Melissa Ogden and her husband, Duncan Edwards, have experienced loss firsthand.
Their home in New Orleans was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The couple then relocated with their two kids to the Dallas area, moving into their Lochwood home less than a year ago.
Edwards and Ogden’s newfound sense of security recently took a setback when burglars invaded their home and took more than $5,000 worth of property, including a 36-inch flat-screen television, an Apple laptop computer, a mini-DVD player and jewelry, as well as destroyed their back door.
“We walked in our living room and noticed our TV was missing,” Ogden says. “They broke in through the back … they busted in the back door.”
The thief also attempted to enter through the garage, prying the door about one-third of the way open. The break-in has shaken the family, and they are taking added safety measures.
“Obviously, we were very upset, and it’s a horrible feeling thinking of someone you don’t know being in your house,” Ogden says. “My husband and I are very concerned about security.”
Dallas Police Sgt. Keitric Jones of the Northeast Division says locked doors can still be easy targets for crooks.
“Suspects often kick in doors to houses or apartments. A good forceful kick to a door will typically bust the lock out of the door frame,” Jones says. “This is because a lot of door locks are not properly secured. For a door to be ‘more’ secure, I would suggest replacing the doorframe plate screws, that come with the lock, with 3.5-inch screws.”
Jones says screws that come with a standard lock are typically only three quarters of an inch long, and screw only into the doorframe. Longer screws will go through the doorframe and into the wall stud, creating a more secure door. He adds that alarms alert police and are a deterrent for most criminals.
“Criminals want to do their crime and get away without complications,” Jones says. “Therefore, an alarm system installed in a home is a deterrent. That doesn’t mean that all homes with alarms don’t get burglarized. But if a burglar is looking for an opportunity, and he knows a house has an alarm, chances are he will move to another location.”
