CITY OF DURHAM
Office of Public Affairs
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701
News Release
For Immediate Release: August 29, 2007
The Durham Police Department is issuing a crime prevention alert about a recent wave of break-ins to sheds. This has been coupled with an increase in the number of thefts of bicycles, lawn mowers and other items from yards throughout the city. The majority of shed break-ins have occurred during daylight hours when people are at work.
The Police Department is providing the following crime prevention tips:
· Check the latching device on your shed. Most sheds have small screws holding the latching device onto the shed frame. These small screws should be replaced with longer, approximately one-inch screws or bolts. Latches secured with the smaller screws are easily broken off enabling burglars to defeat any type lock
· Always lock the shed with a heavy-duty lock
· Run a heavy-duty chain through items in the shed, especially bikes, lawn equipment and other large tools. This allows you to lock the items together making it tougher for burglars to quickly remove items
· Engrave all valuable property that is stored in your shed with your driver's license number. The Police Department has engraving equipment at its substations for use by the public
· Record all model and serial numbers of property stored in the shed. This helps officers identify the property if it is recovered after a theft
· Install a motion detector floodlight on your house or shed
Never leave tools or ladders lying around as the thief can easily use them.
Planting shrubs, especially the prickly kind, in suitable positions around a shed can also be a good deterrent to the thief
Don’t leave toys, tools and equipment in the yard
Call 911 to report any suspicious persons or activity
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