By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

As the holiday season draws near, some metro Detroiters might be unintentionally making their homes inviting to more people than Santa Claus.

Thieves can break into homes at any time of the year, both day and night, said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Sometimes the burglaries occur in broad daylight because that is when the occupants are usually working.

“What will happen is they go up to a house, knock on the door,” he said. “If they don’t get a response, they go out back and kick in the door.”

Bouchard acknowledged that many break-ins occur during the holiday season. “They know there is usually cash and gifts in the home, and so it increases the kinds of things and the amount of things that they’ll be able to steal,” he said.

Popular stolen items include jewelry, heirlooms, precious metals, computers and digital cameras, he added.

Homeowners have several ways they can be safe, Bouchard said. They can leave the lights on or install motion-sensor outdoor lights. They can also make sure that trees and shrubs don’t obscure entryways.

“Everything you can do to put another hurdle in the way of that criminal is one more reason why they’ll move on to another house or another neighborhood,” he said, “because it’s easier, quite frankly, for them to do that.”

Getting good locks is also an essential step in hindering thieves, said Joseph Sykes, co-owner of Superior Lock & Key in Rochester Hills.

If thieves approach a door and see a standard lock, they might try busting it. But if the lock is more complex, they’ll either leave or bust through a window, which causes a bigger disturbance, he said.

“If you’re securing your home, it always starts at your door,” Sykes said.

Sykes advises getting a lock that is “bump resistant,” such as a brand called Mul-T-Lock. The locks can cost around $90 per cylinder or about $185-$190 for deadbolts, he said. “That’s what I have on my house,” Sykes said. “You can’t get the keys duplicated everywhere. You can’t drill it, bump it or pick it.”

Experts agreed that a home alarm system is another effective way to scare off thieves.

Ron Demers, president of Fire & Security Tech Inc. in Chesterfield Township, said home alarm systems vary depending on the homeowner’s needs.

Depending on the company, a basic package costs between $99 and $600, and can include equipment for three doors, a motion detector, a siren and other monitoring equipment. From there, consumers can buy more to buttress their homes’ surveillance. “It’s almost like an a la carte,” he said.

As a rule of thumb, 75 percent of all break-ins are through a door, and the master bedroom is the No. 1 room that burglars like to enter, he said.

“For those who don’t have the extra cash on hand, you might just put a motion detector in the house in a well-traveled space and then possibly add a motion (sensor) into a master bedroom,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1058.