7 Ways To Prevent Home Break-ins! Hardening your home.

These simple and few improvements are

excellent methods for improving your home’s

overall security plan .

7 Ways to Prevent Home Break-ins!

By Leon S. Adams

Safety and security are among some

of the most important parts of your

daily life. The negative impacts from

these events are often life changing in

the effects it can have on loved ones.

The children or innocent wife being

subjected to the trauma of being held

at gunpoint while some stranger is

rummaging through your home or the

husband or son physically beaten into

a coma at the hands of ruthless home

invaders is often times not an event

readily and easily forgotten. The news

stations and papers are full of reports

almost daily on home break-ins,

burglaries, and home invasion styled

robberies where the victims are left

traumatized with emotional scars.

There may often be physical scars as

well as their victims usually have

them at their mercy and take full

advantage of it.

To help prevent intrusions into that

sense of security, here are some of

home safety tips to consider for

making your home a less attractive

target. These simple and few

improvements are excellent methods

for improving your home’s overall

security plan and will help to keep

burglars and the likes, out and help

you feel more secure at night or when

away from home.

1. Kick proof your doors. One of

the most common methods for

burglars to get into your home is to

kick in the doors. In most cases,

unless you have an extremely hollow

door, the door itself is usually not the

problem, the door frame is.

Regardless of the material of your

exterior door, whether steel, wood,

or fiberglass, nothing can keep a

burglar from kicking in the door if

the door jamb is easy to split. In

most cases, the door jamb will split

near the lock's strike plate. One

method that can be used to

strengthen your door is to use a 1-

inch-long deadbolt lock and a

reinforced metal box strike. Make

sure to use 3-inch screws to mount

them so that they lodge in the

framing beyond the door jamb itself.

Also, don't forget about the door that

leads into your house from the

garage. That's a common point of

entry for burglars because it's often

overlooked in lieu of the garage door

being closed and/or locked.

2. Choose the right locks. Chose

high-security locks that can resist

drilling and picking to strengthen

your door lock. Get a reinforced

strike plate to ensure the stability of

your lock. Always use a pull-apart

key chain so that your home keys

stay with you when your car is ever

valet-parked or serviced. Never leave

your house keys with the valet!

3. Secure glass areas. Security

window film can typically withstand

blows of up to 400 kicks. These

should always be installed by a

professional to ensure accuracy. You

can also further secure your window

locks by inserting removable

eyebolts in holes drilled into the sash

where they overlap. In all windows,

check that added barriers won't

violate fire safety codes,

PERSONAL SAFETY or

manufacturer warranties.

4. Keep it bright. Burglars HATE

light!! The more light you can

provide to cover entry ways, the

better. Illuminate all areas

surrounding doors, windows and

blind spots. Install lights high up on

exterior walls so that they aren't easy

to disable. Avoid solar-powered

lights. Although they are energy

efficient, they often don't provide

enough light for security purposes.

Instead, choose easy-to-install low-

voltage light systems or

professionally installed 120-volt

lights. These can be connected to

motion detectors and whole-house

security systems. You can also

use compact fluorescent lights made

for outdoor use which can save

energy and outlast regular bulbs.

However, they can take longer to

reach full brightness, especially in

cold weather, and they don't all work

with motion-detected fixtures, so

make sure to check the packaging at

the time of purchase.

5. Landscape wisely. Be mindful that

though tall foundation plants or high

fences offer a degree of privacy, they

can also provide cover for criminals.

Make sure to trim tree branches that

could provide access to your

windows, skylights or roof. Putting

gravel beds around the house can

make it easier to hear anyone lurking

outside your home. Underneath your

first-floor windows, plant heavy

bushes or plants like roses or other

thorny bushes that aren't easy to

maneuver around. This makes it

harder for burglars to access your

windows.

6. Talk to your neighbors. The

National Crime Prevention Council

has great tips for putting together a

Neighborhood Watch group. Often,

you can find resources from your

local police precinct, which often

have officers assigned to assist with

these groups. Try putting together a

neighborhood watch program,

starting first with just your street.

Later, if you want or need to expand,

it becomes much easier. It doesn't

cost any money to start, but you may

have to donate a night or two a week

to keeping an eye out in your area.

Also, find neighbors who you can

trust to pick up your mail and

newspapers when you're away for a

few days or on vacation. This way

your mail doesn't pile up which is a

dead giveaway to burglars that

nobody is home and lowers their risk

of getting caught.

7. Add an alarm as an early

warning device. However, don’t

fall into the mental trap that the

alarm is going to prevent a burglary

or home invasion form happening.

These tools are there to give you

WARNING should these events

begin to unfold. Understanding the

role of the alarm system is key in

making it work effectively in your

home security plan. There are lots of

alarm monitoring systems available

but you will have some decisions to

make regarding who the system

reports to when triggered. Most

central-monitoring systems offer

online access that you can access

right from your mobile phone or will

call your mobile phone if they can't

reach you on your landline. If you're

switching to an Internet-based phone

service, then make sure it's

compatible with your alarm system.

You also can install radio-based

alarm systems that use dedicated

UHF frequencies that can be used as

a backup or as a standalone solution

that eliminates the need for landlines.

Lastly, put a sign for your alarm

system on your lawn in an area that

is easily visible. This may help keep

burglars away by letting them know

you have an alarm system rather than

to have to use your alarm system if

they break in unaware that a system

is in place. Most burglars prefer an

easy target and will avoid the risk of

breaking into a house with a known

alarm system and choose one that

doesn't have an alarm system in

place. However, a dedicated home

invasion styled robber may not care

whether your home has an alarm

system as they will often force the

home owner to silence the alarm if it

triggers. Bottom line with home

alarm systems is to HAVE A

REACTION PLAN IN PLACE FOR

WHEN IT TRIGGERS!

These are just a few home safety tips

that you can implement to make your

home less attractive to the bad guys.

Taking a few simple but effective

steps to “harden your home” will help

to keep burglars out and may be

helpful in deterring home invasions.

Taking a common sense approach and

remembering that proper planning for

your personal safety are the keys to

you feeling more secure at night.

Until our next posting, Stay safe and

make sure to visit

www.superiorsecurityconcepts.com

regarding your personal safety and

home invasion defense solutions.

Criminals don’t want opponents;

they want VICTIMS!

Leon S. Adams is a Personal Protection

Specialist in the Greater Metro Atlanta and

surrounding areas. He is member of the

Atlanta Tactical Leadership and

founder/head instructor of Superior Security

Concepts which provides training in

handgun safety and personal defense with a

focus on defending homes against violent

home invasion styled robberies.

http://www.superiorsecurityconcepts.com