Although it is difficult to protect your home from a professional burglar, most home burglaries are committed by amateurs or opportunists. These thieves actions are more easily averted:
- Get into the mind of the burglar. If you were him how would you break into your home? Learn and act from this exercise and take steps to improve any weaknesses in your security system.
- Its sounds obvious, but always lock all doors when you go out of the house. Many burglars just walk in through an unlocked door or window.
- When you move into a new house, have all the locks and/or tumblers changed.
- Make sure all wiring from security systems is fully concealed. A professional burglar looks for weaknesses where they can cut or disconnect the security system.
- Make your house appear occupied at all times, especially in the evening when it is dark. Use timers to switch lights on and you could even leave a radio on when you are not in.
- If you have a faulty alarm that keeps going off, your neighbors will ignore it. Get a faulty alarm repaired immediately and let neighbors know it has been repaired.
- If your door is secured by a spring-latch, get a deadbolt fitted. A spring-latch is an easy target for burglars who just use a credit card to gain entry by slipping it against the latch tongue to depress it and unlock the door.
- If you do lose your keys, change all locks immediately.
- Be wary of tradesmen, house cleaners etc who may work in your house for several hours. Try to make sure the person is honest and reputable as well as hardworking. Check all references thoroughly.
- Don’t keep a spare key in an obvious place such as in a mailbox or under a doormat. Would be thieves look in these places too. Either wrap the key in foil or put it in a durable container and bury it where you can easily find it.
- Although it may be useful to leave notes on your front door for friends etc that you will be “Back in half an hour”, these provide useful information for burglars who will know he has some time to commit a robbery.
- Thieves don’t want to be seem trying to get into a door so fit exterior security lighting with an infrared detector to deter them, especially if the entrances to you home are dark.
- When you go on holiday or are away for long periods of time then let neighbors know and ask them to keep an eye on your property.
- Mention to your neighbors with regards to any suspicious people or strange cars you notice lurking about.
- Try to deter thieves from stealing you tools and paint the handles. Thieves avoid items that are easily identified.
- Avoid overgrown trees or shrubbery that are close to your house that may shield a burglar from view.
- Ask for ID for any sales person who request entry into your home. Many professional burglars use this cover to check out homes. If you're in doubt, check with the person's office before letting them in.
- Only list your initial and your last name on your mailbox or your entry in the telephone book. Do not list your full name.
- If someone comes to your door asking to use the phone for some reason then keep the door locked and make the call yourself.
- Dogs are good deterrents to burglars. Even a small, noisy dog can be effective -- burglars do not like to have attention drawn to their presence.
Tips Form Big Lou. A light hearted view of home security...