SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Police Department published a new video on their website providing homeowners with tips on how to protect their property from break-ins.

The police department’s crime dashboard indicates that motor vehicle theft has increased by 32.7 percent from 2019. Home burglaries have increased 45.3 percent.

Robert Rueca with the San Francisco Police Department stated the garage is usually the “prime target for burglars.” The first safety tip is to remove the garage door opener from vehicles parked outside. The reason is that burglars targeting vehicles can easily gain access into the house by using the garage door opener.

For those who are planning on taking a trip for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday, Officer Rueca indicated to place a padlock on the garage door. “But be sure to remove the padlock before you activate the garage door opener.”

The department’s second tip is to “block the cord.” Officer Rueca explained that “Every garage door opener has an emergency release cord that, when pulled, disconnects the door from the drive mechanism. This allows you to manually lift the garage door during a power failure or an emergency.”

The SFPD indicated that burglars can easily pull the cord and unlock the garage door from the outside by “Fishing a coat hanger between the top of the door and the trim. Or by breaking the garage door window.”

Officer Rueca noted this can be prevented by “installing a plate” or something that would block the burglar from getting access to the front of the cord.

For more information, call the San Francisco Police Department’s Crime Prevention partners at 1-415-553-1984 or visit SFSAFE.org.

The San Francisco Police’s non-emergency phone number to report suspicious activity is 415-553-0123.