Every 14.6 seconds a burglary takes place in the U.S. Furthermore, burglars spend an average of 8 to 12 minutes in your home. These facts can be a real wake up call, and make you take a certain precautions. Not all of them are expensive as you may think, and here are some of the cheap ways to increase the security of your home.
Keep Up the Pretense
From 10. a.m. until 3 p.m. is the time span of most burglaries, which is the time when most of the people are at work, and homes are left unprotected. Therefore, hanging a sign “beware of the dog” even if you do not own one, can help. Leaving a bowl with food, and items a dog would play with is another strategy to use. If you live in an apartment, you could set a timer to turn on a TV or a radio on, at a certain time, making it look like somebody is at home. For those of you who own more than one vehicle, leaving one on a driveway when you are not home is a good idea. People will think somebody is at home, because they will not know you actually own two cars. Furthermore, you can leave all the exterior lights on. It is highly unlikely someone will try to enter on force, when there is a big possibility someone else can see him or her breaking an entry. Another opportunity for thieves to break into your home is when you are on vacation. Use all the help you can from your friends and neighbors so that everything looks like you are still home. Aside from stopping by to let some fresh air into the house, and water the flowers, they could also put out garbage cans, get the mail for you, and possibly even cut the grass. No one would be able to tell that the true residents are not home.
Various Security Systems
Never forget to close and lock all the units before you leave your home. Deadbolt locks, bars on windows, and pins in sash windows keep all the entry points locked. For emergency purposes fit security bars on windows with quick-release mechanisms. They will allow the windows to be opened from the inside only. Alarm monitoring security system is low-cost and supports high technology. Many alarms incorporate infrared motion detection, and sensors that will spot any potential break-in. Individual alarms are best suited for more security with doors and windows. Cameras are another great option for securing the home. Place them next to your front and back door, and first floor windows. They will be the best lookout you could get.
Make an Inventory
You never know how burglars find their way around all the protection. So, if the worst still happens, make sure you know what the burglar had taken. Make a list of all the valuable items you own, so you can file a thorough report on what is missing. If the list will take too long, take a video camera, walk through the rooms, and record everything. That should be a good piece of evidence for the police and insurance company.
You can never be too safe, and these suggestions will definitely make it harder on burglars to inflict any damage. If you have not protected your home so far, do it immediately. You can estimate on your own which option from these is the best for your home’s security. Choose wisely and remember no matter what you choose, your home will still be more protected than without any kind of security.