Burglaries or break-ins are a serious crime, and they can cause you and your family to suffer financial and emotional damage. If you’ve witnessed a home burglary, you might want to know why your home was targeted and whether you could have taken any security measures to prevent it.
Securing Your Home Against Burglary
According to recent crime statistics, the summer months are usually when people go away on holiday and leave their homes unattended. When you travel for the holidays or go away for the weekend to enjoy a change of scenery, you should be able to relax knowing that your home is completely safe from burglars. There are some things you can do to keep your home as secure as possible from break-ins. Make sure to use these tips for protecting your home against burglary the next time you leave your house, be it for a day or a long period of time.
Secure Your Sliding Doors
Sliding doors can make a home look beautiful, but they must be secured to ensure safety. If you have sliding doors in your home, and you’re concerned about your home security, there are some ways to help this. If your sliding door is missing the added security of a metal rod, you can buy a wooden dowel from your local hardware store to protect it from forced entry. Another recommended way to ensure your sliding door is secure is to get an effective locking system, such as a commercial lock or a barricade to keep people out.
Keep Your Garden Trimmed
A freshly-mowed lawn and a well-kept garden will put some amount of uncertainty in the mind of a burglar about whether or not your house is actually vacant. Also, keep on top of your garden to get rid of any potential hiding spots for burglars around your home. Keep in mind that burglars will sometimes monitor houses for a few days to take note of the movement patterns of the occupants. If you plan on being away for a long period, it might help to hire a gardener to come around and tend to your garden while you are away to show some semblance of activity.
Don’t Leave Signs of Vacancy
It’s important to avoid leaving obvious signs that your home is unoccupied when you are away. You might ask a friend or neighbour to take in your post for you so that there isn’t a pile of unopened mail on your doorstep or letterbox to give away your absence. Also, ensure that you aren’t leaving other potential clues behind. Posting your travel plans on social media or leaving your calendar where it can be easily viewed from the window can also be helpful to thieves.
If criminals know that there is a window of opportunity to enter your home with little risk of detection, they will take advantage of it. Other ways to make your home look occupied while you’re away can include asking a neighbour to use your driveway if you have taken your only car, putting your TV on a timer during the evenings, and installing solar-powered lights at the front of your house. This way, it will look like someone is turning the lights on each evening inside the house.
Reinforce Security in Your Home’s Entry Points and Garage Door
Strengthening your home’s barriers and having good entry-point security can help foil break-ins. However, you should not sacrifice your personal safety in an attempt to improve home security. Ensure that you can safely make your escape in case of a fire or other emergency, regardless of the security features you install.
Your doors should be strong. No matter how efficient your lock is, it won’t keep out a determined home burglar if it is placed in a weak door. The main outside doors should be solid hardwood or metal, with a thickness of at least one-and-three-quarter inches. Doorframes should be made of matching durable material and be the perfect fit for its door. In addition, your door should have a peephole or a wide-angle viewer to enable you to safely identify visitors.
Deadbolt locks are the best option for securing your home. They are usually locked from the inside with a thumb turn and from the outside with a key. The cylinder (the part of the lock where you insert the key) should be pick-resistant. Your hardware expert can suggest reputable locks for your home, or you can purchase your locks from a professional locksmith. Your garage is an important part of your home, and it’s often a spot where valuables such as equipment, bicycles, and cars are kept. Intentionally or accidentally, many people leave the garage door to the house open or install inadequate garage door locks, making it easy for burglars to break-in. You may employ a garage door expert such as A1 Garage Door Repair service to secure your garage door and fix this problem. This is an important step in protecting your house in all possible ways.
