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Security 101,
The most common threat to our home is burglary.
According to the FBI, a burglary occurs somewhere in the
United States every 15.4 seconds. By definition, the
crime of burglary is a non-confrontational crime. However,
becoming a burglary victim can leave a family feeling vulnerable
and violated. To avoid becoming a burglary victim,
it is important to first gain an understanding of who commits
them and why.
The majority of home and apartment burglaries occur during
the daytime when most people are away at work or school.
The summer months of July and August (vacation season) have
the most burglaries with February having the fewest crimes.
Burglaries are committed most often by males under 25 years
of age looking for items that are small, expensive, and
can easily be converted to cash. Favorite items are
cash, jewelry, TV, watches, laptop computers, DVD/VCRs,
video players, CDs and other small electronic devices are
high on the list. Statistics show that 70% of the
burglars use some amount force to break in to a dwelling
but their preference is to gain easy access through an open
door or window. Ordinary household tools like screwdrivers,
channel-lock pliers, pry bars, and hammers are most often
used by burglars. Burglars continue to flourish because
police can only clear about 18% of all reported burglaries
and rarely catch the thief in the act.
Minimize
your risk by making your home unattractive to potential
burglars.
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
SLIDING GLASS
DOORS
Sliding glass doors are vulnerable to being forced open
from the outside because of inherently defective latch mechanisms.
This can be easily be prevented by inserting
a wooden dowel or stick into the track thus
preventing or limiting movement. The blocking devices
described above solve half the equation. Older sliding
glass doors can be lifted off their track and defeat the
latch mechanism. To prevent lifting, you need to keep
the door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted.
You can also install anti-lift devices such as a pin that
extends through both the sliding and fixed portion of the
door. There are also numerous locking and blocking
devices available in any good quality hardware store that
will prevent a sliding door from being lifted or forced
horizontally. Place
highly visible decals on the glass door near the latch mechanism
that indicates that an alarm system, a dog,
or block watch/operation identification is in place.
Burglars dislike alarm systems and definitely big barking
dogs.
* Use a secondary blocking device
on all sliding glass doors
* Keep the latch mechanism in good condition and properly
adjusted
* Keep sliding door rollers in good condition and properly
adjusted
* Use anti-lift devices such as through-the-door pins or
upper track screws
* Use highly visible alarm decals, beware of dog decals
or block watch decal
WINDOWS
Windows are left unlocked and open at a much higher rate
than doors. An open window, visible from the street
or alley, may be the sole reason for your home to be selected
by a burglar. Ground floor windows are more susceptible
to break-ins for obvious reasons. Upper floor windows
become attractive if they can be accessed from a stairway,
tree, fence, or by climbing on balconies. Windows
have latches, not locks
and therefore should have secondary blocking devices to
prevent sliding them open from the outside.
Inexpensive wooden dowels and sticks work well for horizontal
sliding windows and through-the-frame pins work well for
vertical sliding windows. For ventilation, block the
window open no more than six inches and make sure you can't
reach in from the outside and remove the blocking device
or reach through and unlock the door. In sleeping
rooms, these window blocking devices should be capable of
being removed easily from the inside to comply with fire
codes. Like sliding glass doors, anti-lift devices
are necessary for ground level and accessible aluminum windows
that slide horizontally. The least expensive and easiest
method is to install screws half-way into the upper track
of the movable glass panel to prevent it from being lifted
out in the closed position. As a deterrent, place
highly visible decals on the glass door near the latch mechanism
that indicates that an alarm system, a dog, or block watch/operation
identification system is in place.
* Secure all accessible windows with
secondary blocking devices
* Block accessible windows open no more than 6 inches for
ventilation
* Make sure someone cannot reach through an open window
and unlock the door
* Make sure someone cannot reach inside the window and remove
the blocking device
* Use anti-lift devices to prevent window from being lifted
out
* Use crime prevention or alarm decals on ground accessible
windows
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 from the alarm decals on windows and
doors and any other signage on the lawn
or property. Home and apartment burglars will usually
bypass a property with visible alarm signs and will go to
another property without such a sign or decal. 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 passcode
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.
* Alarm systems are effective deterrents
with visible decals and 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
For more useful information on Home Security
Alarms visit www.patrolmyhome.com
LIGHTING
Interior lighting is necessary to show signs of life and
activity inside a residence. A darken home night
after night sends the message to burglars that you are away
on a trip. Light timers are inexpensive and can be
found everywhere. They should be used on a daily basis,
not just when your away. In this way you set up a
routine that your neighbors can observe and will allow them
to become suspicious when your normally lighted home becomes
dark. Typically, you want to use light-timers near
the front and back windows with the curtains drawn.
The pattern of them clicking on and off simulates actual
occupancy. It is also comforting not to have to enter
a dark residence. The same light timers can be used
to turn on radios or television sets to further enhance
the illusion of occupancy.
Exterior lighting is also very important. It becomes
critical if you must park in a common area parking lot or
underground garage and need to walk to your front door.
The purpose of good lighting is to allow you to see if a
threat or suspicious person is lurking in your path.
If you can see a potential threat in advance then you at
least have the choice and chance to avoid it. Exterior
lighting needs to bright enough for you to see 100 feet
and it helps if you can identify colors. Good lighting
is definitely a deterrent to criminals because they don't
want to be seen or identified.
Use interior light timers to establish a pattern of occupancy
* Exterior lighting should allow 100
foot visibility
* Use good lighting along the pathway and at your door
* Use light timers or photo-cells to turn on/off lights
automatically
* Use infra-red motion sensor lights on the rear of single
family homes
GET A DOG.
A barking dog, whether inside the house or in the yard is
proven as the best deterrent to burglars.
It doesn't have to be a 250 - pound Rottweiler named Spike,
even a smaller yappy dog serves as an early warning system.
Not only does the intruder risk a bite, but the barking
attracts attention. And there is no such thing as a stranger
intimidating a dog into silence. The truth is a dog, even
a small dog, inside a house is not something a burglar wants
to to deal with. Getting bit is not fun.
PRETEND TO BE
A BURGLAR
Walk around your property and ask yourself: How would I
break in? Examine your house from the street, where are
the blind spots? What are the most vulnerable areas
and, therefore, likely to break in? Stand outside the windows
and look in, make sure no valuables, like expensive electronics
or artwork, are visible. If you can see your belongings
doing this, so can criminals.
BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR
Good neighbors should look out for each other. Get
to know your neighbors on each side of your home and the
three directly across the street. Invite them into
your home, communicate often, and establish trust.
Good neighbors will watch out for your home or apartment
when you are away, if you ask them. They can report
suspicious activity to the police or to you while you are
away. Between them, good neighbors can see to it that
normal services continue in your absence by allowing vendors
to mow your lawn or remove snow. Good neighbors can
pick up your mail, newspapers, handbills, and can inspect
the outside or inside of your home periodically to see that
all is well. Good neighbors will occasionally park
in your driveway to give the appearance of occupancy while
you are on vacation. Allowing a neighbor to have a
key solves the problem of hiding a key outside the door.
Experienced burglars know to look for hidden keys in planter
boxes, under doormats, and above the ledge. Requiring
a service vendor to see your neighbor to retrieve and return
your house key will send the message that someone is watching.
This neighborhood watch technique sets up what is called
'territoriality' which means that your neighbors will take
ownership and responsibility for what occurs in your mini-neighborhood.
This concept works in both single family homes communities
and on apartment properties. This practice helps deter
burglaries and other crimes in a big way. Of course
for this to work, you must reciprocate and offer the same
services.
* Get to know all your adjacent neighbors
* Invite them into your home and establish trust
* Agree to watch out for each other's home
* Do small tasks for each other to improve territoriality
* While on vacation, pick up newspapers, and flyers
* Offer to park your car in their driveway
* Return the favor and communicate often
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