If you were locked out of your house, would you still be able to get in? Then so could a burglar.
One out of 10 homes will be burglarized this year, according to the National Crime Prevention Council, and many of the burglars are professionals, so you can never be too safe.
However, many intruders will spend no longer than 60 seconds trying to break into a home, so good locks and good neighbors who watch out for each other – can be big deterrents to burglars, according to the council. That’s what neighborhood watches are all about.
Here are some simple safety tips to help keep your home and family protected:
- Never hide a key outside. Instead, give a spare key to a trusting neighbor.
- 80 percent of break-ins are through a door. Doors visible to the street and neighbors are much safer.
- Get new locks installed when you move into a new house. Dead bolts are best. They are not vulnerable to being jimmied. Make sure they have at least a 1-inch draw into the door jam.
- Make sure your door has a wide-angle peephole – if not, have one installed.
- Solid core and metal doors are the hardest to break into.
- Sliding doors can be easy prey for burglars. Place a broomstick on the track behind the sliding door.
- Pins are a safe way to secure doors and windows. They can be purchased at almost any hardware store. This does require a little work on your part though, to drill hoels where the pins are placed when the window or door is secured. A side benefit of using pins is that you can set a window open an inch or two, for air flow ,and still use the pins to secure it.
- Don’t leave a ladder, or anything that helps provide access to a roof or second story window outside your home.
- Keep outside lights on at night, or have
lights that come on when a motion sensor is
tripped.
When staying away from home, don’t leave lights on all day and night. This signals an empty home. Having light timers installed can be a good way to scare burglars off. You can buy simple electrical timers at your hardware store, and install them yourself. - When going on a vacation, don’t let mail pile up. Ask a friend or neighbor to pick it up for you or, bet yet, ask the post office to hold mail until you return. Don’t forget your daily or weekly paper delivery, and any other deliveries, like milk, etc.
- Don’t leave answering machine messages indicating that you will not be home.
- Having your yard and driveway kept up while you are gone is also a good way to pretend you are home.
If you get home and things look suspicious (torn screen, door open etc.) Do not enter your home. Call the police from a neighbor’s house.