January’s best safety practices come from the Denver Police Dept. District 3 Community Engagement Program. If you use a garage, check out these safety tips.

• Be sure to position your garage door release rope so it does not hang freely to be accessed by inserting a coat hanger over the door to gain access.
• Install a timer that closes the garage door after a predetermined amount of time.
• Never leave your garage remote inside your vehicle.
• Replace your clip remote with a key tone keychain version.

Thieves not only love open garages, but they love garage door remotes. They break into cars, take the garage remote and use them to access garages without forcing their way inside. Moral of the story: don’t leave your garage door remote inside your vehicle — take it in and out with you.