Seasonal & Holidays

Holiday Crime: Six Tips to Prevent Christmas Break-Ins

No spare keys under holiday yard gnomes, and five other tips from Annapolis Police.

With most of your holiday gifts wrapped up under the tree, the Annapolis Police Department wants to make sure they stay there until Christmas morning.

Here are some holiday crime prevention tips from the Annapolis Police:

Burglars view the holidays as an opportunity to steal cash, credit cards, and gifts from your home.

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To help prevent burglaries make sure your doors and windows are locked, even if you are leaving for just a few minutes.

Make sure you don’t have a spare key to your home that is easily accessible to burglars.

Find out what's happening in Annapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

If you are going to be away during the holidays:

    • Have your mail held
    • Have a neighbor check on your house
    • Put lights on timers to turn on and off automatically.

After the holidays avoid putting empty boxes from your new computer, game console, etc out on the curb for pick up. If possible, break down the boxes and put them inside your recycling container. Burglars love to know what expensive gifts you have inside your home for them to steal.

If you see suspicious activity, report it to police at 410-268-4141.

Also Thursday, Annapolis Police responded to 81 calls in the last 24 hours and arrested 6 people.

None of these calls were Part One offenses (homicides, robberies, burglaries, rapes, serious assaults or threats), according to a police release.

>>Annapolis Police remind residents to be extra careful during the holiday season. File|Patch

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