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home and garden 86 home garden april 2 1986 d5 precautions needed in stopping home thefts by nancy hoskin as with all other north american cities small and large markhams 1 crime rate is on the rise frightening statistics from police officials and statistics canada show that one in eight homes will be broken into in this area each year with residential burglaries between 1983 and 1984 up 20 per cent the typical burglar is between the ages of 12 and 22 with minimal education is unemployed strikes in his own community and usually has a habit to support which can be as simple as playing video games most goods are taken and sold for 5 per cent of their value with televi- sions ghetto blasters and vcrs topping the list of favorites the majority of breakins occur during the day with over 52 per cent happening between noon and 6 pm with both spouses working outside cthe home residential crime is in creasing because most neighbor- hoods are remaining empty during critical hours of the day according to glenn crosby pres- ident of first response home pro- tection systems inc over 35 per zeent of residential breakins in mar- kham are not reported either the property owner wasnt insured to ccover the loss items were taken that shouldnt have been in the 6ome or the family is not interested tin prolonging the ordeal any furth er for example if an assault was involved most breakins happen through abasement windows or through slid ing glass patio doors a number of simple safety mea sures can help to reduce the chance of breakins dont plant shrubs directly block ing the front door small shrubs grow into larger ones and allow the perfect coverage for thieves to get into a home without being seen from the street always keep your garage locked on many occasions the york re gional police have reported burg lars using tools found in the garage to gain entry into a home have your house numbers large and welllit so emergency vehicles can see clearly which house they have been called to photoelectric cells which can be found at any canadian tire store and range from 8 10 are a great way to keep house numbers lit they automatically turn on at sun set and off at sunrise said mr crosby leave timers on when youre away or even when you use only a section of a house make sure they go on and turn off following a normal pattern set timers to come on in sequ ence placing them in the living room the family room and an up stairs front bedroom for example have them follow that order when going off insert metal screws into the top tracks of sliding glass doors leave screws extended so that the door can close but cannot be opened from the outside you can also place a piece of wood inside the doortrack to prevent the door being forced open by an intruder another way of securing a home from intruders is the installation of a burglar alarm only two per cent of all canadian homes have sys tems usually because of two unsoli cited worries the cost and the possible false alarms alarm systems usually range in price from 1600 to 2000 depend ing upon the type which initially may seem like a lot of money to pay but may save thousands of dollars in the long run if someone attenpts to break into your home there are only three reasons for false alarms poor equipment poor installation and poor customer use said mr crosby there are two types of alarms the hardwired traditional approach where different detectors are connected by wires taped on the outside of windows and entrances then there is the wireless alarm which recently joined the canadian market in 1981 the wireless is radio operated to a main control there are a number of passive infrared detectors covering both the per- meter of the house as well as the interior this particular concept was developed during the viet nam war the infrared detectors absorb moving body heat every home has a main traffic pattern burglars usually hit the master bedroom for money and jewelry the family room for the tv and vcr and the dining room for silver china and crystal detectors can be put where needed depending on the home and are not limited by wiring mr crosby explained another advantage to the wire less alarm is that it can be taken with you when you move the sys tem is completely portable the de tectors key pad and panic button hours mon tues wed 106 thurs fri 109 sat 106 sun noon 5 pm markham village lanes 144 main st n 2946160 all shades installations guaranteed b btnei buttau sale expires april 3086 for as low as cityscape landscape contractors inc a season you can now have commercial quality residential lawn care our contemporary methods equipment and materials are designed to give you the maximum results for each dollar spent our service is sure to allow you much more time to enjoy the grounds around your home and enjoy you will because we can give you the greenest thickest healthiest lawn possible one you can be thoroughly proud of we can even cut it for you for a small charge all these services can be provided to you for less than the cost of equipment needed to do it yourself before watering your lawn at least once a week is what we recommend you do this can give beautiful results after when you follow our recommendations these vary on different properties your lawn can be as thick and lush as this satisfied customers our lawn care provides to you a proven program of preventive maintenance through our 4 applications spring lawn applications balanced fertilizer weed control as needed and preemergent crabgrass control as needed early summer balanced fertilizer weed control insect control as needed summer applications balanced fertilizer weed control insect control as needed fall applications balanced winter fertilizer weed control insect control as required more than one material may be applied with each application compare our rates and discounted season prices approx lawn single season care application 2000 sq ft 26 98 3000 sq ft 30 114 4000 sq ft 34 130 5000 sq ft 38 146 please phone now to register 6406070 48 alderwood st stouffville