The Munster Police Department offers these suggestions for Preventing Residential Burglaries
• Keep your home well-lit using dusk to dawn lamps, motion-detecting exterior lighting, and timed interior lighting.
• Keep your overhead garage door closed and garage service doors locked.
• Never put up notes on your front or rear door letting people know that you are away or on vacation. Only inform trusted neighbors and the police and encourage your neighbors to call on any suspicious activity on or around your property.
• Never hide spare keys under a mat, or in a fake rock. Burglars know to look for this sort of practice.
• If you are going to be on vacation, stop your mail/newspaper. Have a neighbor park in your driveway to make it look like someone is home.
• Keep your bushes trimmed down below the window line to help prevent hiding places. In addition, trim back front yard trees so that they do not obscure the front of your residence from the street.
• Investigate the cost of an alarm system from a reputable company that has good references (from friends, family members, or trusted neighbors). If a system is installed, post signage that it is in place.
• Report suspicious individuals in your neighborhood immediately to the police department.