Making Your Home Secure With North Carolina Home Security

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:27:16 EST

When your home is burglarized you suffer emotional and psychologicaldamage, as much as you suffer financial hardship. There are some simplesteps you can take on your own to prevent a burglary.

Moresophisticated measures such as installing alarms, deadbolt locks, andother devises may need the help of a professional to be installedproperly. Fortunately, there are a number of well qualified NorthCarolina home security professionals you can call upon to help yousecure your home.

Burglars do not pick their victims in a random fashion. They will notselect a home to burglarize that presents too many risks or will be toodifficult to break into. They are looking for homes that areunoccupied, provide good cover to avoid being seen, and have doors orwindows that are weakly secured. You want the burglar to take a look atyour home and decide it is too much trouble and too big of a risk torob so they will move onto an easier victim.

Most burglars enter through a garage door or a back door because theseentry points have the most cover. It is common for thieves to stealfrom a car even when it is in a locked garage. Therefore, always lockyour car doors and do not leave valuables in sight even when your caris parked in your garage. All doors should be a solid core or metaldoor with a heavy-duty deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt. Thisincludes the door between the inside of your house and your garage.

A locked door can easily be kicked in if it doesn't have a four-screwhigh security strike plate installed with 3-inch wood screws with thebolt driving deep into the door jam. A burglar will probably just walkaway when they see a door secured in this way. Sliding glass patiodoors can be very easy to break into unless there is a secondaryblocking device installed.

Through-the-door pins or upper track screwsshould also be considered for sliding glass patio doors. It isimportant to keep the latch mechanism and rollers in good condition andproperly adjusted. Always put alarm service, neighborhood watch, andbeware of dog decals on doors and windows.

Open windows are an invitation to burglars, particularly ground door orbasement windows. They should never be left opened or unlocked. Allwindows should have secondary blocking devices installed. Use a devicethat will allow a window to only be opened a maximum of six inches.Burglars will try to open a door by reaching through an open window.Check to make sure this can not be done.

Getting to know and working with your neighbors is a great way to fightcrime. Arrange with your neighbors to have mail picked up, lawns mowed,and cars periodically parked in driveways when people are gone forextended periods.

Keep an eye on each others properties and alert thepolice if you see anything suspicious. Make your home appear to beoccupied even when it isn't. Never hide your house key outside. Insteadgive a copy to a trusted neighbor.

It is important to have the exterior of your home well lightedparticularly entryways and pathways. Criminals need darkness to concealtheir activities. Light will deter them. Consider installing infra-redmotion sensor lights in the rear. You can create the illusion that youare home when you are away by using timers to turn the lights and TVsets on and off in an apparently normal routine.

TRCB.com RSS Feed

Making Your Home Secure With North Carolina Home Security