Burglar Proof Your Home

The old practice of planting high shrubbery around your house would protect us from intruders no longer apply these days. Instead, keep those shrubberies low so it would not serve as cover for intruders.

The US Justice Department says that the usual burglar is a male and the average loss from home burglary amount to about a thousand dollars. May be less, may be more. The typical home burglary usually takes place during summer when most of us leave more windows and doors open when it is warm. This is the best time for thieves to sneak in for they like fast and easy way in and out.

There are ways to make our house do not look like an easy target for the burglars.

• Check our door and window locks
• Look at your house from the outside and ask yourself if there are some things inside the house that could easily be seen and snatched by burglar
• Consider buying an alarm system if you can afford one
• If you think it is expensive – Radio Shack sells realistic-looking decals and cameras that you can attach to windows to make it appear that your house is protected by an alarm system even if it is not
• Rehearse danger responses with friends and family; include the children and ask them to carry their puppies
• Ask a neighbor to park a car in your driveway at night if your family is planning to be away a day or two
• If you are going to be away for a week or so, just stopping mails, utility bills and newspaper delivery is not enough. Ask someone to water the plants every other day and trim the grasses in the yard. By doing this, someone is in-charge would be the message you would send to prospective burglar.
• But remember to ask that someone in-charge or the caretaker not to leave any lawn or garden tools especially ladder just lying around outside. These tools can be used by burglar to get into your house. The ladder will give a burglar access to the second floor and use the handle of the rake to break the window.
• Never leave your house keys inside the car even if you plan to return to the car immediately
• Display the local emergency numbers prominently within your home, at the corkboard or refrigerator

If you are living in an apartment, you may apply some precautions mentioned above plus other things suggested by the National Crime Prevention Council. They say that the apartment dwellers should think carefully where they are planning to live. If they are already in the apartment, ask these questions about the apartment and the building. If the answers are no – most likely you are at risk:

• Are mailboxes located nearby and lighted at night? Are their locks good enough?
• Is there some kind of control as to who gets in and out of the building?
• Are laundry and storage areas locked?
• Do ground-floor windows and doors have secured grills?
• Is there a police station nearby?

It would also be best to inquire around if there has been some kind a burglary within the complex or vicinity. If there was, try to determine if the management of the apartment tried to determine how it happened and if there has been some kind of changes when it comes to security measures after the incident.

Experts even suggested dwellers to organize themselves so that neighbors can look out for each other. If you are alone at home, no need to advertise that in the neighborhood. If you are in an apartment and you share a common laundry room or garage, avoid being there alone especially at night.

Do not be a hero! If you go home and found a door or a window open and you suspect that something is going on or happened inside, do not just enter. Call a friend, a neighbor and the best is call the police at once. Remember there is no place like home! Keep it safe and watch ourselves as well.