Security Tips

Detailed information on what burglars are looking for and what burglars want when they break into a property has now been revealed. A Washington Post infographic entitled “Anatomy of a Burglar” states that the average amount of loss per residential burglary is $1,725. Most burglaries occur between 10am and 3pm, when thieves know most people are at work.

What burglars want is for homes to appear empty. Having a car in the driveway and proper lighting turned on both outside and inside a home usually cause most burglars to look for different targets.

It also states that the typical burglar spends between 8 and 12 minutes in a house, quickly looking for valuables hidden in common places. What burglars want is to be in and out of a property quickly.

What Burglars Want When They Break In

Most burglars head to the bedroom first, searching for jewellery, cash and other small valuables that are easy to steal and also easy to sell. Most burglars do not hold on to the items they steal for very long. They are looking for valuables that they can easily turn into cash.

The same graphic also states that what burglars want is to spend 60 seconds or less breaking into a home. This allows him or her to enter the home quickly without being detected by neighbours or others walking by. Deadbolts, bars or shatter-proof windows are excellent ways to deter criminals.

Alarm systems and security cameras are the best possible deterrents. Criminals would much rather break into a home undetected. As for points of entry, 34% of burglars enter through the front door while 22% choose the back door. First floor windows are also common: 23% of break-ins begin this way. The garage is also a prime target, with 9% of burglars choosing this option.

What burglars want is the fastest and easiest route to valuables. They do not want to be detected, they do not want to take very long and – above all – they do not want to get caught.

Anything you can do to make it more difficult to break into your home or make it easier to draw attention to criminal activity will help protect you from burglars. Knowing what burglars want is a crucial part of stopping them.

Unfortunately you never know when danger can strike. A fire, flood or natural disaster can hit at any time and put you and your family in peril. The best way to prepare for such catastrophic events is by having an emergency exit plan. You can’t control when tragedy occurs, but you can use forward thinking to have an escape solution for when it does.

The first step in an emergency exit plan is to know where all of the exits are. You should have two exits in each bedroom. In many cases this means a door and a window. It’s important that all members of your family are able to find all exits without any hesitation or assistance. During a fire there may be a lot of thick smoke that makes it difficult to see clearly. You should be able to reach all exits with your eyes closed.

If your bedrooms are located on the second floor of your home, window escape routes will be more difficult to use as a part of your emergency exit plan. However, in the case of a fire, it may be necessary to do so. Every member of the family should know how to exit from a second storey window. Placing a ladder on the outside of your home to make escape easier is NOT recommended. Criminals frequently use such ladders to gain entrance to a home.

Emergency Exit Plan Details to Keep in Mind

If you have security bars on your windows, it’s important that they are easy to remove from the inside. In the case of an emergency you may not be able to find a key in time and quickly exiting through the window may be your only chance to escape. For this reason, you should periodically check that your windows can open freely and are not jammed. This is vital for a successful emergency exit plan.

It’s important that every member of your family understands the emergency exit plan and that you practice the plan from time-to-time. If you live with children, elderly people or anyone else that may require assistance, be aware that you will likely need to provide help to these people during an emergency.

One of the best ways to ensure minimal damage and a safe escape in the event of a fire is to have smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire alarms. These should be placed on every floor and regularly tested. You can even have your alarms monitored from a central alarm monitoring station to provide protection 24/7, even if you’re not at home. Doing so will improve your safety and help with your emergency exit plan.

Whether you’re renovating your home or making some repairs around the house, there will inevitably be a time where you can’t handle a project and you have to look to outside help. Working with a contractor can get the work done much faster, but it’s also important to keep safety in mind. Contractor security is important.

Remember that, in the majority of cases, you will be trusting a contractor with access to your home. You wouldn’t let just anybody into your home, would you? This is why contractor security is so crucial. It’s very important to exercise caution when working with contractors.

Before you hire someone, make sure to check their references. Many people ask for work samples, quotes and reviews of a contractor’s work, but it’s also very important for contractor security that you check more personal references as well. Someone that is skilled in building kitchens or offers a low rate to repair your plumbing may not be a trustworthy individual.

Whenever possible, get the names of some of the contractor’s former clients. You can use these references to not only research work quality, but also to determine if the contractor is honourable and as a part of contractor security research. You’ll want to know if were any problems with the contractor’s previous work relationships.

Once you’ve selected a contractor, the next decision you must make is regarding access to your home. Are you planning on being present during the contractor’s work? Will you be stopping by occasionally to check in? Or will you trust the contractor to work alone in your home?

Contractor Security Tips

If the contractor is working alone, will you be there to let him or her into the house in the morning and lock up at night? Or do you feel comfortable giving a relative stranger a copy of your house key and the code to your security system? This is an important decision you will need to make regarding contractor security.

You will also need to find out if the contractor is planning on using any subcontractors and, if yes, how these people will be monitored. Your contractor may be a trustworthy person, but the three other people he lets into your home to help complete the job may not be. Find out how your contractor knows everyone else involved and make sure you can trust all of these people.

But material theft is not the only contractor security concern you will have. It’s also important to ensure that a contractor isn’t stealing your time. When contracting out work, you need to know if everyone is arriving on time and if they’re working the hours they’re being paid for.

An excellent way to prevent theft and increase productivity is by using security cameras. Just knowing that they’re being watched makes many people more honest and productive and the cameras will record what time the workers start and stop their work. If you have Internet-enabled cameras you’ll be able to watch what’s going on inside your house from anywhere with an Internet connection.

If you don’t have cameras, you can use your home alarm system to make sure people are entering and leaving on time. If you notice that your alarm is being disarmed or armed at odd times, you can be pretty sure that your contractors are not working the hours they say they are!

In addition, at the end of the day when the workers are ready to lock up, they can turn on the alarm and leave your home secure. This improves contractor security a great deal.

Security research conducted in Gainesville, Florida shows that most residential burglars gain entrance to homes by the front door. This security research contrasts with the popular image of criminals lurking in the shadows and sneaking through a side window under the cover of night.

31.97 percent of residential burglars entered homes via a single swing door. Many people consider their doors to be the most secure part of their homes, but this security research study shows that to be false. If a criminal wants to enter your home, chances are that he or she will do so in the same way you do: through the front door.

When securing your front door a good place to start is my installing a high quality dead bolt. Dead bolt locks are much harder to break or pick than other types of door locks. It’s also important to consider the strength and frame of the door. A strong lock will not protect you if the door frame can be easily pried open or ripped off or the door itself can be kicked in.

However, don’t stop at your door. It is important to ensure your security system properly covers all possible weaknesses in your property. The Florida study states that the second most frequent entry point is through sliding windows. 23.03 percent of all burglaries began this way.

Security Research can Help Secure Properties

According to the security research cited above, double hung windows accounted for 8.06 percent of break ins and sliding glass doors (the types usually found at the back of homes) were the target in 6.26 percent of burglaries.

Security bars are an excellent way to prevent unwanted access through windows. They can be provide physical barriers to entry and can be installed on the inside or the outside of the window. A number of styles are available.

The variety of different entry points underscores an important point: your home must be secured with several types of security devices and you cannot take the risk of only protecting one or two areas. Keep this security research in mind always. Taking a comprehensive security approach and applying several different types of security in each area of your home will greatly decrease the chance of a break in.

Criminals do not want to be seen. It is much easier to break into a dark property and stay hidden in the shadows than it is to walk through a lighted area where people will notice you. This is why many break and enters occur at night and why security lighting is such a good way to prevent crime.

Installing security lighting is an excellent way to protect your home or office.

One of the best ways to use security lighting to protect your property is to add perimeter motion-activated lights. These lights will turn on when movement is detected. Not only does this save energy, but it also can startle burglars and draw attention to anyone approaching your property. Leaving a light on all the time usually isn’t practical, but motion-activated lights are a real nuisance for anyone intent on burglarizing a home!

Using Security Lighting

Another great way to use security lighting to protect your home is by installing X10 programmable light timers. These can be scheduled to turn on and off at different times, making it look like people are inside going about their daily lives. A light that is on 24/7 (especially during daylight hours) is a good indication that the home is unoccupied. By creating an atmosphere where lights are automatically set to come on at different times and turned off during the day, no one will know when you’re at home and when you’re not!

Security lighting also makes it easier for security cameras to record details. In complete darkness, standard surveillance cameras won’t record anything but black. An infrared camera can help the situation, but having light shine on the area your cameras are recording is even better.

The positioning and placement of your security lighting is also important. If the paths from the street to your front door or the garage to your house are especially dark, you should definitely place lights in these locations. Not only will the lights prevent trips and falls, but they will also deter criminals and prevent ambushes.

Moving is stressful. It’s difficult to keep track of all of the tasks required as well as the movers, your belongings, your family and everything else. With all of this stress it’s easy to let your guard down and leave yourself, your home or your possessions vulnerable. However, moving security is important.

Here are a few quick tips that will keep you secure while you’re moving:

Moving Security Advice

• Always lock all doors when moving
  • It’s convenient to leave your front door unlocked while you carry boxes and furniture in and out. Unfortunately, an open or unlocked front door also gives thieves an easy opportunity to strike. Don’t leave unlocked doors unattended.
  • Check your new location for security features and flaws
    • Locate all weak points in the new property. Large hedges can be a great hiding place for potential burglars. A side door to the garage can be an easy entry point. Check all windows and doors and make sure they’re strong and secure. Change the locks on your new place. You have no idea how many people have copies of the keys.
  • Get references for your movers
    • These people are handling all of your important possessions. Make sure you can trust them. This is crucial for moving security.
  • Keep track of your belongings
    • When it comes to moving, being organized is imperative. Keep track of your belongings and make sure every box is moved. Using a numbering system can help with moving security. Label each box with a number and the name of the room it will be delivered to. Keep a master list of all boxes to make sure nothing is lost or stolen during the move. Don’t wait to unpack to make sure everything made it. If you do, you may find yourself in your new house two weeks later missing some of your valuables.
  • Make sure your financial and personal information is safe
    • Don’t pack items like birth certificates, passports and banking information. These items can be used to steal your identity. This is one a crucial aspect of moving security. Carry these important documents with you at all times until the move is complete. It’s also important to contact your bank, your credit card company and any other agencies to let them know you’re moving. You don’t want important personal information being mailed to your old location where it could end up in the wrong hands.
  • Don’t make it obvious that you’re moving
    • Thieves know how chaotic moving is. They will use this opportunity to take advantage. All of your belongings should always be in a safe place (either inside either of your properties or on a vehicle.)
  • Move your alarm service
    • Don’t leave it until the last minute. Let your alarm company know that you’re moving and arrange to have your service moved. You don’t want to move into your new property and find yourself unprotected.
  By following these moving security tips you can keep you, your property and your belongings safe.