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Home Security
Author : Samantha West
Christmas Holiday
Christmas holidays are a special time when families and friends
come together to celebrate the season. It is also the time of
year where families and friends are most generous and practice
the tradition of gift giving. It should be a joyous and happy
time for all of us.
Unfortunately for us, home burglars view the holiday season a
little differently. For them, it is a time of opportunity to
burglarize your home for cash, credit cards, and all the new
gifts of small electronics, computers, jewelry, and easily sold
valuables.
Here are a few tips of what they look for when shopping for a
house to burglarize. These tips will help you enjoy the holidays
without incident.
* Burglars look for an easy entry with good escape routes. Don't
openly display your Christmas tree and gifts in the front window
so it's easily visible from the street. It's too tempting for
them to smash the window and grab the wrapped packages.
* Burglars look for occupancy cues like outdoor lights burning
24 hours a day, piled up newspapers, or advertising flyers
hanging on the door knob. Use an inexpensive light timer when
you are away and ask a neighbor to keep the front of your home
clean of papers and debris. * Burglars know to look for the
hidden door key near the front entrance. Don't hide spare keys
under rocks, in flowerpots, or above door ledges. Instead give
the spare key to a trusted neighbor.
* Burglars prefer to enter through unlocked doors or windows.
Sliding windows that are not secure can be seen from distance.
One holiday problem can occur when exterior Christmas light
extension cords are run inside through a window and prevent it
from being secured. Hire an electrician or handyman to install
an inexpensive exterior outlet for your holiday lights.
* Don't post your family name on your mailbox or on you house. A
burglar can call directory assistance to get your telephone
number and call your home while in front of your house to
confirm that you are away. * Don't leave descriptive telephone
answering machine messages like, "You've reached the
Wilson's...we're away skiing for the Christmas holidays...please
leave a message." Burglars love to hear that they have plenty of
time to break in and completely ransack your home. * After
Christmas day, don't pile up empty gift boxes from your new
computer, DVD player, or stereo receiver on the street for the
garbage man. Burglars appreciate knowing that you have expensive
gifts inside for them to steal. Break them down or cut them up
to conceal the items better. After a lucrative burglary, the
chances of being burglarized again are increased to steal the
new replacement products. * Last, but not least, fortify your
home by installing solid core doors, heavy duty locks, longer
screws in the lock strike plates and door hinges, and install
secondary security devices on all accessible sliding windows.
See my webpage on home security products and options.
Home Security Prevention Advice
Doors and Locks
The first step is to "harden the target" or make your home more
difficult to enter. Remember, the burglar will simply bypass
your home if it requires too much effort or requires more skill
and tools than they possess. Most burglars enter via the front,
back, or garage doors. Experienced burglars know that the garage
door is usually the weakest point of entry followed by the back
door. The garage and back doors also provide the most cover.
Burglars know to look inside your car for keys and other
valuables so keep it locked, even when parked inside your
garage. Use high quality Grade-1 or Grade-2 locks on exterior
doors to resist twisting, prying, and lock-picking attempts. A
quality deadbolt lock will have a beveled casing to inhibit the
use of channel-lock pliers used to shear off lock cylinder pins.
A quality door knob-in-lock set will have a 'dead latch'
mechanism to prevent slipping the lock with a shim or credit
card. * Use a solid core or metal door for all entrance points *
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, four-screw, strike
plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame *
Use a wide-angle 160� peephole mounted no higher than 58 inches
The most common way used to force entry through a door with a
wooden jam is to simply kick it open. The weakest point is
almost always the lock strike plate that holds the latch or lock
bolt in place followed by a glass paneled door. The average door
strike plate is secured only by the soft-wood doorjamb molding.
These lightweight moldings are often tacked on to the door frame
and can be torn away with a firm kick. Because of this
construction flaw, it makes sense to upgrade to a four-screw,
heavy-duty, high security strike plate. They are available in
most quality hardware stores and home improvement centers and
are definitely worth the extra expense. Install this heavy-duty
strike plate using 3-inch wood screws to cut deep into the door
frame stud. Use these longer screws in the knob lock strike
plate as well and use at least one long screw in each door
hinge. This one step alone will deter or prevent most
through-the-door forced entries. You and your family will sleep
safer in the future.
Alarm Systems
Alarm systems definitely have a place in a home security plan
and are effective, if used properly. The reason why alarms
systems deter burglaries is because they increase the potential
and fear of being caught and arrested by the police. The
deterrent value comes from the alarm company lawn sign and from
the alarm decals on the windows. Home and apartment burglars
will usually bypass a property with visible alarm signs and will
go to another property without such a sign. Some people, with
alarm systems, feel that these signs and decals are unsightly
and will not display them. The risk here is that an uninformed
burglar might break a window or door and grab a few quick items
before the police can respond. Also, don't write your alarm pass
code on or near the alarm keypad.
Alarm systems need to be properly installed and maintained.
Alarms systems can monitor for fire as well as burglary for the
same price. All systems should have an audible horn or bell to
be effective in case someone does break in. However, these
audible alarms should be programmed to reset automatically after
one or two minutes. The criminal got the message and will be
long gone but your neighbors will have to listen to the alarm
bell, sometimes for hours, until it is shut off. If you use a
central station to monitor your alarm, make sure your response
call list is up to date. Home alarms, like car alarms, are
generally ignored except for a brief glance. However, if you
have established and nurtured your neighborhood watch buddy
system, you will experience a genuine concern by your neighbor.
It is not unusual to have a neighbor wait for the police, allow
them inside for an inspection, and secure the residence. A good
neighbor can also call the glass company or locksmith to repair
any damage, if pre-authorized by you.
The greatest barrier getting to this level of neighborhood
participation is taking the first step. You can get help by
calling your local crime prevention unit at the police
department. Most police departments in large cities have
neighborhood watch coordinators to help you set this up. You
should invite your adjacent neighbors over to your home for
coffee and begin the information exchange. You'll be amazed how
the process runs on automatic from there.
* Alarm systems are effective deterrents with visible signage *
Alarm systems to be properly installed, programmed, and
maintained * Alarm systems need to have an audible horn or bell
to be effective * Make sure your alarm response call list is up
to date * Instruct your neighbor how to respond to an alarm bell
Home Safes
Since the prices of good home safes are falling, having a safe
in your home is a wise investment. Home safes are designed to
keep the smash and grab burglar, nosey kids, dishonest
babysitter or housekeeper from gaining access to important
documents and personal property. Home safes need to be anchored
into the floor or permanent shelving.
* Use the safe everyday so it becomes routine
* Protect the safe code and change it occasionally
* Install it away from the master bedroom or closet
http://www.boston-locksmith.com/
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