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Home Protection Basics

By MHS Member: Professor

As a firearm safety and concealed carry instructor, I’m often posed with the question, “How do I protect my house from being broken into?”  While I’m not certified to teach a course on the subject, I believe a little research, experience, and good old-fashioned common sense can go a long way in helping us figure out how to keep our homes safe from invasion.  Let’s take a comprehensive look at ways you can improve your family’s safety while at home.  In this article, I  will take you on a tour of your property and discuss tips and ideas that will help you protect your home.

Let’s begin outside looking at the house from the street.  The best defense you have available is to make your home as uninviting to criminals as possible, so before taking any action or making any changes, observe your home and discern what might cause your home to be attractive to criminals.  Is the interior of your house visible from outside?  If so, are there any expensive or desirable items that can be seen?  Is there any mail visible in the mailbox?  Are there newspapers in the yard?  Being able to see items in your home such as a big screen TV, a computer, or musical instruments is a temptation to potential burglars.  Consider moving your furniture around or keeping your curtains or blinds closed especially at night and while you’re not home.  Having uncollected mail or newspapers in your yard make it appear as though you might be out of town.  Be sure to bring your mail and papers in each day.  Also, when you purchase something large and expensive, don’t put the box out with your trash.  Looking at your trash can give criminals a good idea about your lifestyle.  Don’t give them any clues.  If you can’t dispose of the box at another location, cut the box down so it will fit into your trashcans.  Now let’s move to the back yard to see if changes are necessary there. 

Criminals will commonly enter through windows or doors in the back of a house because people generally think the back yard is less vulnerable than the front and, therefore, take less safety precautions.  Of course, the same criterion that applies to the front of a house applies to the back of a house but there are a few additional guidelines to make your home safer.  Quite often, people will leave tools, garden tools, kids toys, or other items that a criminal could actually use to assist them in breaking into your home.  Be sure you don’t leave anything lying around that could be used to break a window or jimmy a lock.  If you have a ladder in your back yard, make sure it’s locked up so that it can’t be used to get in through a high window.  Now it’s time to move to the inside and really get down to business.

Inside the home, there are a lot of different things that can both, help deter a break-in and help prevent unauthorized entry.  First, let’s look at some things that can help deter a criminal from choosing your house as a target.  Obviously, having an alarm system is a big advantage but in many cases is cost prohibitive.  If you do have an alarm, though, be sure your windows and doors are all marked with a sticker from your alarm system.  Sometimes just seeing the sticker on a door or window or even an alarm company sign in the front yard can be enough to deter some criminals.  If an alarm is out of the question, there’s still hope.  Using a timer on your lights while not at home helps make it appear as though someone is in.  If you use a timer, be sure to set it for odd times, such as 6:08 instead of 6:15 to make it appear as a random act.  You should also not use the timers while you are home.  Don’t allow anyone who’s paying attention to pick up on a daily routine. 

Now let’s look at some of the things that will help keep out someone trying to break in.  Keeping your windows and doors locked seems like common sense but you would be surprised at how many people leave the house everyday without locking the house up.  You should always keep your doors and windows locked while you’re not home and having extra locks on your doors doesn’t hurt.  I recommend using a standard locking doorknob as well as a deadbolt lock and a sliding bolt style lock.  Chains are fairly easy to undo from outside if given enough time.  Make sure all your windows have locks that work and use them.  Windows are the easiest point of entry in many cases so keeping them locked is a must.  One special consideration is for doors that are made of glass or that have glass within two feet of the locks.  Sliding glass doors can be broken easily.  If possible, place motion sensitive lights near doors that are made of glass so anyone trying to break in will be illuminated for all to see.  While I’m mentioning doors, I’d like to note that opening your door to anyone you don’t know could be asking for trouble.  You should always try to identify anyone knocking on your door before you open the door.  Some criminals aren’t worried about hurting an innocent homeowner to get what they want.  Now let’s go to the basement to check on a few last details in making your home more secure.

In many areas across the country, homes with basements are very unusual but for those who have a basement, there are a few extra steps you must take to secure your home.  Basement windows are extremely vulnerable to break-in.  The best thing you can do it to make sure the locks on them work properly.  If no one sleeps in the basement of your house, you might consider placing a steel bar across the window so kicking it in would be more difficult.  You can also place items under basement windows that will fall over and make noise if someone were to break in and step on them.  Giving yourself an opportunity to leave the house or wake up and confront an intruder is better than being attacked in your sleep. 

In our society, crimes occur every second.  You don’t have to be a victim.  Do what you can to reduce your risk and take control.  Protecting your home is only one aspect.  You should take steps to protect yourself when you are out running errands, at work, or playing at the park with your kids.  You can’t prevent someone from attacking you but you can refuse to be a victim.

 

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