To help protect your home against burglars, you need to learn how to think like one. Each year more than two million U.S. homes are broken into, with an estimated $4.6 billion in goods stolen and property damaged. Not to mention a break-in’s impact on your sense of safety and well-being. Here are some tips on how you can enhance your home’s security.
- Burglars almost always knock first. If someone answers the door, they’ll usually ask for directions or offer to do odd jobs around the house. If no one answers, he or she will usually try the next house. One-third of all burglaries don’t involve forcible entry, which means they entered through an unlocked window or door. Before leaving the house, double-check to make sure all your doors and windows are secured.
- They love peeking in windows. They’re checking for signs that someone is home and scoping out any high-value items you might own, such as a game system or laptop. If you have decorative glass as part of your front entrance, make sure your alarm company doesn’t install the control pad where he or she can see if it is set or not. Also, be sure to prune any shrubs or trees near your home’s doors or windows so burglars can’t conceal themselves while trying to break in.
- Never let newspapers, mail or flyers pile up. If you’re going out of town, have your services held. Or better yet ask a trusted neighbor, family friend or house sitter to collect your deliveries every day and bring in the garbage bins on collection day.
- When you’re out of town, always make your home look lived-in. You can do this by installing outside motion-sensor lights and parking a car in the driveway (remember to remove your garage door remote first). Inside, set lights and a loud radio or TV to turn off and on randomly with an automatic timer.
- Secure your valuables where burglars least expect it. Usually in and out within minutes, a burglar will most likely start by searching the main bedrooms first, including dresser drawers, bedside tables and medicine cabinets. If you have a small safe, be sure to bolt it down so they can’t walk off with it.
- A burglar might look more familiar than you think. He or she may have been at your house last week cleaning your carpets or delivering a new refrigerator. Or a burglar may carry a clipboard or dress like a maintenance worker while scoping out the neighborhood. They will do their best to never ever look like a thief.
Denalect Alarm is proud to serve home and business security and alarm systems in Northern California: Antioch, Blackhawk, Concord, Danville, Dublin, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Walnut Creek.