Taking a close look at ways to keep your family safe and protect what is important to you. Part 4 of a 5-part series.
Protect your home
Your first defense in protecting your home and property from being burglarized starts at your front door. Since most burglars enter through an unlocked door or window, you should be certain to lock up before you leave for the day.
Motion-activated lights and well-trimmed landscaping are deterrents, as well.
But the best course of defense, according to convicted burglars, is to have a security alarm system. Thieves can easily determine if your home has an alarm system, based on yard signs, visible door and window sensors and / or other visible equipment such as the keypad or control panel. Once an alarm system is discovered, thieves are three times as likely to move on to another home in the area.
In previous articles HERE and HERE, we’ve given you tips to make your house less likely to be burglarized.
But what if they get in?
What if a burglar makes it inside your house despite your best efforts? Most burglaries only last an average of 8-12 minutes, yet they are able to steal thousands of dollars worth of personal belongings. Is there any way to stop these opportunists from stealing that much of your property?
Well, maybe. Interviewers have gathered valuable insight from convicted burglars. While incarcerated, some of these property thieves have been willing to sing like canaries. They have told researchers where they go and what they’re looking for, once they’re inside a home.
Burglars confess
Burglars usually head straight to the master bedroom.
Why? As one “career criminal” told an NBC investigative reporter, “You always want to hit the [master] bedrooms first. Because there’s going to be a safe in the closet, or under the bed…The jewelry is always in the bedroom. Guns…are usually in the closets in the bedroom.”
Here are the places they will search first:
- Beds, between the mattresses
- Drawers and closets
- Boxes in closets
- Stove
- Freezer
- Toilet tank
- Fish tank
- Bookshelves
What are they looking for? According to a study funded by the Alarm Industry Research and Education Foundation:
- Cash, credit cards, check books
- Jewelry
- Guns
- Small electronics
- Prescription drugs
- Small items that are easy to sell.
Since you know where a thief is looking and what they’re after, plan to thwart their efforts with these 6 tips:
- Invest in a high quality, fireproof safe. Ideally, locate it where a thief will not expect to find it. Choose a safe that can be secured to the wall or bolted to the floor. This will make it that much more difficult for your important belongings to be taken in the event of a burglary. Also, investing in a large upright, fireproof gun safe, is an excellent decision, as they are typically too bulky and heavy to steal.
- Don’t be obvious! Hide your valuable possessions somewhere other than the master bedroom closet.
- Add security alarm sensors to your locked gun cabinet, jewelry box or anywhere you store costly collectibles.
- Keep small electronics out of sight when not in use. A kitchen counter with an assortment of electronic notebooks, chargers and laptops will provide an easy target for any thief.
- Lock up your prescription meds. Consider keeping them in your secured fireproof safe.
- Keep extra cash, checkbooks and credit cards locked in your safe.
A burglar wants to be in and out of your house quickly. If you’ll take a few extra steps to hide and protect the obvious targets, your loss will be reduced in the event of a burglary.
Finally, if you haven’t yet done so, consider installing a security alarm system for your home or business. There are many new features and benefits that make today’s alarm systems an attractive investment for home and business owners. They’re easy to install, economical and they provide one of the best lines of defense against theft.
When you consider that the average home burglary results in property loss of more than $2,200.00, the benefits of a monitored alarm system make the decision easy! It’s not only a financially sound investment, it’s peace of mind for you and your family.
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ProSec, serving the Colorado Front Range, from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins, is happy to provide world-class security, video, and automation systems for your home and business. Visit the website to compare your choices. Call 1-303-835-8100 to speak to one of our security professionals about how you can upgrade your security system.