24 Home Security Tips
24 Home Security Tips
With perhaps the exception of fire, home burglary is the biggest threat to our safety at home. Depending on where you live, government statistics show that a home burglary occurs every few seconds. While the exact number obviously varies, best estimates in the USA have burglaries occurring every 8 seconds.
Unlike the stereotypical burglar we see in the media and movies, most home burglaries actually occur weekdays during work hours. This is for the simple and obvious reason that the burglar chooses the path of least possible resistance, and this includes picking a time when they are least likely to run into the homeowner.
The majority of burglars are potentially dangerous however, should they run into the homeowner. It should be assumed that most of them would be armed in some way, albeit with a screwdriver or crowbar, and the majority of them (approximately 75%) of them use force to gain entry. A burglar, like any other violent criminal will utilize maximal force against what they perceive to be the weakest target. A house that appears to be a "hard target", will usually be bypassed for a more vulnerable easy pick.
This is because most burglars are young males, under 30, looking for an easy score that they can convert into quick cash. In most cases, the drug trade is what fuels this, as the burglar is looking for valuables, TV equipment, DVD players, Laptops, etc., to convert into cash, which then is used to keep them a high for the day until the whole sordid cycle repeats itself again the next day, on yet another innocent victim.
Home Security Tips
Burglars will choose the easiest, softest target in a home. Therefore it is a good idea to use a systematic approach in assessing your home's vulnerabilities, effectively turning liabilities into strengths. As mentioned before, there is no such thing in the "real world" as a burglar proof home, but that shouldn't preclude us from pursuing that value as if it were an absolute. Most burglars will typically spend less than a minute trying to gain entry and less than 3 minutes inside. The enemy of the burglar are, when you get down to it, two things: time and noticability.
Time is a self explanatory natural enemy of the burglar. The longer that he has to work to get in, the safer you are, as the likelihood of him giving up increases by the minute. Every minute longer that he spends trying to get in, brings him closer to the second natural enemy of the burglar, noticability. Noticability comes in two forms: audibility and visibility. Anything that will cause the burglar to be seen or heard is an asset to you!
24 Tips To a More Secure Home!
Survey your home, thinking like a would-be burglar. Try to assess things that are a threat to your time, audibility and visibility. Are there windows hidden by shrubs? Are there windows out of view from the neighbors?
Are there doors or windows that back onto a ravine, where the criminal could easily exit? Are there valuables visible to anyone who might look in your windows? What doors and windows are the softest targets?
If someone were to break a door or window, is it likely that it would not be heard by a neighbor? Are there ladders in your driveway or backyard that a criminal could use to access a vulnerable second floor window?
Have a look at the locks on your doors, the length of the screws used to secure the hinges, and the screws used in the striker plates that the deadbolts rest in. You do have deadbolts on your doors, don't you? Quite often the screws uses are so short that they are really useless. For example, the place I am renting now is a small house.
When I moved in, I found that the screws holding the deadbolt striker plate into the door frame were only 1/4" long, and the ones used to secure the door hinges were actually 1/2" long. My 70 year old mum could likely kick in the door! Needless to say, I replaced them with 3" screws.
Securing the door frames themselves makes good sense. Mostly they are made of just cheap pine wood, and the force of a strong kick can easily split the frame. It is a good idea to put some of those three inch screws right into the door frame at 6 inch intervals as well. If you live in a high risk area, perhaps consider using a metal brace with staggered screw holes which is about 8-12" long, 1/8" thick, and 1 1/2" wide, screwed right onto the frame itself. That frame, isn't going anywhere!
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