Making your house safe from burglaries is something that I have preached to my family and friends. The trick is to make your house the hardest one to break into on your street. Because so many people are lazy about this, either because they don’t want to think about something so horrible or because they are ‘too busy’, it should be easy to rise above the norm.
Why should a thief work so hard to break into your house if the neighbor’s house is easier, usually way easier?
I have 20 years military experience, in the Corps of Engineers, three years as a security guard and then security guard manager in college and have done a lot of reading and research on the matter. But I am always trying to get the list of things so do down to a manageable few. Here is my prioritized list today:
1. Own a dog. Big isn’t necessary as long a the wee beastie will bark like crazy if some tries to come in the house. Remember a dog is a huge responsibility, if you are not home much, this probably isn’t a good solution for you.
2. Secure your doors. By this I mean your exterior doors, garage doors, and fence door. Use quality hardware including a deadbolt. Insure the inside door from the garage is locked. Insure that exterior doors are solid and use three inch screws to affix the hinges to the frame. Know that thieves can get into most houses through the garage by kicking a panel out of the garage door and then walking into the house through the usually unlocked inside garage door.
3. Use security system signs advertising on your door, in your windows and in your yard. You can get these at many hardware stores, Radio Shack, and on eBay. Do this even if you don’t have a security service.
4. Install motion sensor lights by or near all entrances to your house. Thieves like to work in the dark. If you have one of those twenty plus year old shrubs blocking your entrance from the street, you are screwed. Trim in down.
5. Never park your car on the street. If you have a garage use it for your car. If you don’t park the car in the driveway as close to the house as possible. Not only will this reduce your chances of getting the car or stuff in the car stolen, the finish of the car will stay like new longer. If you have too much junk in the garage to park the car there, do what I do. Clean it out once a year. If I haven’t touched the items in the garage in two years, it gets re-purposed or trashed.
There are more ideas out there, but these are the big ones. I read the blotter report in my town paper and it is sad how many people get wallets/purses stolen from unlocked houses and cars. What the heck? These people are called enablers and they are as guilty as the thief.
The Bis Key Chronicles 