerable points-of-entry and fix them. Chances are good others know about them, too.
• Consider putting security film over especially vulnerable glass panes.

The Third "D"—Detection

No matter how well you incorporate the first two "Ds" in your defense strategy, a criminal may still decide to violate your home or business. Here are some techniques to help ensure that he is detected and apprehended if he does:

• Professional burglars will tell you that it is often concerned neighbors looking out for one another who detect them committing their crimes and call the police.
• Install a quality security system that has loud internal and external alarms and is monitored on a continuous, 24-hour a day basis by a professional security company. Studies show that homes with a security system are 2.2 times less likely to be burglarized than those without a system.
• A survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police also showed that more than 90% of Police Chiefs believe in the value of a monitored security system.