Home Safety Tips

By Francine L. Huff

Make your home uninviting to potential thieves. Most burglaries take place during the day when people are at work. But a potential burglar is more likely to avoid your home if it takes too much work to get inside. The following tips can help you create a more secure home and deter crime.

• Install a security system on your home windows and doors. Burglars are more likely to pass up your property if they see alarm system signs. A good alarm system should have a loud horn or bell that goes off when someone breaks into your home. You can also get motion detectors. Use a central station to monitor your alarm; doing so will allow police or fire officials to respond quicker to emergencies.
• Get solid core or metal doors for all entry points. Most burglars enter through front, back, or garage doors so it's important to use heavy-duty, deadbolt locks and a heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead-latch mechanism. Door security systems also provide a deterrent.
• Install a wide-angle, 160-degree peephole on your door.
• Secure sliding glass doors by placing a wooden stick or dowel in the track.
• Lock your windows and doors and use wooden dowels, sticks, or through-the-frame pins as blocking devices.
• Use light timers to turn on lights inside your home and keep curtains drawn when you're not there so potential burglars cannot see in. You can also use timers to turn on radios and TVs.
• Make sure you have enough outdoor lighting, especially around the front entryway and use timers and motion sensors to activate it.
• Lock garage and car doors. Don't keep spare keys or valuables in your vehicles.
• Take an inventory of your home by photographing its contents. Record serial numbers and other identifying information for valuable items. Keep this information in a safety deposit box.
• Trim trees and bushes that obstruct your doors and windows. Also cut tree limbs that might allow someone to climb through a window.