Apartment Security

Even in the best maintained apartment buildings, security is a concern. To help protect yourself, you can take a few simple steps.

Don't list your first name on the apartment directory, just an initial. But make sure the listings are uniform. If the only first names listed are male, an intruder might assume, for instance, that the apartment units listed by initials are occupied by females.

Even if you list yourself by initial, make sure the directory doesn't imply that you're alone. Adding another initial - A. & B. Doe, rather than A. Doe - makes it appear that two people are living in your apartment. This could be enough to prompt a thief to skip your place.

If you have a mailbox in the lobby, cover up any slots so the contents aren't visible. A box filled with the same mail from day-to-day is a sign that the occupant is not home.

If your apartment unit has a mail slot in the door, cover it so nobody can flip it up and see that the apartment is empty.

Don't buzz anyone into the building whom you don't know. If you don't already have a wide angle viewer, install one in your door.

Even if you live on a high floor, don't think your unit is impossible to access from the outside. Some thieves climb or jump from balcony to balcony. When you're out, keep windows locked, and sliding doors locked and defended with security bars.

If you're out for the evening leave a light on, even if you're on a high floor. Professional thieves can pick out a completely dark apartment from the ground.

If you're keeping any belongings in a storage room, don't rely exclusively on the room's lock for protection. Use a high quality padlock on your own storage unit door.

If any unit in your building has been broken into, and the thief has made off with the lock, you could be vulnerable. With a lock, it's easy enough to cut a copy of the key. And if all the door locks in the building can be opened by master key, the thief could gain access to any unit.

If your building works on a master key system, have your deadbolt re- keyed off the system, and if required give the superintendent a copy of the new key. It's also a good idea to re-key your lock when you move into a building.