Check Your Locks and Windows
Door and window locks in most homes today might keep out someone who just rattles the knob, but they won't stop a determined or professional burglar. In more than 40% of residential burglaries, the thieves entered through an unlocked door or window.

Every exterior door should have a dead-bolt lock with a one-inch throw. If you have a key-in-the-knob lock, install an auxiliary lock - a vertical bolt, cylinder dead-bolt or horizontal-bolt model. And if you have just moved into a new house or apartment, re-key the locks. You never know who may still have old keys. Also, do not hide your keys in mailboxes, planters, under doormats or in a fake rock. Give a duplicate key to a trusted neighbor instead.

Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks, with a rigid wooden dowel in the track or with a nail inserted through a hole drilled in the sliding door frame and projecting into the fixed frame. Lock double-hung windows with window key locks or by sliding a bolt or nail through a hole drilled at a downward angle in each top corner of the inside sash and part way through the outside sash. Consider grilles for basement windows.

Check Your Doors
Locks lose their effectiveness if they are installed in flimsy or weak doors. Make sure outside doors are solid, at least 1 ¾ inch metal or hardwood. Doors should fit tightly in their frames and hinges should be on the inside. Double check the door between your house and the garage since that is a common entry spot for thieves.

Install a wide-angle viewer in all entry doors so you can see who is outside without opening the door. A chain between the doors and the jamb is not a good substitute because it can be easily broken.

Look at Your Home from the Outside
To discourage burglars from selecting your home, make sure that any shrubbery around doors and windows is pruned so they will not hide anyone tampering with entry points. Cut back tree limbs that could help a thief climb into second-story windows. Keep your yard well-maintained and store ladders and tools inside your garage or basement. All entrances and porches should be well lit.

Consider An Alarm System
If you live in an isolated area or in a neighborhood vulnerable to break-ins, explore the costs of an alarm system. The simplest in-house alarm system sets up a small electrical circuit across door locks and from window to frame. When this current is interrupted by someone opening the door or window, the alarm sounds. More sophisticated systems include sensing devices that set off a siren when an intruder disturbs a field of continually moving sound or radar waves. Advanced alarm systems can be monitored by a central station which alerts the police if a thief breaks in.

According to a recent survey, security systems are offered as an option in many new subdivisions and are forecasted to become standard in 61% of new homes by the turn of the century.

Have A Family Plan
Remember that your goal is to avoid any confrontations with a burglar since there is a chance he or she might be armed. If you find a door ajar, a screen slit, or a window broken when you come home - do not go inside. Call the police from a neighbor's house.

Prepare When You Leave Town
If you are planning a vacation, notify a trusted neighbor who has a view of your house and ask him or her to pick up your mail and newspapers. Put lights and a radio on timers to create the illusion that someone is home. Leave shades, blinds and curtains in normal positions and arrange to have your lawn and garden maintained if you will be gone awhile. In winter, ask your neighbor to remove snow from the driveway and to leave footprints around your home to make it look like the family has been walking around.

For more information on home security, contact your local police.

Return to: Home Safety TIPS

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