Crime & Safety

Police Tips: Protect Your Valuables In Your Home

Authorities share how they suggest residents lock up their jewelry and personal records.

From Newark Police

Two ways to protect your records and other irreplaceable items from theft or disaster are to store them in a safe deposit box at a bank or place them in a home safe.

While we are in the electronic age with documents and information kept on computers, there still remains a paper trail of documents; some of great value like property deeds and some with unrealized value such as birth certificates, credit information, etc.

All of these types of documents can be of great value to those who will use them for criminal acts, such as identity thieves and persons who commit fraudulent acts.

For many, the idea of securing these documents is to either hide them in their home or to place them in a lock or "strong" box.

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Here's the problem with both of those semi-security measures... they don't always work!

A hidden document can be found or destroyed in a fire; likewise a β€œstrong” box can be taken and easily broken into.

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If you have valuable documents, files, Jewelry, disks or other items, it's best to place them in a safety deposit box at a financial institution or to have a small, hidden, fireproof and secured (bolted to a floor/wall) safe.

Combination safes are certainly the most effective because you don't have to worry about a key being found, but be sure to memorize the combination and don't write it down where it can be found.


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