The holiday season is always a special time of year. Gifts are exchanged, and more often than not, expensive gifts are received.
During the holiday season, burglars know that many households have new, and oftentimes expensive, items in their homes following the December holidays—especially items such as new computers, televisions, cameras, and other electronic equipment. It is easy for burglars to figure out which homes to target by looking at the empty boxes that identify these new gifts in plain view with their other garbage. Avoid this by not leaving empty boxes in the alley or other garbage pick-up locations for several days at a time. Instead, break down any boxes you are throwing out, put them in garbage bags and place them inside a recycling bin. (In many cases, especially with computer equipment, you might consider keeping the boxes for safe storage, shipping, or moving in the future.) Think about keeping broken-down boxes inside—in a garage, for example—until the evening before your regular garbage pick-up. Some burglars actually look inside garbage cans for evidence of holiday gifts.
Reducing crime in our community requires everyone’s involvement. In addition to the following the tips above, residents are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Pico Rivera Station, by calling 562.949.2421 or 911 in an emergency.
