Burglary Prevention Tips
(Part One.)
Using these burglary prevention tips may keep your home from being burglarized.
Many of the burglaries that are committed each year don’t involve the burglar picking a lock, kicking in a door, breaking a window or anything like that.
The thief simply slips in through a carelessly left open window or door, no forced entry needed whatsoever.
So perhaps the most effective burglary prevention is to make sure that you do not leave the burglar easy access into your home.
Each and every time that you go out lock all windows and doors, don’t just pull them shut – lock them.
Do this even if you are leaving your home only for a few minutes to talk with a close neighbor, it does not take a burglar long to be in and out of your premises.
Do this also if you are working in your garden. While you are engrossed in pulling up weeds at the rear of your house you do not want a thief entering by a carelessly left open door at the front.
Burglary Prevention Tips – The Basics.
The fencing around your home should be designed to prevent a thief from easily climbing over.
An experienced determined thief would probably get over most fencing or walls, but a good boundary can deter a casual thief even if it is not that high.
Burglary prevention tips. Lock up each time you leave your home, even if just for a few moments. |
Walls and fences serve as a psychological deterrent.
Walls, hedges or fencing in fact should not be so high as to shield the burglar from view, and allow him to work unseen.
Fit a wooden trellis, the kind that plants are trained to grow through, along the top of garden walls. This will make it difficult for the burglar to climb over the wall without breaking the trellis and making noise.
Keep trees, plants and bushes near doors and windows trimmed so burglars can’t make use of the shadows or use the bushes for cover.
You might consider removing trees that are close to your home.
Do you have a home alarm system? If not why not? They are not the complete answer to home security but they do prevent many burglaries, and these days many alarm systems are very affordable.
If you do have an alarm don’t forget to set it each and every time that you leave your home, even if for a few minutes.
Fit motion-sensitive lights round your home; the movement sensors will ensure that an intruder is bathed in light if they approach your building. Remember that darkness is the thief’s friend. These lights could also use dusk to dawn sensors so that they automatically come on during the hours of darkness.
Leave some lights turned on when you are out in the evening or at night.
An occupied home will usually have more than one light on, so to give the impression that someone is at home leave at least two rooms lit, one of which should be visible from the road. Timer switches are an easy method of triggering one or more lights.
As daylight hours grow shorter in winter months, reset the timer to come on that much earlier. Timer systems can be set up to light different rooms at slightly different times each day.
It is also a good idea to leave a radio on when you are out or connect a radio to a timer.
Consider using a Fake TV Deterrent.
Burglary Prevention Tips – Doors.
All external doors should be of solid core construction and be a minimum of one and three quarter inches in thickness (alternately metal clad doors can be used.)
The door needs to be fitted with a strong, high quality keyed door lock and deadbolt. Remember also that a good solid door is of little security without a good solid frame.
 Do not make it easy for him to get into your home. Using even the most simple of these burglary prevention tips will help to keep your family and home safe. |
Many doors are fitted with glass panels that present a security risk. Consider replacing the glass with solid wood, properly affixed, or replace with laminated glass.
Double doors (French doors) need extra security, as they are easily forced open. Flush lever bolts need to be fitted to the top and bottom of the doors. Locking the doors to each other is not enough.
Ensure that the bolts are long, strong and mounted into a solid frame.
If you have an attached garage the door leading from your garage into your home should be regarded as an external door. Once the burglar has gained entry into your garage he has all the cover he needs to work on the door into your home. Make that door as secure as your front door.
The standard locks fitted to garage doors are usually of poor design. Make sure that each side of the door can be secured to hamper the thief prying open a gap.
Don’t drive off leaving your garage doors open, always close and lock them.
|
Sliding glass doors are an easy target for the burglar; the locks fitted as standard are often of poor design. Fitting special locks or clamps will increase security and prevent the sliding doors from being so vulnerable. Some older types of sliding glass doors can be lifted off of their tracks very easily. Install an anti-lifting mechanism such as a pin that extends through both the sliding and fixed parts of the door. Modern glass sliding doors should be supplied with multiple point locking systems fitted as standard. |
Most residential external doors open inwards for a variety of reasons. One of which is that you would likely bang a visitor right in the kisser if your door opened outwards, that might be a good thing on occasion, but mostly not.
One good thing about an outwards opening door is that it is much harder to kick in, (because the burglar would be kicking against the jamb.) However the hinges would be on the outside, and that is not good at all.
If you have an outside door that opens out, rehang it so that it opens inwards and use strong, long screws on the hinges. If you can’t do that for some reason, make sure those exposed hinges have non-removable pins. Alternatively, use security studs on every hinge.
Now that you have studied these burglary prevention tips, go to Burglary Prevention Tips (Part Two.)
Find out how to keep the burglar from getting in through a window, how
the burglar sees your home, what to do if you are going on vacation and
more.
Home Security Articles
>
Burglary Prevention Tips.