If you live in a pleasant, respectable neighborhood, it is very easy to become lax about security, especially where garage doors are concerned. It can be especially tempting to leave them open during the summer, when your garage can get intensely hot, and this can affect electrical appliances such as freezers which you may keep in there. The problem is that it is the nice respectable neighborhoods that are the most likely to be targeted by burglars.
The police are in fact continually reminding the public that failing to close or secure your garage leaves your property vulnerable, yet it continues to be normal practice. Recently in Minneapolis, the StarTribune reported that there had been no less than 38 garage burglaries in a single week, many of which were due to doors being left unlocked. One woman and her husband said they normally locked the door to their garage, but on this single occasion had forgotten, and suffered up to $1,300 in losses, including three bikes, as a result. The police pointed out that thieves often go from one garage to another, looking for unsecured doors.
A similar story was reported by KMOV, the St Louis news station, on June 19, 2012, from Shiloh, Illinois, which had been hit by an alarming number of garage burglaries over the previous couple of weeks. A resident left his garage door open for just a few minutes while he went into his house, heard a noise, and found a burglar with his car backed into the garage. The thief got away with equipment including a blower and a brand new edger. Following this, the news crew drove round checking the area, and found many garage doors open and unattended. A similar report came from the El Paso Times of July 6, 2012, where burglaries are up 37 percent in some parts of the city, and in these areas thieves seem to be attracted to homes with garage doors left open.
The dangers of failing to secure your garage, or use a garage door service, are not confined to the risk of losing the possessions you keep in there, valuable as these may be. Once the thieves have got into your garage, they often find the connecting door to your house is unlocked, or is quite flimsy and easy to break down. What is more, there are often plenty of tools around to assist the break-in.
It is really important to understand that these crimes are on the increase. As well as locking garage doors, it is advisable to use a garage door service, to make sure the doors are well maintained, and have effective locking systems. However careful you are about securing your house, it is all in vain if the garage is open to all comers.