LR Burglary Victim: $30 Could Have Saved Thousands in Stolen Electronics

"You see the wood here, it's just demolished," she said pointing to the door jam at her home.

Off of busy Evergreen Drive, in broad daylight, burglars kicked down Jennifer Savage's front door.

"We never thought anything like that happened in this area," she said. "The sun was still out, and a neighbor noticed these guys walking out with our 50-inch television and thought it was odd."

The unexpected house guests smashed their way inside, taking her television and two computers, and the sense of safety you expect inside your own home.

"Other two people who've been robbed, they said petty theft around here maybe, is what you expect," Savage said. "Somebody breaks into cars. Not like kicking your door in home invasion type. It shakes you up a bit."

Savage isn't alone. Other accounts of the same M.O. Three men, kicking down the door. There have even been cases reported, police told Savage, where the homeowners have been sleeping upstairs.

"The cops said there had been multiple break-ins like that," she said.

When it comes to keeping intruders outside of our home, many of us would think deadbolts and latches would be enough. But sometimes your locks aren't what give way. The door jam can splinter or be completely unhinged, and then your crooks have easy access to the home.

Bobby Hooks of Security With Provision can spot problem areas easily, and he's getting more calls about home burglaries across Central Arkansas.

"The economy, people are out of jobs, and burglaries are just on the rise," he said.

About a third of crooks will come in through the front door, and according to FBI statistics, 60 percent of burglars bust in through a "locked" door.

"Sometimes the deadbolt isn't going to keep an intruder out," Hooks said. "If your door is a wood-panel door, when it gets kicked hard it just comes unglued. Wood frame doors that aren't reinforced just shatter and the door falls in."

So, a simple door jam reinforcement and three to four inch screws for extra support can slow them down, and often will even keep them out.

"As we all know, criminals don't want to work. The products we put in place make them work," Hooks said. "Instead of kicking right in, they're going to be kicking multiple times. That's going to draw attention. Most of them will give up and move onto another house or another neighborhood."

According to Hooks, he also recommends window reinforcements, double cylinder dead bolts. For installment on the door jam, his company comes by and installs it for $99.

Savage made the investment, installing her own door jam reinforcement after her home was hit. It's $30 she wish she spent sooner.

"If I had known beforehand, it definitely would have been spent a long time ago," she said. "Hopefully these people get caught. My stuff, by then will be long gone, but maybe it will keep others from being burglarized."

The men seen leaving with Savage's electronics were described as three black males driving a green car of unknown make and model. According to witnesses, the car was seen driving around the neighborhood at 5:00 p.m. before Savage's home was hit.