The Pew Institute revealed that the most common form of property crime in 2019 was theft and burglary. That was the past. What about the future?
3/4 of American homes will be victim to burglary in the next 20 years. Don’t let yours be next!
Below are five simple ways of burglar-proofing your home using simple solutions to protect every point of entry. Starting with cameras and a security system you can burglar proof your home by removing hiding places, securing your patio, using peel and stick alarms, and investing in smart locks.
Use Cameras
There were 1,549 cases of property theft and 305 burglaries per 100,000 people in 2019. This speaks for itself. The most reliable way to burglar-proof your home in a simple fashion is to invest in security cameras around the main points of entry. You need to secure your house with state of the art security gear. Security cameras are a deterrent, but they don't work in isolation. According to a recent interview, burglars generally agreed that, while they were hesitant to break into a house with a visible security camera, it also signaled that the property owners had disposable income and valuables in their home.
To that end, while security cameras can provide useful information and function as a deterrent, security cameras that work as part of an overall security system, especially run by professional staff who are monitoring those cameras, will prove even more effective in protecting your home and your valuables.
Remove Hiding Places
Proper landscape design or fences can be useful in blocking noise and providing a screen of privacy, but they also serve as a hiding spot for burglars - especially if you don't have proper lighting. You don't have to get rid of your bushes in order to burglar-proof your home, but you should make sure they are trim enough that they don't provide a hiding place for anyone who's trying to sneak around your property.
Similarly, motion detector lights outdoors can be particularly bright whether they are tripped during the day or at night. These can be mounted anywhere, such as near your doorways or detached sheds, and you can find solar powered units or battery-powered units. The minute these lights turn on you will know that someone is someplace they shouldn't be.
Secure Your Patio
Crime happens everywhere, even in otherwise secure areas like an HOA community with gates and security guards. Focusing on the doors is very important because recent reports reveal that most burglars will knock on a front door before they enter: if no one is home, they will break in a door long before they try to break through a window, because the loud pound from a broken door takes place once as opposed to the ongoing crash of broken glass - and it doesn't risk injury.
However, many people neglect patio doors. Front doors and back doors, maybe even garage doors, get equipped with security systems, but sliding doors should be secured. The easiest and simplest way to burglar-proof your home in this fashion is to slide something like a broom handle or a baseball bat in the track of your patio doors so no one can slide them open. You will of course have to remove the obstacle every time you want to open your patio door.
An alternative is to secure your patio with a patio door lock that functions similarly to a deadbolt, and lets you lock the door just a few inches if you want to let in some breeze without inviting burglars; you can also open it all the way or close it all the way. You can activate the lock with your foot and alleviate the pain of having to bend over regularly to secure your doors.
Peel and Stick Alarms
A journalist recently interviewed 86 burglars to determine what deterrents were most effective. According to the interview results, if an alarm went off, almost all of the intruders said they would leave immediately, with only one stating that they would try and turn it off before they fled the scene. This is where peel-and-stick alarms are geniusly simple ways to burglar proof your home.
As the name implies, these are literally loud alarm systems that you peel and stick to various parts of your home. They serve as a very affordable alternative to fit smaller spaces like windows and doors. The small size makes them easily integrated into apartments with private balconies, condominiums, or duplexes. People who don't have the ability to install a large, expensive security system, or are unable to do so because they are not the property owners, can still use these peel-and-stick alarms as a very successful deterrent.
Just like a sticker, you peel them back and stick them with the adhesive on your doors or windows. You can turn them on when you leave the house or go to bed, and turn them off when you want to open your doors or windows. If the window opens, the door opens, or the glass breaks, they will produce a siren at 110 decibels until they are turned off.
Smart Locks
One of the most nerve-wracking feelings is losing your keys, especially when your keys can let a burglar into your house without activating any alarms. Smart locks are an increasingly popular alternative to regular door locks. Do away with physical keys that you can easily misplace, and bring your home into the 21st century with smart locks.
Smart locks allow you to open your front door, back door, or garage door with a keypad, a mobile device, or a finger scan. If you aren't comfortable linking it to your phone for fear that you might lose your phone just as easily as you lose your keys, you can still invest in smart locks that use a keypad. Basic electronic keypad models are very affordable and let you reset codes regularly.
For people who have lots of college-aged children or friends who regularly look after pets while on vacation, these keypads can enhance long-term security;: give your children or your neighbors the code when you are away and change the code when they no longer need it. This can make it very easy for family get-togethers or holidays where you can change the code to lock and unlock the door for everyone in attendance, and then replace both codes once everyone is gone.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the more you do to protect your home, the more effective your security system will be. Having cameras is one of the best ways to not only provide a deterrent to burglars, but potentially capture useful information about criminal activities. In addition to this simple way to burglar-proof your home, smart locks, peel-and-stick alarms, removing hiding places, and securing your patio doors can give you peace of mind whether you are at home or on vacation.
Currently with Deep Sentinel, Tomasz specializes in home safety and security technology. Prior to joining Deep Sentinel, Tomasz has over a decade of marketing leadership experience, ranging from Microsoft to Kissmetrics.
