15 Things a Retired NYPD Detective Teaches Women Living Alone to Keep Burglars Away at Night

Summary

The speaker’s central message is that burglars tend to choose homes that look easy to enter and quick to search. The video frames prevention around two ideas: make the home harder to read and harder to enter, and increase the chance an intruder will be seen or delayed.

It contrasts Dot, whose expensive alarm system did not prevent a break-in, with Rose, whose low-cost door reinforcement stopped an intruder.

The 15 Tips

1. Do a nightly walk-through. In the same order each night, physically check each door and window rather than relying on memory.
2. Use the deadbolt. Turn it every night, including on the door between the garage and the house.
3. Close blinds and curtains at dusk. This limits what someone outside can see about the home and its occupants.
4. Reduce signs that you live alone. The speaker suggests using a first initial and last name on the mailbox, recording a neutral voicemail greeting, and placing a pair of men’s work boots where they can be seen from the entrance.
5. Replace an all-night porch light with a motion-activated light. The video argues that a light that stays on can create shadows where someone might hide.
6. Light the sides and back of the house, too. The speaker recommends solar motion lights in secluded areas, such as side alleys and behind garages.
7. Don’t open the door to an unexpected nighttime visitor. Check through a wide-angle peephole or doorbell camera and speak through the closed door. The suggested response is: “I can’t open the door. I’m calling someone right now.” Call 911 if the person will not leave.
8. Set an existing alarm every night. For those without a monitored system, the speaker mentions self-installed door and window sensors with a siren.
9. Use plug-in timers for lights and a radio. The video suggests having a front-room lamp turn on at dusk and a radio play in the kitchen after dark to make the home seem occupied.
10. Bring in mail, packages, and trash bins before dark. If away, arrange to have mail held or ask a neighbor to collect deliveries.
11. Trim bushes near doors and windows. The speaker recommends keeping them below window-sill height, clearing lower branches, and using gravel or thorny plants to make hiding and moving quietly more difficult.
12. Secure the garage. The video suggests adding a small zip tie to the emergency-release cord so it cannot be pulled from outside, locking the door from the garage into the house, and not leaving a garage remote in a car parked outside.
13. Keep a charged phone and car keys by the bed. The speaker notes that a car-key panic button may trigger the car’s horn and lights.
14. Reinforce the door strike plate and hinges. Replace short screws with 3-inch screws that reach the framing; a heavy-duty strike plate is also recommended. The speaker identifies this as a low-cost fix for a door that might otherwise split around its lock.
15. Write down an emergency plan and keep it by the bed. Choose a room to shelter in, go there rather than searching the house, lock the door, call 911, and stay on the line. The suggested note includes the full address, cross street, and a brief description of the situation. The speaker emphasizes prioritizing personal safety over possessions.

Notable Details

• Speaker: Jackie Shaw, who says she served 33 years with the NYPD, including 14 years working burglaries in Queens.
• Locations mentioned: Howard Beach and Ozone Park in Queens; the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, cited in connection with a burglary study.
• Products and equipment mentioned: Deadbolts, motion-activated and solar lights, wide-angle peepholes, doorbell cameras, alarms and sensors, plug-in timers, garage-door release cords, long screws, heavy-duty strike plates, door wedges, and car-key panic buttons.