Home, Safe Home

According to the F.B.I., the highest number of burglaries per year occur during July or August, the time when people tend to be away on vacation. Forty percent of those break-ins will be committed without any need of forced entry. In other words, to extrapolate a bit on the numbers, it would seem that nearly half of our homes are easy pickings for a thief. Aside from the obvious precautions, such as locking the doors and making your home look occupied when you are away, what can you do to protect your home and family? Here are some ideas to increase your odds of thwarting a theft:

First, lock it up! Make sure that windows are shut and locked and install pin-locks to keep them that way. The best locks for doors are deadbolts, though recent trends in lock-picking technology have left them much less secure than they were in the past. Fake keys called “bump” keys can be made to fit with most deadbolts. These bump keys are readily accessible, easy to use and relatively quiet. To protect your home, experts claim that the best bump-proof deadbolt is made by Medeco and will cost you about $140. It may be well worth the price, though, if you consider what it is intended to protect.

To protect other points of entry, install jam bars for sliding doors in addition to vertical bolts to keep the door from being pried away and removed from its track. Many basement windows can easily be removed from their casings in a matter of seconds, so install metal bars over flimsy basement windows and put locks between the main level of your home and the basement or garage. Do not use window-unit air conditioners in ground floor windows as they can be easily removed. Double-check garage doors before going to bed or driving away to ensure they are actually closed and haven’t been tripped and re-opened.

Regularly inspect your home from the outside. Are there trees, patio furniture or other elements of your landscape that may be inviting a break-in? Tree limbs that reach less protected upper windows or overgrown bushes and shrubbery that provide cover may be extending an open invitation. Ladders in the yard are a definite no-no, as are any tools that could be used to pry open a window or door.

Have a good look at the doors on your home. They should be at least one inch thick and made of metal or solid hardwood. A strong door, however, won’t do much good if it is held in place by a rickety frame which could be kicked in easily. Inspect frames for damage from weather, insects or heavy use and replace if necessary.

Having plenty of outdoor lighting will also help to send a thief elsewhere. Motion detector lights are especially good. Be sure that all security lighting is installed high enough that a prowler cannot simply reach up and unscrew the bulbs.

Other functional additions to your outdoor decor include thorny bushes (pyracantha and barberry are especially painful) and beds of crunchy rock near ground level windows and doors. Keep outbuildings locked, toys and bikes safely stored away and install a sign that claims you have an alarm system in your home, whether you actually do or not.

Finally, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Do not label your child’s or house-keeper’s key with your address. Do not give out codes that shut off your alarm or open your garage door. Fake rocks and other outdoor hiding places (such as under the mat) are well known by thieves. Rather than leaving your key in these places, entrust it instead to a nearby friend or neighbor. Finally, if you’re planning to be away, don’t change your e-mail or voice mail to notify others as you may be unwittingly flagging your home for a robbery.

Inspecting your home regularly and following these safety precautions will help get your home out of that forty percent that are susceptible to a break-in. You’re sure to rest easier at night and relax more on vacation knowing that your home and possessions are safe.

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