Rude Awakening

That cool new wide-screen HDTV you got for Christmas? That bells-and-whistles-laden new computer? That expensive watch and jewelry you and the significant other exchanged under the Christmas tree?

Wouldn't it be depressing if somebody who appreciates those gifts as much as you do were to break into your house and steal them?

Home burglary is a year-round problem. But the recent conclusion of the yuletide gift-giving season is as good a time as any for Southern Nevada homeowners to think about what they can do to keep bad guys from their doorsteps.

Burglaries -- the ones that take place when nobody's at home, anyway -- may not pose the risk to life and limb that some other varieties of crime do. But, notes Keith Paul, spokesman for the Henderson Police Department, a home burglary probably is the way the average person will encounter crime.

"The violent crime gets all the headlines," he says. "But for the majority of people -- the vast majority of people -- the way crime is going to elbow its way into your life is burglary. And, it can be devastating. You no longer feel safe in your house."

All burglary protection techniques arise from one basic proposition, according to Lt. Robert DuVall, head of the Metropolitan Police Department's property crimes detail: "Thieves are cowards. If you make it so that they will get caught, they won't even try it."

The trick is to "make your house as unattractive to a burglar as possible," he says.

Having an alarm system or a barking dog, perhaps, because thieves hate noise. Installing secure locks, maybe, because thieves like to work quickly. Putting up a few lights in the yard, because thieves prefer darkness.

"The more steps you take to present less of a target, the more they'll just pass you up," DuVall says. "A thief, a burglar in particular, isn't looking for the house. He's looking for opportunity."

"The best advice I can give is to try to think like a criminal," suggests officer Mark Hoyt of the North Las Vegas Police Department.

Problem is, most of us aren't criminals. And, because of that, many of us probably hold a few misconceptions about how burglars really work. Take, for instance, that movie-inspired notion that thieves probably will enter our homes through a broken window.

It's certainly possible, but Hoyt says burglars generally hate breaking glass because it's noisy and likely to draw attention. The reality: A thief would rather enter your home through a door.

Back or side doors are appealing because they're relatively invisible to passers-by, Hoyt says. However, he adds, many homeowners "just leave their garage doors open, and a lot of people don't lock the door between their house and the garage."

The problem with that twofer is that anybody who gains access to the garage can just walk into the home. Make it a habit to keep the garage-to-house door locked, and be sure to wait until the garage door closes completely before driving away, Hoyt says.

Make sure the garage door closes completely after you return home, too. "They all have sensors now, and if I'm hiding around the corner and I put my hand in, the garage door opens up and you don't even know I'm there," DuVall says of people who don't pay attention.

It also might be worth removing that manual string pull from an automatic garage door opener. Otherwise, DuVall says, a thief can break a garage door window -- or even drill a hole into the door -- and use a hook to pull the string and open the garage door manually.

Another good idea is to lock your car even when it's parked in the garage. "A garage door is easy to defeat," DuVall says. "We've seen a lot of cars stolen directly from garages."

And law-abiding citizens surely would never think of this way to get into a house: the doggie door. Thieves have crawled through them or employed women or kids to enter a home through the doggie door to unlock the front door, DuVall says.

Another common misconception: Thieves are interested only in TVs, computers and other big-ticket items. But burglars also typically will "grab whatever's light and whatever they can sell quickly," Paul notes.

That could mean cash, guns, iPods, collectibles and jewelry. "Cameras, laptops and (video) games are real hot in summertime," Hoyt says. "When kids break into homes, they want the games, that $50 Wii game or Xbox 360 game. Get four or five of those and that's 300 bucks and you've got a felony."

Of course, that doesn't make your new HDTV immune from theft. DuVall says a recent trend is thieves backing a truck up to a house, breaking in and then simply loading up the truck. Neighbors assume the men are movers, he says.

Another common notion: Thieves love bedrooms, because that's where cash, jewelry and other valuables are kept.

"Bedrooms are always a high target because that's where we keep a lot of our valuables," DuVall notes. But other rooms of a house -- ones where computers are kept, collectibles are displayed, electronic gizmos are used, and, in the case of a garage, where cars are kept -- also are attractive to thieves.

Even the kitchen is apt to make it onto a thief's itinerary, because it's often where homeowners keep extra keys to the house, the cars and safes. "Get those keys and your thief now has access to your car, your valuables and anything else," DuVall says.

Another definite misconception: Thieves come out only at night.

Actually, the daytime hours -- particularly those hours when most of us are at work or school -- are many thieves' prime workday. Even in this 24/7 town, "most neighborhood houses are pretty well empty during the day," DuVall notes. "A lot of juvenile burglaries are done during the day."

Here's a common notion that falls into the maybe/maybe not category: Dogs are a good theft deterrent.

They certainly can be, DuVall says, because no burglar wants to deal with a set of angry canine jaws. But, like any other single deterrent, dogs aren't foolproof, either.

"Some thieves know how to get by a dog, just like they know how to get by a lock," DuVall says.

Paul is more convinced, though, noting that a dog can deter a burglar even if it's just noisy. "They'll ring the doorbell or make some sort of noise outside," he says. "If a dog starts barking, there's a good chance they'll go away and move on to a house where there's no barking."

The bottom line, DuVall says, is to not "assume (that) because you have a dog that you're completely safe."

Another anti-burglary myth: The best burglary deterrents lie in locks, alarms and other bits of technology. Actually, police agree, the most effective deterrent to burglary is a group of neighbors who make it a point to simply watch out for one another.

"I'm not saying you have to go out and be best friends with your neighbors," DuVall says. "But at least talk to them and get to know them."

Finally, here's the biggest -- and most slam-dunk wrong -- myth of all: Break-ins and burglaries always happen to somebody else.

"We take a lot of things for granted, but the old adage that 'It could never happen to me' is one of the worst attitudes you could have," DuVall says. "It could happen to anybody."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0280.