Simple Changes To The Home May Mean Burglars Will Stay Away

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Home break-ins can leave families feeling vulnerable and police feeling frustrated by how difficult they are to solve.

On average, more than 60 houses are broken into across Minnesota every day. Yet, only 15 percent of those cases end with an arrest.

So, what are the rules in a burglars' playbook?

WCCO shares one convict's secrets and the free service police offer to make a burglar's job more difficult.

There is a sense of pride in his voice as he rattles off all he's taken from Twin Cities homes.

Eric Lopez recalls for St. Louis Park Police, the way his burglary ring did business two years ago.

"We always went for the mostly T.V. system, video game systems, mostly like technology,"  Lopez said. "That one was a plasma T.V., a Wii, an iPad2."

St. Louis Park Police Officer Jon Riegert arrested Lopez.

"He agreed to talk to us and we had a rather candid conversation," Riegert said.

Lopez told investigators his crew would first organize on Facebook. The leader would message them the night before and pick them up first thing in the morning.

"We had to stop at 12. It's the limit," Lopez said.

Statistics show that's when the vast majority of all home burglaries happen – right after people leave for work.

"They'd go knock on doors and if nobody answered they would move and go try to find a way into the house," Riegert said.

"Ran through it [the door]. Football style," Lopez told police about how he entered homes.

Armed with a checklist, St. Louis Park Police Officer Erin Nordrum walked WCCO through what burglars look for.

"They do not want to step on rock. It can alert the homeowner, it can alert the neighbor," Nordrum said.

She added that burglars prefer mulch because it doesn't make noise.

"If you have a fence with a gate, make sure you close it. That's the important thing. That's why it's there," she added.

There's a list of simple changes homeowners can make to make it that much harder for someone to break in.

"[This homeowner] should leave this light on at night. And on all sides of the house there should be a motion light," Nordrum said.

"I would have this homeowner cover her garage windows from the inside. Putting glass on a garage door isn't necessarily the wisest thing to do," Nordrum said.

Lopez confessed to taking stuff from three Twin Cities homes. Police say they're convinced he's behind many more.

"They just told me you want to make money you have to follow the rules," Lopez told Police.

But as is often the case, cops weren't able to recover what he stole. It's why they believe thinking like a criminal could keep a real burglar out.

Lopez is out of jail now.

Police say many burglars are after electronics.  Writing down the serial numbers on your TV's, laptops and cell phones might be the only way you get them back.

Many police departments will check how burglar-proof your home or business is for free.

For more tips on how to protect your home, visit the St. Louis Park Police Department online.