SOURCE: by Andrew Havranek KY3 News | LINK
CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — You got that new television or Xbox for Christmas, and your trash gets collected tomorrow, but you’re not sure what you should do with the boxes? Police say you should never just take those boxes, specifically ones that show what were in them, and put them out on the curb for pick up.
“Would be burglars love that. They love knowing what’s in your house,” said Captain Chris Twitchel of the Camden County Sheriff’s Department.
Especially after a big gift giving holiday like Christmas.
“Now that the holiday season has come and gone, burglars are going to be out there looking for opportunities to burglarize your place,” Twitchel said.
When you leave a box out for the trash that shows logos of what that box once contained, it essentially becomes an advertisement for what is inside your home, so police are urging you to find an alternate way to get rid of those boxes.
“Many times you can take your boxes and break them down and put them in bags, or take them to the local recycler,” Twitchel added. “I know many people that take them to their garage, and leave them in their garage until trash day, and right before the trash truck comes out, they go ahead and throw them up into the trash truck so they’re not a billboard for burglars.”
“Many people don’t understand, sometimes when you do get burglarized, they come back again because they know you’re going to have replacement items as well,” Twtichel said.
Police also say this is a good time of year to write down all serial numbers on new and old electronics and belongings, incase you are a burglary victim. This makes it easier for police to find your missing items and return them to you if they are found.