Jim Fair
Greer Police Chief Dan Reynolds, on behalf of his staff, is offering a valuable checklist of tips for homeowners to enjoy their holidays – home or away.
Reynolds is cautioning busy people to guard against being careless and vulnerable to theft and other holiday crimes. The Greer PD phone number is 864-848-2194.
Reynolds will be offering a variety of tips in coming days.
“Don’t make any announcements that you will be going out of town are away from home. If you are not going to be in town for Christmas you don’t need to put it on your Facebook page. People have access to your Facebook page that you don’t have a clue who is there.
“Everybody will post a photo with, ‘Having a great time here’ . . . and the thief says thank you, I’m having a good time at your house.
“Let a trusted neighbor know you are going out of town so that they can walk down sometimes. So if there is any suspicious activity they will know.
“Where I used to be, we had trucks / cars back up to neighbors’ houses, unload everything from the house in the back of his truck. Neighbors see it and don’t report it, not knowing where their neighbor is or that they are thieves at their house. Let a trusted neighbor know where you are or have somebody come by your house to make sure everything is right if you are going to be out for an extended period of time. Even if somebody breaks in we can have some idea or clue when they did that.
“Regarding timers, put that on when people expect it to come on so it gives a sense that somebody is in the house.
“You may want to leave some of your cars parked outside on the driveway so somebody doesn’t know you are away. If you have two cars, park one inside the garage and leave one outside. Some thieves don’t expect to see a car. They are going to pick a place where they think that people are not there.
“Let neighbors know when you are leaving, coming and going, and have a contact number. Especially if you have an alarm on in your house ‘please” let them know to have some access to the house and turn the alarm system off or so we can contact them.”
• Be extra cautious about locking doors and windows when you leave the house, even for a few minutes.
• Have a neighbor or family pick up your newspapers and mail.
• Large displays of holiday gifts should not be visible through the windows and doors of your home.