PHOENIX — You're home alone – and someone knocks on your door.
You ignore them, thinking they'll go away. Instead, they look in your windows and head around to your backyard. You see the burglar just as he opens your back door and steps inside.
What do you do now?
That's the question we asked Glendale Police Detective Dave Goitia, but first, we wanted to know how a burglar thinks.
"We see people that are just busy living their lives," Goitia said. "And they kind of hope that nothing like this happens."
Goitia told us a prospective burglar typically wants the easiest score they can find, and they'll avoid a house that looks like it might get them caught.
Here are four things you can do to make your home unattractive to burglars.
1. Install cameras: "That's a big deterrent," Goitia said. He said to make sure the cameras are placed in conspicuous places so that potential burglars can see them and know that they're being watched.
2. Lock the back gate: "They hop in the back because then they can break a window without being seen," Goitia said. Don't give them any way to not be seen, Goitia said.
3. Find blind spots: Goitia said you should find the parts of your home that are hidden, places that offer criminals privacy to be able to work without being seen – places like hidden garage windows and side doors.
But what happens if a burglar does get inside your home?
Goitia said the answer will vary from person to person.
"Are you alone?" Goitia asked. "Do you have kids? Are you able to safely evacuate? There's so many different options."
But Goitia said the best thing to do is to think about it now.
"Have a plan in place so you already know ahead of time how you're going to handle it," Goitia said.
