Basic Home Security Information

Basic Home Security Information

This page contains basic information about protecting your house, home security systems and neighborhood crime prevention. You can find more in-depth information by using the website directory on the right hand side of this page.

Whether you live in an apartment, single family home, mobile home or any other type of dwelling, security should always be something that is considered. Many people think that they need an expensive security system but, even though home security systems are an integral part of an overall home protection plan, there are plenty of other measures that can be taken.

Risk Assessment

If you are interested in making your home more secure, one of the first steps to take is a risk assessment evaluation. You don’t need a professional to come into your home in order to assess your risks. You can just take a look around at your surroundings and combine that with a little research and before you know it, you will have accomplished the very first task. Later, when you decide to have a home security system installed, it may be a good idea to actually get a professional assessment just for the security risks of your particular dwelling but for now we will just press ahead.

Your first risk assessment assignment is to do some research. You can go to your local police headquarters and ask them some questions about your neighborhood. The local police station is one of the best sources for getting specific crime statistics for your neighborhood. There are also plenty of online resources for this task. One of my favorite sites for neighborhood statistics is the city-data.com website. You can go to that website and type in the name of your city and you will be presented with much detailed information about your city. For statistics on your own neighborhood, the local police are still the best.

Take a look around your neighborhood. How far away is the closest fire department? How far to the nearest police station? Keep in mind that some neighborhoods are more at risk than others. You might feel that you live in a fairly safe neighborhood because you are surrounded by nice homes with homeowners that really take care of their property. If you were a burglar, wouldn’t that be the exact type of neighborhood that you would want to burglarize? People with nice homes usually have nice stuff. Do you live in a gated community? Do police cars routinely drive by your home? These are just a few of the questions that you can ask yourself when doing your evaluation.

Home Evaluation

How secure is your home? Do you have solid exterior doors with deadbolt locks? Is your home at the end of the road? Do you have sufficient lighting for the exterior of your home? Burglars tend to gravitate toward homes that are not well lit, are located at or near the end of a road and provide little or no resistance to home intrusion. If you were a burglar, would you consider your home to be a good target?

Start with the front door. Your front door should be made of solid core wood construction and include a deadbolt lock in addition to a traditional keyed lock. A wide-angle viewer should be installed at eye level. Never rely on a door chain to keep out the bad guys. All they need to do in order to gain entrance is to give the door a good kick and then they’re in. Solid door frames and kickplates are other means of securing your front door. Inspect all of your other doors, including your garage door, and make sure they are all secure.

The next thing to evaluate is your windows and sliding glass doors. Don’t forget to inspect the windows on the second or third level of your home as well! All windows should have key-operated sash locks. It is a good idea to only allow the window to be opened 6 inches when approached from the outside of the house. It is also important to include an emergency release from the inside in case of fire. Bad guys can get into the second floor windows by climbing trees or by using a ladder that you have stored on the outside of your house. Don’t give them any more help than they already have!

After you have made the evaluations that are listed above, do it again at night. This time, also take note of the areas surrounding your home that are not well lit. Are there any areas that could use some more lighting? It is especially important to have good lighting at all of the entrance points to your home with special emphasis on your front door. Having that wide-angle viewer on your door will not do much good if you cannot even discern who or what is at your door.

Making Your Home Secure

One of the best ways to make your home more secure is to install security equipment. If you want to have the ultimate protection for your house then you should consider home monitoring. When you sign up with one of the home monitoring security companies, they will send someone to your house in order to do a complete evaluation in order to determine the best security measures for your particular needs. By having your security system monitored, you will have the peace of mind in knowing that your house is being monitored 24 hours a day and that if anything goes wrong, the proper authorities can be alerted immediately. The bad guys tend to steer clear of homes that are monitored.

Other than installing a home security system, there are also plenty of other measures that you can take in order to have a protected home. Some of the other security measures that you can take include:

• Installing Quality Locks and Deadbolts
• Adding a Peephole to your Front Door
• Installing Keyed Sash Locks on your Windows
• Installing Exterior Lights with Motion Detectors
• Keeping Shrubbery Trimmed Around Windows and Doors
• Install Window Decals and Yard Security Signs
• Take Pictures of your Valuables
• Insert a Stick in the Rail of Sliding Glass Doors
• Get to Know Your Neighbors
• Keep your Valuables Out of Sight
• Change your Locks Whenever you Move
• Always Keep Windows and Doors Locked
• Get a ‘Watch’ Dog
• Keep Ladders and Tools Locked in the Garage
• Make it Look Like you are Home Even when you are Away

In the end, your home will be as secure as you make it. Even if you do make the decision to go with one of the home security monitoring companies, or install your own products and devices, you still can go the extra mile and make your home as secure as it possibly can be. There are no security measures available that will make your house 100% burglarproof. All you can do is help to cut down on the odds of the bad guys choosing your home rather than moving on to the next target.