Home Protection Strategies

The home defense strategy includes tactics that may be used to protect the home. Burglars hit a home every 15 seconds. Why does a burglar pick one home instead of another? Burglars look for inviting "targets of opportunity," homes that are easy targets. To minimize the chances of being caught and to minimize the punishment if caught, burglars prefer to pick unoccupied homes. So one of the first things to do to protect your home from a burglar is to insure it always appears occupied.

Other tips

• If you lose your keys or move into a new home, install new locks.
• List first initial and last name on mailbox or door and in phone book.
• Hang curtains or blinds on every window.
• Leave lights on if you are going to return home after dark.
• Beware of places strangers might hide, such as under stairs, in doorways, and behind bushes. Trim shrubbery that hides doors or windows.
• Get to know a neighbor you can trust in an emergency.
• Ask service people for identification.
• Vary your routine a little each day.
• Have key ready when approaching entrance door.
  
• Detour if someone is following, so they will not find out where you live.
• Never let anyone know you are home alone.
• Ensure yards, porches, and entrances are well lit.
• Avoid fences that are difficult to see through, they enable burglars to work in secrecy.
• Do not hide house keys in mailboxes, planters, or under doormats. Instead, give a duplicate to a neighbor or friend.
• Buy a dog. A 1992 Special Report poll of 191 burglars found that criminals were more likely to be deterred by barking animals either inside or outside a house or near by, than any other crime prevention tactic.
• Use a locking bar or Insert dowel or broomstick length wise into the bottom track of sliding glass door. Screw two or three screws into the overhead track to reduce the chance of the door being lifted out of the track.
• Keep close. Disable power if possible. Put padlocks on tracks.
• Ask a neighbor to use your garbage cans. Some burglary teams use refuse collectors as spotters to alert them when the cans are not being used.
• Park second car in driveway or ask a neighbor to park there so it appears someone is home. It also prevents burglars from backing a vehicle up to the house.
• Keep shrubs trimmed so a person may not hide behind them. Privacy is a burglar's accomplice.
• Use deadbolt locks. Change locks when you move.
• Approximately one-third of all burglaries occur through unlocked windows and doors, so keep them locked. This includes garage doors.
  
• Install window locks or drill holes from one sash into the next and put headless nails in the holes. The nails may be easily removed from inside, but not from the outside.
• Use steel doors whenever possible. Ensure doorframe is securely attached to the house framing. The door may resist breaking but the frame may give way.
• Reinforce your bedroom door with a secure lock to slow down an intruder. 
• If someone says he or she is in trouble, offer to phone but do not let the person inside. Keep the person locked out and watch from your window or have another family member watch while you call.
• For females, when you record a message on your answering machine have a male friend or neighbor man talk in the background, or borrow a dog to bark in the background so you do not appear to be alone or have a male record the message.
• Do not keep large amounts of cash in your home.
• Position all valuables, such as painting, antiques, and collections, where they may not be easily seen through windows or doors.
• Contrary to popular belief closed drapes and shades are a sign of an unoccupied home, so leave them open.
• Dry uncut grass signals you are away. Have someone water and mow the lawn. Also, make sure snow and ice are cleared from walks, steps, and drive.
• Put peepholes in all doors to the outside, preferably, the wide-angle ones that let you see the outside without putting your eye up to the lens. Use door blocks that prevent the door from being pushed open with you open it. Safety chains are useless and give people a false sense of security. Also, do not leave notes on the door, it is an invitation the burglar and can be seen from the street.
• Do not hide house key under a doormat, on ledge or under a rock or flowerpot. Burglars look there first. Do not keep a house key on your ignition key ring. If your car is taken with the keys and the house key is on the key ring, the vehicle registration will tell the criminal where you live and you will not be safe at home.
  
• Get a dog. Any dog, just as long it barks when it hears strange noises. Burglars do not like dogs, not because they attack, but because they make noise. Put up beware the dog signs even if you do not have one.
• Look into a burglar alarm system. It may be a simple system or an elaborate one. Check with law enforcement agencies or security companies to find an alarms they best suits your needs and budget. Many home insurance companies offer discounts for having an alarm installed. 
• If you have an alarm system, put up alarm warning signs. If you do not have an alarm, put up the signs anyway. Burglars do not know you are lying.
• Many police departments have house watch programs, it they do, notify them so they may make periodic patrols by your home.
• Setup and participate in neighborhood watch programs. Nosey neighbors may seem like a nuisance but they may also be an asset. Be a good neighbor and report any suspicious activity. Have a trustworthy neighbor keep an eye on your home while you are gone for long periods.
• Do not cancel deliveries, since it will look suspicious; have neighbors picks up mail, newspapers, and deliveries.
• Put a radio on a timer so it is on during normal waking hours. Tune it to a talk station so there is the sound of voices in the house.
• Put the telephone ringer on low volume so burglars will not hear unanswered calls.
• Keep expensive jewelry, other valuables, and important documents in a safe deposit box.
• Light exterior entrances at all times, not just when not home. Put a couple of interior lights on timers so they are on during normal hours. Have at least one interior light on a timer, not just one by a window. Install motion-sensitive lights in key exterior areas.
• Keep a detailed inventory of all household items, including serial numbers. If an item does not have a serial number, engrave one on it. Your initials and last four digits of social security number make an easy to remember serial number. Leave a copy of the inventory with your insurance agent or relatives. Make photos or videos of the entire house and its contents.