If Someone Knocks at Your Door, Don’t Ignore It! (Sacramento Police Department) — Nextdoor — Nextdoor

Photo from Deputy Chief Steve O.

Most residential burglaries start with someone knocking at the front door or ringing the doorbell. If the burglar gets no answer, they assume no one is home and will either kick the door open or go through a side gate and force a door open or break a window to gain entry.

If someone you don’t recognize knocks at your door, don’t open it, but say something so they know you are home. If they ask for someone you don’t know or claim they are selling something, tell them you aren’t interested and call the police if you feel their story was suspect. They often move on to a neighbor’s house, so if you can safely watch their activity from inside your home, we appreciate the updates. A good description of the subject(s) including sex, race, height/weight, hair color and style, clothing and/or a vehicle description and direction can be very helpful to responding officers. We catch a lot of burglars this way, thanks to alert residents watching out for themselves and their neighbors.

Most burglars don’t want to encounter residents at home. Unfortunately, we routinely receive 911 calls from residents who report that someone had knocked at their door, they ignored it and the suspect’s are breaking in. Again, don’t open the door, but make your presence known. There have been some recent stories in the media, including one in Elk Grove this week where the resident opened the door to a female stranger, was assaulted and her home robbed by the female and a male accomplice. If you have an alarm, which Sac PD does recommend, please use it!

For more home burglary prevention tips, click on this link: http://www.sacpd.org/besafe/safetyguides…

·

Subscribers of

in
Safety

Subscribers of SACPD South Command