Residential "Break-Ins" are Typically "Crimes of Opportunity"- Deanne Taylor, CPO, TPS
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November 12, 2026
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You can minimize your risk by practicing the personal safety and crime prevention strategies outlined below.
Protecting Your Home
- Make sure exterior doors are solid core wood or metal.
- Install a good quality deadbolt lock on the door and a minimum four-hole security strike plate on your door frame. Use screws that are a minimum two inches in length, and longer where possible, so that they penetrate the main (unseen) structure that supports the door frame.
- Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available bars or locks or put a wooden dowel or broom handle in the door track. Burglars look for sliding glass doors because they are the easiest to open.
- Keep garage and tool shed locked. Don’t give a burglar the resources to break into your home.
- Remove all obstructions in your yard that could conceal a burglar breaking into your house.
- Limit access to out of reach windows, lower roofs, second story windows and balconies. Lock up ladders and other objects that can be used as platforms whenever possible. Watch for large, overhanging tree limbs that may provide a means of access.
- Ask a trusted neighbor to use your driveway or parking space when leaving the house for extended periods.
- If you are away, make sure that your residence looks like it is occupied. Have the sidewalks shoveled, mail collected, grass cut etc. Set the lights to come on and off at different intervals.
- Make “would-be” thieves visible, install motion lights or leave an exterior light on to illuminate entranceways and rear yards.
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Always Let Them Know If Someone’s Home
Since most residential break and enters happen during the daytime when the homeowner is not home, it is important to realize that there is little chance of you encountering a burglar provided you do not do anything to hide the fact that you are home if someone knocks on your door.
It is therefore important that you respond to all door knocks by speaking through a locked door unless you recognize the person. This includes training your children to safely respond to the door knock by having them let you know that someone is there or speaking through a locked door advising the person that you are busy.
To report a crime anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at: 1-800-222-8477(TIPS) or online at: www.222tips.com
In An Emergency: Call 9-1-1.
To report a crime to the Toronto Police that is not an emergency call 416-808-2222.
