A. How to protect you home or apartment?
I. Make sure that you turn on your alarm when you left the house in order to activate the 24 hours monitoring service.

II. When you are alone at night in the house and plans to stay upstairs in your room, you may want to consider to turn on the activate the security alarm in the house so that the rest of the house can be monitored by motion sensor.

III. Do not leave your shades or draperies closed during the day when you are out. Drawn window coverings are a solid clue that no one is at home.

IV. Create some source of noise in the home before you leave (a silent house is an empty house). For example, place a radio with the volume turned low, at a front window.

V. Leave one or two inexpensive toys or garden tools scattered about. Do not leave unlocked bicycles outside (they are a clue to the carelessness of the homeowners, which may extend to other precautions they neglect to take a well).

VI. Always close and lock garage doors before you drive away; an empty garage is a strong sign of an empty house.

VII. Never leave a note in the door for anyone explaining that you are out to lunch, have gone shopping, etc. -- this advertises the fact that you are not at home.

VIII. Never leave clothing, rugs, etc. on a clothesline unless you are there to watch them - this is dangling bait before a thief.

IX. In winter, never leave foot or tire tracks in the snow that only show people leaving. Walk or drive the car back and forth to indicate arrival as well as departures.

X. Never hide a key outside your home or apartment - under a mat, over a door, beneath a flower pot, etc. If there must be another key available leave it only with a trusted neighbour.

XI. Keep the shrubbery trimmed near your doors and windows so that they are visible from the street.

XII. Keep you grass cut, your leaves raked, etc., indicting that your house is well cared for.

XIII. Always have lights (preferably in more than one room) turned on when you are away at night (an inexpensive time will accomplish this automatically).

XIV. Keep a light on in your bathroom all night long, indicating even when you are home that someone is awake.

XV. Never leave small valuable articles (watches, jewellery, cameras, typewriters, cassettes, etc.) on window sills, on shelves near windows, or in places easily visible from the outside. Money, stocks, bonds and as many other valuables as possible should be kept in banks and safety deposit boxes.

XVI. Empty your mailbox or arrange to have it emptied as soon as mail is delivered. If possible, replace it with a slot type in the door so that mail will fall inside.

XVII. Never have your marital status or your first or middle name on your nameplate ("Miss Jane Ellen Logan," for instance, should immediately be changed to "J. Logan").

XVIII. Get to know your neighbours. They want to be safe too and you can help one another by being alert to anything unusual that occurs in the area.

XIX. Record descriptions and serial numbers of power tools, outboard motors, television sets, stereos, etc.; have photographs taken of jewellery. Register these with your police department, depending upon the laws of your particular province, and indicate that you have done so with a sign that is provided for pasting on your door.

XX. Never turn your dog loose on an interloper - it may be knifed or maimed. Keep it close to you for your protection.

XXI. If you employ a baby sitter, explain all the precautionary rules you follow and insist, for your sitter's and children's safety, that the rules be followed well.

XXII. Never admit a stranger into your apartment lobby when you are entering (even if the stranger turns out to be a tenant, your caution will be appreciated).

XXIII. If there is a tenant's association in your apartment building, join it but don't depend on it alone for your security.

XXIV. Persuade your landlord to have unprotected mailboxes moved to a wall behind the locked door to the lobby - mail thefts are common.

XXV. Ask your landlord to install bright lights in all corridors if they are not there. If your request is not complied with, chip in with other tenants and buy bright bulbs. If the landlord objects, check with building inspectors.

XXVI. Ask your landlord to remove all draperies (which will hide someone lying in wait for a tenant) from the lobby.

XXVII. An elevator without an operator is like an automobile in which you are a hitchhiker. Don't enter one with anyone who makes you feel uneasy. If the person enters on an intermediate floor, simply walk out of the elevator.

XXVIII. Stand next to the control panel in the elevator. If accosted, push the emergency button or several floor buttons.

XXIX. Double lock your apartment door even if you are only visiting a neighbour next door.

XXX. Keep a list posted of places where you can get emergency help in the building if you need it - the super, a neighbour, the building alarm buttons, etc.

XXXI. When apartment hunting, remember that you are safer on middle floors than on the first, second or top floors.

B. How to protect you home when you are away from home?
1. Make sure you call your alarm security monitoring centre to advice them that you are out town and there may be friends that you want to designate as the primary contact for emergency.

2. Or you may choose to select additional security patrol service to your area during your absence.

3. A good security patrol service may also provideBefore you go away on vacation, cancel the newspaper and milk deliveries, but don't detail the reasons for the cancellation.

4. Ask your mail carrier to hold your mail at the post office, deliver it to a neighbour, or have it forwarded to you.

5. Leave a key with a friend. Ask them to check the inside of the house periodically, change the positions of draperies and blinds.

6.

7. Arrange with a neighbour to remove advertising announcements and the like from your lawn, mailbox, or steps. Leave some small toys or garden furniture outside where they are visible from the street - ask a neighbour to change their positions from time to time.

8. Store all your valuables.

9. Don't disconnect your telephone. Consider engaging a telephone answering service (human or machine) to answer the phone, but provide no definite details about your absence.

10. Don't set the trash out early (a sure sign that you won't be home on collection day). Ask a neighbour to set them out on the proper day.

11. Consider inviting friends, relatives, or associates, to live in your home (or apartment) while you are away.

C. How to protect your personal security on the telephone?
1. Never give any personal information (your name, address, your age, etc.) to a stranger on the telephone.

2. If someone dials your number by "mistake" do not give them your correct number. Ask what number was dialled and tell the person to dial again.

3. Never let a stranger on the telephone know when you will or will not be home.

4. If your roommate/spouse is not at home, do not indicate this. Simply say they are not available, take the caller's telephone number and advise the caller you'll pass the message along.

5. Instruct a baby sitter never to tell anyone who telephones that you are out and the children are being baby sat.

6. If children are old enough to be left alone, instruct them to never tell a caller that they are alone.

7. If you live alone, have only your first initial and last name listed in the telephone book.

8. If you receive an obscene telephone call, hang up immediately and notify the police.

D. How do you confront difficult situations?
1. Always be psychologically prepared to protect yourself; ask yourself - "What if?" What if I find that the lock on my front door has been tampered with? What if we go inside and find that someone ransacked the place? The answer is to get out, go to any nearby telephone, and call the police.

2. If you can't get out, try to signal a neighbour - throw one of your shoes through a window; just the noise may frighten a burglar away.

3. If someone is prowling outside your house, make them think that several people are at home. Call to your husband, "Dear, there's someone outside." Call the police. If it is dark, be sure that lights are on in several rooms.

4. If the intruder has already broken in, retreat into your home - put other doors between the two of you.
5. Memorize a description of the intruder. When they have left, write it down as soon as you have called the police. Don't rely on memory.

6. If you find any evidence that someone has entered your home or apartment, report it even if nothing has been taken. Illegal entry is a crime.

7. Never knowingly buy stolen property (when the price is ridiculously low, when a stranger is selling it at your door, on a corner, etc., it is almost certainly stolen); report it to police.

8. Remember that only about 3 percent (3%) of all burglars will enter a home when they believe that people are there; it may therefore, never happen to you. Should you confront one however, the very first rule is: Stay out of the way. Never get between a burglar and the exit, and never try to stop them from leaving.

E. How do you clean up a vandalised home?
If a vandal ever strikes your property, be very careful how you clean up. Improper cleaning will result in additional unnecessary repairs and expenses. Here are some tips of Do’s and Don’ts for you.

Do’s
• Make a list of all damages
• Do not walk barefoot where there may be glass residue
• Wash all residues, including that from eggs or other materials, from the building exterior
• Remove any debris or food from carpets or interior walls. Scrape or blot carpets and furniture. Do not rub
• Vacuum glass particles from carpet and upholstery.
• Do not walk barefoot where there may be glass residue
• Save any information about the type of liquid that was surfaces

Don’ts
• Do not attempt to remove chemical stains such as ink or paint
• Do not operate damaged electrical appliance
• Do not throw away damaged wood chips or other small articles.
• Do not use household cleaning products on fabrics, upholstery or carpet without consulting your professional cleaner.