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The Hopkins Police Department urges residents to take some simple precautions that will reduce your chances of becoming a victim of a home burglary. For more information, contact Police Services Liaison Anne Marie Buck at 952-548-6407 or abuck@hopkinsmn.com.

When do most break-ins occur?

  • Usually occur in the daytime when occupants are at school or work
  • July and August most the frequent months for break-ins
  • February is the least frequent for home break-ins

How are homes targeted?

  • Simple selection process, crime of opportunity
  • Choose an unoccupied home with easy access, the greatest amount of cover and the best escape routes
  • Homeowners often make this selection process easy for thieves by failing to take simple precautions

What can you do to prevent becoming a victim?

  • Make your home less inviting to a burglar; by installing good locks, trimming landscape and making good use of exterior lighting
  • Burglars will usually bypass a house if it requires too much effort or more skills or tools than they possess
  • Most break-ins are through front or back doors
  • Keep outside doors locked (unlocked outer doors to common hallways give thieves a chance to break in through inner doors while remaining out of sight of neighbors and police) 
  • Always lock the door that leads from your attached garage into your home

Doors and Locks

  • Use a solid core or metal door at entrance points
  • Use a heavy-duty deadbolt with a one inch throw bolt
  • Use a heavy duty strike plate with a minimum of four 3 inch screws that go into the frame of the door
  • 3 inch screws in the frame
  • Use a wide angle peephole
  • When you move into a new house or apartment, change the door locks

Break-Ins through doors

  • Most common method of forced entry is to simply kick in the door
  • The weakest point is usually the lock strike plate
  • You should upgrade to a heavy-duty strike plate

Sliding Glass Doors

  • This type of door is usually secured by latches only
  • They are very vulnerable to attack
  • Security can be increased by inserting a wooden dowel or stick into the door track to prevent movement or by using a “charlie bar”
  • There are also metal track blockers (screws installed into the track) or secondary  locks available

Windows (the most frequent point of entry during warm weather months)

  • Windows are left unlocked at a much higher rate than doors
  • An open window that is visible from the street may be the sole reason that a house is targeted. An open window with only a locked window screen is particularly inviting to thieves. Access is quick, easy and silent
  • Windows that have latches, not locks; should have secondary locking devices
  • Wooden sticks/dowels work well with horizontal sliding windows
  • For vertical windows, installing pins into the frame work well
  • For ventilation, leave no more than a 4 – 6 inch window opening
  • Make sure that opening is not large enough to allow someone to reach through to unlock the door or remove window lock

Operation Identification

  • Contact your local police department for your personal Operation ID number
  • Engrave your Operation ID number on televisions, stereos, computers and electronic devices
  • Photograph your valuables, especially jewelry and electronics.
  • Make a list of make, model, serial numbers and value of important items 
  • Give a copy of this list to a relative or close friend or keep it locked in a safe

Be A Good Neighbor

  • Get to know your neighbors
  • Agree to watch each other’s home
  • While on vacation, pick up mail, newspapers, packages and flyers; put out their trash on trash day (and return empty barrels)
  • Offer to park your car in their driveway
  • Water flowers, grass and plants
  • Communicate with each other regularly

What if you see something of someone acting suspicious?

If you see anyone acting suspicious around your house or a neighbor’s house, call 911 immediately!

  • If your house is broken into, call police immediately. Don’t touch anything that the criminal may have touched 
  • Don’t go in…wait outside for police to arrive
  • Write down plate numbers of suspicious vehicles
  • Not all break-ins will be stopped, regardless of the precautions that you take
  • Talk to your insurance agent to make sure that your valuables will be covered in the event of a theft