Police urge residents to keep garage doors locked for safety

Experts say keep door between home, garage locked

OVIEDO, Fla. – Thieves are looking for crimes of opportunity - and for a quick and easy way to get in and out of your house in a matter of minutes without getting caught.

But what if you could make your home less of a target and beat the thief at his own game?

News 6 investigators put some common crook tricks to the test with the help of police.

News 6 teamed up with the Oviedo Police Department for this investigation. News 6 purchased a universal garage door opener from a local hardware store and went to the neighborhoods around Oviedo to see if it opens any garage doors.

News 6 drove through several neighborhoods in Oviedo with Lt. Heather Capetillo, clicking away with the remote -- putting neighbors' garage doors to the test.
Capetillo says she sees people leaving their garage doors wide open all the time -- leaving it open to a thief looking for easy access.

But the one thing News 6 discovered is this old way of getting into a garage- wasn't working.

"I'm not getting anything," said Capetillo. "This is fabulous.That is incredible -- it just proves that we are a safe community."

But while that test turned out promising, thanks to advances in garage door technology, it does not mean you can let your guard down.

"Yeah, it's crazy, but that's the world today. Everything's at your fingertips," said Capetillo.

"It makes our lives even more difficult," said Capetillo.

So here are a few easy things you can do to protect your stuff and your family. First things first: Make sure that you lock the door between your home and the garage. Another thing you can do: Go ahead and put a deadbolt on it just for safekeeping. And another thing you can do to help protect your garage door involves a cheap bag of zip ties. All you need to do is take one of these zip ties and put it through this portion of your garage door opener, put it through here, and then you can zip it tight just like that, so that way no one can yank the garage door down.

Another thing: Don't leave your purses or wallets in the car, even if you park inside the garage. You already learned how the garage is not always as safe as you think. Here is another reason you need to add a deadbolt lock to your interior garage door: Even if your door is locked, a crook can use something as simple as a credit card to slip inside. The card triggers the locking mechanism,making it easy to get inside. That is why it is so important for you to get a deadbolt inyour interior garage door.

Another thing the Oviedo Police Department says it does to try to help get results is its 9 p.m. Tweet Out to remind you to check your home, your locks and your car before you head to bed. And they also say if you head out of town, give your local PD a call and have them check on your home while you're away.