Protect your Home

Protect your Home
Identify your security weaknesses. Begin by walking around your home and making note of areas where access to a window or door may go unnoticed by neighbors. Look in the windows. Are there valuables that are easily seen and tempting to a thief? Look for easy access points such as sliding doors. Do you have ladders stored outside, making it easy for a second-story man? Look at your home through a burglar’s eyes, as if you wanted to break in. Find the weaknesses, and fix them as well as you can.

Purchase timers. Place timers in several locations in your home and do it now. Have them turn on lights as well as a radio or TV. Purchase timers that can be set to go on and off more than once during a 24-hour period.

Clean out the garage. You may need to purchase some storage bins and build a shelf or two. The goal is to be able to park your cars in the garage. When you are away it won’t seem obvious that you are gone if your driveway is empty, as usual.

You hate to believe it, but a lot of local crime can come from people in your own neighborhood, or their kids, or their friends.

Make copies of all your important papers and send them to your emergency out-of-state contact. Thieves sometimes cover their tracks by setting fire to what they can’t carry. Home fires can happen from accidental causes while we are away, too.

Get a safe deposit box to store your jewelry or family heirlooms.

Invest in outdoor lighting. Any amount of light around your home will make your home less desirable to a thief. These can even be solar floodlights that won’t add any cost to your utilities.

Get window coverings and use them. Don’t give a would-be thief a preview of what you have in your home. When it gets dark and the inside lights come on, close all window coverings.

Check the locks on all entry doors. Purchase locks that have locking bolts and tongues. Test this by holding the door open and turning the latch. Then press the tongue into the door with your finger. Better locks will have a secondary tongue that doesn’t move. The best locks will have entire tongues that don’t move.

Although we like to have the best on our front doors, the back doors are the ones most likely to be used by an intruder. Multiple locks on a door are even better. If you can’t afford to purchase new locks, add a less expensive floor lock as a back up.

Check the screws in strike plates. Short screws make it easy to pry the plate off and the door open.

Floor locks. If you have a door with a window in it, add a floor lock or second lock that a thief can’t reach after breaking out the window.

Deadbolts. If you can afford it, a double-keyed deadbolt is the best solution for a door with a glass pane.

Strengthen garage security. Garages are an easy entrance to your home. Too many people leave their garage doors open during the day when they are home and even if they are running a short errand. Once someone has entered your garage it is easy to close the door, giving them the privacy and time they need to break down the inside door to the house.

Solid core doors in a garage are a must. Builders sometimes put cheaper doors in the garage. Check to make sure yours are not hollow core. If they are, replacing them is a good idea.

Sliders. An estimated one-fourth of all sliding glass doors and windows are installed backwards (so the sliding part is on the outside track). This gives a criminal easy access. They simply lift out the panel and enter. Purchase a good lock for your door if you have this situation. If the door is installed correctly, purchase a secondary lock or place a dowel in the track. The dowel should be within a ¼ - inch of the track’s length so the door can’t be opened wide enough to fit fingers in to lift the door off the track.

Window locks. Put window stops on all first floor frames. The best ones are those that go through the movable frame and lock it into place. A simple alternative is to drill a hole through both frames when the window is closed and place a nail in the hole. You may also want to add a second stop by opening the window slightly, not wide enough for someone to reach through, and drill a second hole. This will enable you to have the window open slightly at night and still provide some safety.
Install motion detectors in areas that are blind spots.

Lock your gates. A latch on a gate just isn’t good enough. An intruder can easily reach over and open the latch. Get a padlock that actually locks and requires a key or combination to open. On days when the kids are in and out of the yard, leave it off, but replace it at night and always when you leave for a day or two.

Make a household inventory now, and send a copy to the person you established as your emergency contact in case you are ever forced to evacuate during an emergency. (This is something we have completed if you are following our Seven Steps program)

Etch your name on all your high priced items like electronics, cameras, computers, sports gear. This will make them more difficult to fence and sell to a pawn shop. Never use a social security number to etch on property, for obvious reasons. Thieves love identity theft, too.

Security systems are a good addition to your home, but they can be expensive.

Don’t advertise to thieves. Have you ever driven down the street and seen a box for a computer or TV on the sidewalk waiting for garbage pick up? That’s like shouting, “I have a new TV — come and get it!”

Don’t leave anyone alone in your home. If you have a repairman, realtor, or anyone else come into your home, don’t let them wander around alone.

Never put your name or address on your keys. This should be a no-brainer. If your car is hot-wired and stolen and your garage door opener is in the car, change the code on your garage door opener immediately, or disconnect the opener until it is changed. If your other keys were in the car, change all the locks immediately. Remember, the thief has your registration and insurance info, and knows where you live.

Lock your home when you leave . Every time.

Neighborhood Watch. Now may be the time to get involved in your neighborhood watch group. Don’t have one? Then, now is the time to call the police department, ask for their suggestions, and invite the neighbors over. Neighborhood watch groups do work. They have prevented many burglaries and caught many who would have caused harm if they had not been stopped.