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Prosecutors offering burglary prevention forums

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is holding several crime prevention meetings over the coming weeks to help you avoid becoming a burglary victim.

Deputy prosecutors specializing in these crimes will present ideas on why a criminal might choose you.

Recently, police in Columbus, Ohio posted a video featuring three convicted criminals spilling their secrets over how they choose victims. The video went viral. They offered tips concerning lighting, pets, and even how to spot a possible burglar in broad daylight scoping out your home.

“Myself, I’m going to go up and knock on the door. If I don’t hear nothing, no one answers, I don’t see any lights come on, no dog in there barking. If I don’t see the wires on the windows for the alarm system, whatever, then I can look through your windows. When you’re not there, shut your windows, we can’t see what’s in there,” Joel Hamlin, a burglar serving time in Hardin County, said.

Adam Taylor, of Hamilton County, said if someone does answer the door, that can also help him gather needed information for a crime.

“If it was one or two people there, just stay back down the street a little bit and wait for them to get into their automobile and leave and then know that they’re gone,” Taylor said.

They also said alarm systems are a must.

“Sometimes set it off so people know it’s there, don’t just buy and never set it off. If I hear it, I think that house has an alarm. Those little signs they put out, sometimes, most of the times, those are a decoy,” William Coffman, of Franklin County, said.

The first crime prevention forum on this topic is scheduled for Monday, June 22 at 7 p.m. at the Cumberland Town Hall. That’s located at 11501 East Washington Street. If you can’t make it, another forum is scheduled for July 9 at 7 p.m. at Lakeview Church located at 47 Beachway Drive in Indianapolis and July 13 at 7 p.m. at Minstar Connect located at 2243 E. Main Street in Greenfield.

You can watch the full videos featuring those convicted criminals, entitled ‘From the Big House to Your House’ on YouTube: