As you trim your tree, hang the lights, and wrap your gifts, you'll want to take extra care to make sure your home and belongings are secure this holiday season.

Aside from the summer months of July and August when families are far from home on vacation, the holiday season is the most common time of the year for home burglaries. Burglars are enticed when they see trees lit up from the street and the thought of all the goodies that lie wrapped beneath. And they know we tend to be away from home more, socializing and taking care of the seasonal demands.

A burglar breaks into a house, apartment, or condominium every 11 seconds - that's about 2.3 million burglaries a year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The FBI also says that three out of four houses will be burglarized in the next four years, and that the average property loss is more than $1,000.

Many experts agree that installing an electronic alarm system is a good deterrent.

If your home doesn't have a security system, you have a three times greater risk that your home will be broken into versus a home with a security system, according to Simon Hakim, a professor of economics at Temple University who has also served as a consultant to the Pennsylvania Fire and Burglar Alarm Association and ADT Security Systems. He has also written more than 50 academic articles on security and crime.

Further bolstering the effectiveness of burglar alarms, the International Association of Chiefs of Police passed a board resolution that said that professionally installed, monitored alarm systems are useful instruments to deter crime and provide peace of mind for homeowners.

Regardless of whether you have a home alarm system, there are a number of steps you can take during the holidays to make your home as safe as possible - many of which can be followed year-round.

Published: December 16, 2002

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.