Good four–corner exterior lighting is important, particularly when the yard is obscured by shrubbery or dark areas. Good security lighting need not be expensive. A home owner can install flood lights under eaves to illuminate the walls and to expose anyone next to the home.

Solidly built gates and properly built fences are the first line of defense against illegal or unwanted entry. Equip all gates with good locks and use them.

Shrubbery can be an asset or hindrance to criminals. Be sure to prune large trees so their limbs don't provide roof access or second–story window access. Keep shrubs trimmed below window sills and low around entrances. You don't want to provide concealment for a burglar.

Use security shrubs or plants with prickly leaves or thorns to act as a natural barrier.

All exterior wooden doors should be of solid core or panel construction with a thickness of at least 1 3/4 inches. For added security, metal doors are advisable.

Doorknob locks offer no security. Defeating the doorknob lock is one of the most common means of forced entry. All exterior doors should have a deadbolt lock mounted in a solid core door.

Do not leave curtains open in the home so your furnishings are on display to passing strangers.

Engrave belongings with your driver's license number whenever practical. Join Operation Identification.

Burglars often try to find out if anyone is home by phoning. If you get several suspicious "wrong number" calls or "nobody–at–the–other–end" calls, alert the police. Warn family members, especially children, not to give out information by phone.

Do not keep large sums of cash around the house.

Request the Oakland Police Department at 238-3091 to send you the booklet, "Residential Burglary Can Be Prevented."

Call 238-3091 and request OPD to perform a security inspection of your home.

Join a Neighborhood Watch group.

It is important that your house looks lived in while you are away. Keep lights on timers and be sure to have a neighbor take in your newspapers and mail.

Make sure emergency vehicles can find your home in an emergency. Minutes lost hunting for the correct address can be costly. Have your house numbers clearly mounted on a high contrast background and make sure the numbers can be easily read from the street at night.