From the look of local incidents it doesn't appear that burglaries have slowed down much since Christmas. The Chattooga County Sheriff's Department offers a few tips to protect your home and your possessions. 

According to Chief Deputy Kevin Woods, keeping your doors locked doesn't always help since most burglaries are forced entry.

Woods said it's important to give the appearance that someone is always home. He said the best way to do this is to keep a television, or lights on when you're away, and keep a car in the driveway. He said timers on tvs and lighting is a good idea, as is an alarm system. He said once a burglar enters your home, if an alarm goes off, he will flee quickly.

He said it's important to make sure outbuildings are secure and don't look vulnerable. He said deadbolts on outbuildings and on your home doorways are always a good idea.

Quite often those breaking into our homes are someone we know or someone that has been inside our homes in the past.

Woods says it's important to moderate the traffic that goes in and out of your home. Don't give  information to visitors as to what you have or where you keep things; or your schedule.

Woods says quite often, someone interested in burglarizing your home will drive, or walk through the neighborhood, basically shopping around. He said if you see someone you think is doing this, try to get their name, or tag number, and don't hesitate to call authorities and report it. 

He said one of the items on the agenda for the Sheriff's Department is to get a local neighborhood watch program going.