Home Security -- Eight Things You Must Do To Deter Burglars

Why should you bother with preventive home security measures? Because of one simple fact -- most home break-ins are crimes of opportunity.

Burglars don't usually do much advance planning for specific break-ins. They pick out any target that seems to be easy. If closer examination reveals that your home is not an easy target, they just move on.

Here are 8 things you can do to prevent your home from looking like a soft target.

1. All doors and windows should be plainly visible from the street and to your neighbors. Large shrubs and hedges which hamper visibility make it easy for burglars to do their job.

That's why any bushes and shrubs that are within four feet of sidewalks, driveways, doors, etc should be kept under a couple of feet high. Those within four to eight feet should be trimmed to not more than four feet high.

2. Do you place plants under window sills? If so, trim them to a foot lower than the window sill level.

3. Trees should not hamper visibility to your house. Also ensure that burglars can't use trees to gain access to your second floor windows and doors. Trim trees so that the lowest branches are seven feet or more above the ground.

4. Large gauge gravel causes noise when burglars walk on it. Placing them under windows is a good psychological deterrent.

5. Use fencing around your house and keep gates locked (even when you are at home, if possible). This sounds elementary, but locked gates prevent burglars from making off easily with large items!

In other words, ensure that there are no quick exits from the house.

6. Grow thorny plants under windows and along fences. They are very discouraging to burglars. Fencing using thorny plants is as good as barbed wire fencing and looks a whole lot better.

7. Ensure that street numbers are clearly visible from the street. This helps anyone responding to emergency calls to reach your home faster.

House numbers placed on your house should be six inches high and made of reflective material. Alternatively, use black on white lettering. The numbers should be illuminated at night.

Paint your house number on the curb in front of your driveway, using black lettering on white background.

8. Don't leave ladders and tools lying around. They should be locked away in a in a storage area or garage.

Get these eight things right and you will have enhanced your home security to a level that will make many potential burglars uneasy about targeting your home.

James Strobes is a home and office security consultant. For information on home security in general, home security alarm systems and more, see the foregoing links

Home & Business Security & Surveillance

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I have done a lot of research in the security field over the years and have found that the customer knows best in most cases. Security systems have evolved into something much more than just an alarm. You now can have cameras with pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities linked to your security system and when it sees movement it signals an outside alarm with strobes to scare off introders. Or, how about linking your home automation system to your security system so that whenever a light turns on and you're not home, a signal is sent. Things like this are just some of what this industry has evolved into. The sort of imaginary line linking everything together!

In most cases their are complete systems that are so easy to install, that the end user can cut out the middle man. With people not having to crawl attics anymore to run wire, there really is no need for the security company. We're in a sort of lick and stick era, where essential you do just that. There are so many systems that can be installed by the end user that it's not really fair to the alarm companies anymore. At http://www.thesecuritywarehouse.com I have assembled packages that can be stuck on the wall and up and running in less than 15 minutes. Wireless is our friend, and with wireless security systems, surveillance systems, hidden cameras, driveway alarms, or single cameras, it's just to easy to say no to the sales rep. because you know you can do it yourself! http://www.thesecuritywarehouse.com has everything you need for your home or business security & surveillance systems!

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http://www.thesecuritywarehouse.com

My name is Jesse D'Anna and have worked in the alarm industry for about 25 years now. I have seen a lot of change throughout my years, however, the change from hardwired systems to wireless systems has been the biggest over that span. Today's industry is swamped with people who think they know a lot about their profession. However, the one thing I've seen throughout my years in the field is that the cus

5 Steps To Better Home Security And Personal Safety

After a crime has been committed, many people wish that they had taken better steps to protect themselves and their belongings. But the best time to think about home security is before the crime happens, not afterward. By planning ahead you can take steps that reduce your chances of being a victin of crime in the first place. Here are 5 steps that you may wish to consider to improve your home security and personal safety:

1. Many accidents occur at home and lives are often lost due to fire, gas leaks, and carbon monoxide poisoning. It's amazing how many people have been victims of these kind of dangers, and yet much can be done to protect yourself in advance. Most fire and smoke detectors are very inexpensive but effective ways to help warn of dangers before they get out of control, or at least so that the homeowner can get out quickly and save their life. The same can be said of natural gas and carbon monoxide detectors too. A few of these placed throughout the home will keep silent guard for you and help increase your personal safety from these dangers. Just remember that the best detectors cannot be effective if you don't keep the batteries for each unit fresh so that it stays in good working order.

2. Install a home security system that will monitor all the doors and windows in your home and sound a loud alarm when someone is breaking in. You may even want to subscribe to an outside monitoring service that will call local law enforcement after making sure that any alarm that is triggered is not a false alarm. There are several quality wireless home security systems available that you can even install yourself quickly and easily.

3. Consider using wireless security cameras to help keep a watch on the goings outside your home at all times. For instance, you could install one above your door that lets you clearly identify the person who rings your doorbell, or knocks on your door. You could also install infrared cameras at strategic locations around the home that allows you to keep a watch on your home's perimiter at night. The more information you have about what is happening around your home, the more prepared you can be to defend yourself.

4. Joining a neighborhood watch group can help increase your personal and home security considerably. If your neighborhood does not have such a program, why not visit a few neighbors and see if they would be interested in starting one? If crimes have been committed in the area recently, you often will not have much difficulty getting everyone to cooperate and set up a neighborhood watch program right away.

5. Keeping doors and windows closed and locked at all times is another step to take to make home intrusion more difficult. If you must open the windows for any reason, it is wise to have locks installed that do not allow the window to be opened far enough for someone to be able to climb through and get inside the home. These are the most vulnerable places in your home to burglarization, so guard them well.

There are other steps you can take to increase personal safety and home security, but if you employ the suggestions mentioned above they can a great start, and can help increase your preparedness and peace of mind.

Find out more about wireless home security and wireless home security systems by visiting our Home Security website

Home Security How You Can Help the Police Before Your Property is Stolen.

Welcome back to part 7, if you have implemented the recommendations we have made so far you will have gone a long way toward protecting your home. Nobody can promise that you will not fall victim to a thief, so in this article I want to give you a few tips on how you can help the police retrieve your goods if it should be stolen.

Make an inventory of your property.

Keep a list of your processions in a secure place, perhaps in a safe deposit box or with a friend, this will help the police if you do have a burglary, and it will also help to support a claim if you have a house fire or some other kind of loss.

The better the job you do on the property inventory the more help it will be. Now that digital cameras are readily available take pictures of all the rooms in your home and their contents. In case of a loss by fire or flood etc. it will help you in your claim with your insurance provider.

On your property list, show, which room the goods, were in. Describe the article as fully as feasible; include the manufacturer model number, size, color, and the material the article is made of as well as its price. It is also a good idea to include damage marks, repairs, etc because these are unique to your things.

Mark your goods with your Post Code, your Drivers License Number or some other number that is exclusive to you but do not use your Social Security number! Properly marked property is hard for a burglar to sell on to someone else, and it makes it easier to trace them back to you.

Always mark your assets by engraving in an area that cannot be simply removed and is not in plain sight, if you cannot engrave the thing use a permanent marker or an ultra violet pen. Some items are not suitable for marking and this is where a digital or video camera comes into its own.

Now that you have a catalogue of your property make certain you keep it up to date!

Having marked your property make sure that any possible burglar knows about it, a small sticker displayed on doors and windows will do the job. These are generally available from your local police station or crime prevention officer.

Burglary is the most frequent form of theft in the United States; by marking your property you are taking an important step in protecting your home and avoiding the distress that this type of home invasion causes.

In the next part of this series I will be giving you a few dos and don'ts to help you with your personal and home security, see you soon.

Roger Overantout

For more vital home security tips and information about how to protect your home and family please visit www.homesecuritynews.info

You may reproduce this article provided you maintain an active link back to www.homesecuritynews.info

For more vital home security tips and information about how to protect your home and family please visit www.homesecuritynews.info

You may reproduce this article provided you maintain an active link back to www.homesecuritynews.info

Home Security Patio Sliding Glass Doors

As promised at the end of part 4 of this series, in this section I will deal with Patio Sliding Glass Doors. Quite often homeowners install sturdy locks on their front doors but leave their patio doors and sliding glass windows "wide open" to illegal entry.

Burglars love these because they are so easy to open. Usually, sliding doors and windows are at the side or rear of the home so they are more secluded than the front door, this makes a perfect place for burglars to hide and enter.

There are two main risks that need to be protected against.

1. Forcing the lock. The standard lock that is fitted to most sliding doors and windows is very easy to pry open, an additional stronger lock should be fitted to give more security. Something as simple as lying a broomstick in the runner can offer some protection provided it is a good fit. However Dead Locks are much better, they will prevent the burglar from using the door or window to remove stolen property unless they smash the glass and that is a very noisy and risky thing for them to do.

2. Lifting Out. Many sliding doors and windows can be lifted out of their tracks from the outside. You can prevent this by putting two metal screws through the track above the sliding part of the door or window, the screw will need to be adjusted to allow the door to operate correctly. Double Hung Windows To lock a double hung window, you will have to drill a downward sloping hole into the top of the bottom window, and through that into the bottom of the top window being careful to avoid the glass unit, if you have any doubt about your DIY abilities get a professional tradesman to do it. Once the hole is drilled a pin can be inserted, locking the window shut. To use the window for ventilation, you should partly open it (less that 4 inches) and making a second set of holes, the window can then be used for ventilation. Remember, open windows and doors, even if secured, should never be left unattended while you are gone or asleep. This section is quite short but I thought the information was important enough to deserve a section of it's own. In part six we will be dealing with Burglar Alarms.

For more vital home security tips and information about how to protect your home and family please visit www.homesecuritynews.info

You may reproduce this article provided you maintain an active link back to www.homesecuritynews.info