Evaluate What Needs to be Changed

1. An easy entrance point.
2. Valuables worth stealing.
3. A Vacant home.

• Put yourself as best you can into the mindset of a burglar. If you were going to break into your house, how would you do it? Where is the most attractive place to enter? Are there any obvious signs for the house being vacant when no one is home? Do any of the doors or windows look like an easy entrance point? Are there any good hiding spots around the property?
• Consider inviting over a neighbor or friend to give you an evaluation of the strengths as well as weaknesses in your home security. Often, an objective view may bring overlooked issues to light.
• You could even try calling a local law enforcement agency for a walk through of your property. However, be prepared for long waiting lists, as in most jurisdictions, the law enforcement is short staffed and overworked.

Alarm Systems

• Most alarm systems will be activated either through contacts (alarm turns on when the door or window contacts are opened), or through motion detectors.
• Since motion detectors only activate once an intruder has successfully entered the house, you do not want a motion detector to be the main source of detection.
• Be sure to hook up your alarm system to every point of entry.
• For windows, glass break sensors are recommended.
• Your alarm system should include a control pane, keypad, siren, inside motion detector, and door and window contacts.
• Choose between a monitored or unmonitored alarm system. Monitored means that should the alarm be activated and is not disabled within a certain period of time, the monitoring company will receive an alert message, prompting them to investigate and call the police, if needed. Unmonitored alarms rely on the neighbors calling the police when they hear that the alarm is activated.
• When looking for an alarm company to use, make sure to do your research. Get plenty of recommendations from friends and neighbors, and look for reviews online.

Reinforce Your Doors

Front Doors
Solid home protection means having sturdy and reinforced doors. The most common point of entry for a burglar is the front door. With this in mind, it would be well worthwhile devoting extra attention to making sure that your front door is as secure as possible.

• In a lot of homes, the door jambs are of cheap quality and so need reinforcement. Consider replacing the current strike plate screws with two to three inch stainless steel ones.
• You may even want to replace the strike plates with heavy duty versions, available at any Home Depot or other hardware store.
• Pay special attention to your locks. A latch bolt or dead bolt lock would be your most secure option. If you don’t have a lock like this, then either replace what you have, or add an additional lock.
• There is a grading system that determines the durability of door locks. Look for an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) grade 1 classified lock.
• Your front door should have a peephole that is at a level the whole household can see through.

• Keep a blocking device in the track of the door. Doing so will prevent the door from opening fully from the outside.
• It may be possible for someone to lift the door out of the track. To prevent this, install several screws into the doors upper frame.

• An automatic garage door is practically impossible to break into.
  If your garage door is not already automatic, for $150 you can install an automatic garage door opener.
• Ensure that you change the code of your automatic door opener from the preset.

Reinforce Your Windows

• Most window locks are cheap and very easy to tamper with. It would be worthwhile replacing these with heavy duty sash locks.
  
  
• Another way to keep the windows more secure is by placing metal pins or nails into the window frame to prevent the window from being able to open any further than necessary.
  
  
• You may even want to consider replacing your windows with lamenated-glass or tempered glass. Lamenated-glass has an extra vinyl layer sandwiched between the panes, which makes it much harder to break through. Tempered glass can be up to five times stronger than regular glass.

Buy or Adopt a Dog

Troublesome Plants

Your Valuables

• In case someone does manage to break in, it is important to take stock of your belongings. For insurance purposes, take inventory of your valuables. Better yet, also take a photo or record a video of them.
• Try not to keep any expensive belongings within outside view of your windows, as doing so could attract the burglars looking for a rewarding home to break into.
• On average, a break-in lasts for fifteen minutes. The first room that a burglar heads for is the bedroom believing that this is where most valuables will be found. Try to keep your expensive objects hidden elsewhere. Ideally, you would have a safety deposit box, but if not, find a good and original hiding place.

Keep Protection in the House

When Leaving for Vacation

• Ask a neighbor to keep an eye out for any unusual activity around your house. Tell them when you will be leaving and for how long. Leave a contact number that they can reach you at while you are away.
• Don’t let your mail collect up in your mail box, as this is a sure sign that the home is vacant. Either place a mail hold at your local post office, or ask a friend or neighbor to collect it.
• Some burglars can spot a vacant house by which trash cans are missing on trash pick up day. Consider asking a friend or a neighbor to take your trash cans out and back in again while you are away.
• Put timers on your lights so that they come on during the evening.
• Set your radio or tv to automatically turn on during certain hours of the day.
• Turn off the sound of your telephone ringer and answering system. Ideally, you would have your phone calls forwarded to your cell phone, or another phone line that someone will be able to answer.
• If you are away for an extended period of time, you may want to arrange for your yard to be mowed and maintained.
• Do not leave spare keys outside of your house.
• A burglar may know that you are on vacation if your car has been missing for a few days. You might want to ask a neighbor to park their car in your driveway or car space.