Your home is where you and your family want to be safe from the daily stresses of life and most definitely from crime. A burglary happens every 15 seconds in this country. Though many intrusions are non confrontational, have you ever asked yourself what if I or my family were home during a burglary? Most Burglaries happen during daytime hours because this is the time many of us are working, going to school, etc.
The typical burglar is looking for anything of value. Rape and/or sexual assault after a break-in happen almost regularly during the summer months when windows and doors are left open and unlocked. If you try to think like a burglar for a minute, the first step in planning a break-in would be to figure out when the home owners are not home. You would watch the daily routine of the homes occupants. The next step would be to figure out how difficult gaining entry to the house would be.
A couple of things comes to mind here; Locked doors and windows, alarm systems, and even surveillance cameras now. Burglars are going to enter your home by walking right thru an unlocked door or open window, using tools to break in or unlock the existing locks, or simply using force to gain entry so let us look the first steps in preventing a burglary. Door and window locks are the homes initial barrier to be overcome by an intruder. Typically the garage and rear doors of the house are the weakest entry points as well as first floor windows on the sides and rear of the home.
These areas may also provide cover for the burglar. You will want to make sure your locks make it very difficult to gain entry. Use a solid core or metal door for all entry areas, Use a quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt Use a quality, heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead-latch mechanism Use a heavy-duty strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame, use multiple locks for your doors as well. Sliding glass doors have blocking bars that can be inserted in the track to prevent the door from sliding open. You can use pins that slide thru the track as well to prevent sliding or lifting of the door. Windows are often left open during the summer months.
Blocking devices are necessary to keep the window from opening further. A window should not be left open more than six inches or enough to allow a burglar to reach in and unlock or remove blocking device. If an intruder makes it into your home via door, broken window, etc.
We suggest the next step of arming your home via an alarm system that is monitored and dispatched to police upon an alarm or simply by having detection and sound alarm devices to not only scare off an intruder, but also warn anyone who may be home at the time.
Devices such as Door and window sound alarms, motion alarms, vibration alarms, etc. Alarm yard signs and window decals are also a great deterrent, as well as the lighting in and around your home. We suggest using floodlights with motion sensors around the exterior of your home and timers that your lights and appliances plug into and will come on automatically simulating people are home.
You may purchase surveillance cameras to help further deter and/or monitor your homes activities when you are not there. These images can be viewed and recorded onto time lapse recorders or your PC with proper software. You can even watch your home while on vacation thru your laptop computer.
These are the basic steps in preventing home burglary as well as protecting your family. For more information on crime prevention and personal self defense call us at: 212-780-0144