When you speak to the unfortunate few that have been subject to burglary, they will often mention something that they wished they had done that could have prevented it happening in the first place. Burglary is pretty much the most unpleasant and intrusive experience that any home owner could possibly go through. It is therefore wise to take preventative measures in order to alleviate the devastation and harm that a burglar intrusion can bring.
Here we describe the top preventative home security measures that the home owner should practice.
- Probably the most obvious – lock all doors and windows when you leave your property. It is amazing how many people fail to do this and you are leaving an open door (literary!) for the burglar to walk straight in and help himself.
- Likewise, do not leave your spare key outside of your property such as under a doormat or flowerpot. Thieves know that people do this and will check for a key thus making it very easy to gain entry and walk straight into your property.
- Identify your most expensive belongings and photograph them all, one by one. You can never have enough photos of your prized possessions. Burn the images to CD or DVD and keep them in a secure place such as a home security safe.
- Consider putting your most expensive possessions to a safety deposit box. Or you could leave them with a friend or neighbor you can trust.
- Buy a ultra violet pen and mark up all of your possessions with your address. Better still, use smart water to mark up your items.
- Look outside your property and assess the likelihood of someone breaking into your property. Ask yourself the question: would you be able to break into your home if you were a burglar? Put yourself in the intruder’s shoes. Check for rotting window frames or doors as these are weak points of entry. You may want to consider fitting deadbolt door locks or window locks for additional security.
- Make sure all ladders, steps and tools are safely and securely locked away in a shed or outbuilding. A potential intruder will welcome a handy ladder and a few tools to make his job easier in gaining entry to your property.
- Look around your yard or garden and note any trees, shrubs or bushes that are overgrown. Consider pruning these down as overgrown gardens provides a useful hideaway for a burglar – they can watch you from outside. Grow thorny bushes close to your property, especially under windows as this acts as a natural deterrent for the would-be burglar.
- If you know you are going to be away for a few days then switch off the telephone ringer. If a burglar is watching you home then an unanswered telephone is a sign that you are not at home and that he will have all the time he needs to break onto your property without being disturbed.
- To give the impression you are not on vacation then ask your neighbors to fill up your garbage can so that it is not so obvious you are away from home.
- Be aware that when you are vacation or are away from home then mail, magazines, newspapers etc… can pile up right by your door. The burglar often peers through the letterboxes of properties if they suspect no-one has been at home for a few days so you don’t want to give the impression you have been away. Talk to a good friend or neighbor and have them remove this mail and put it out of sight. It is also worthwhile cancelling any daily or weekly magazines or newspapers if necessary.
- Install exterior security lighting. It’s inexpensive and highly effective as well as providing a great visual deterrent to a would-be burglar who is looking around for an easy house to break into. Floodlighting your garden or yard when an unexpected visitor gains access to your properly will usually prevent them getting anywhere close to your house for fear of being seen.
- Install interior security lighting in the form of timers. Put a lamp or main ceiling light onto a timer so that it will automatically switches on at a predetermined time of the day. Some timers have a random mode which will cause the device to switch your lights on and off at random times in the evening, thus giving the realistic impression that someone is at home.
- If you are on a budget then consider fitting dummy security cameras to the outside of your property. These are a highly effective visual deterrent and these days look identical I appearance to real surveillance cameras – but for a fraction of the cost.
- Installing a home alarm system is probably the best security measure the home owner can take. Better still, monitored home security will give peace of mind that you are being watched over 24 hours a day so if the unthinkable happens, the monitoring company will be notified as soon as your alarm is triggered and help will come to hand.
