Watch Your Windows
SIMPLE PRECAUTION: Don’t run a peep show! There is nothing innocent about
“peeping Toms”; they are potentially very dangerous!
So don’t court trouble-make sure that all your windows (and glass doors, etc.) are
equipped with shades or blinds, and use them!
And, of course, don’t invite trouble by going about scantily clad- even though you have
made your home “peep-in-proof”…you might have to answer the door, and your
appearance could arouse criminal instincts in an otherwise placid caller.
1 Any window which is accessible in any manner from tbe outside should be kept locked.
2 Never assume that, because you don’t think a window is accessible, a hoodlum won’t.
For example. ..
• a window above a terrace or porch can be reached with a ladder, or by climbing a
pipe or trellis, or by standing on a box or similar object.
• a window opening on a fire escape or one next to a fire escape is an easy mark for
a hoodlum.
• a window just below the roof is also one that invites entry.
• basement windows, windows to utility rooms or accessible attics, etc.-rooms and
places that you don’t frequently use-are those to pay particular attention to. Check
them to make sure they are not easy entrance-ways for a criminal.
3 There are various kinds of window locks-make sure that your windows are equipped
with the proper one(s).
• minimum protection: The standard twist lock which keeps the window locked in
the “closed” position.
• a better way: The turn-screw lock, which can be tightened to lock the window in
any position-say when you have the top and/or bottom open a very few inches for
ventilation.
• best bet: For double-hung windows, there is a simple brace lock you can have
installed or make yourself-by placing a piece of wood or metal (a bar) diagonally
between the upper corner of the top sash and the top of the lower sash.
4 Don’t forget, if you have ground floor windows or accessible windows (see No.2
above), you should have bars, an “accordion gate,” or a heavy mesh screen, which can
only be opened from the inside.
5 Suburbanites living in private homes become very trusting very easily, and this is
foolhardy! Don’t make it easy for a “second-story man.” Never leave a ladder in your yard
or available in your garage or tool shed. If you have a ladder about the premises, make
sure it is locked up and unavailable to a hoodlum as a means of entry.
6 It is a good idea if you live in a house to equip your windows for exit. In other words,
provide for a second means of leaving the upper stories of the building in case of
emergency-purchase a sturdy rope ladder, long enough to drop free to the ground, and
have it properly installed inside an upper window, so that if there is a fire or other
extreme danger and your stairway is blocked, you can use the ladder to save yourself and
your family!