It only takes a little bit of time and planning
to get started securing your home in order
to protect your family and your property.
And, the time and effort are worth every second,
so let's get started with the Eight Easy Steps
to Secure Your Home and Family.
A well-lit property makes crime less likely
to occur. You can find all kinds of statistics
that support this claim, and strategically
placed lighting is one of the most easy and
practical ways to prevent crime.
You may even find that all you need to do
is to replace burned out bulbs that may be
in some of your porch or garage light fixtures.
So, survey your property and make sure all
your existing lights are working. Replace
burned out bulbs, and while you are out buying
new bulbsm check out some of the new LED lights
that are brighter and more energy efficient.
Also, motion detecting lights and lights with
timers are very effective at detering crime.
So, shop for these while you are out looking
for replacement bulbs.
Next, look around your property during different
times of the day, making mental notes of ideas
for places you can place strategic lighting.
Take a walk around the outside of your house
three times during the day: during daylight
hours, low-light evening or early morning,
and also in the dark of night. Look for easy-to-access
and dark areas, where a burglar might be able
to enter your property undetected. Then, think
about how you can light up those areas with
additional security lights or night lights.
Just head on down to the hardware store or
call your electician if you need help getting
lighting in the places where you need it.
Door locks are the first line of defense
against burglars. So why did a recent study
by Consumer Reports find that about 1 in 5
people still do not lock their doors and windows?
If you are reading this article, you probably
would rather be among the group who do lock
their doors and windows. However, if you find
yourself making exceptions, saying to yourself,
"I was going to go back and lock it later,"
then you are putting yourself in the un-secure
1 in 5 group! So, develop the habit of locking.
Some personal habits to help you get in the
good habit of locking doors can be as easy
as having a key on a string or lanyard, that
you can wear when out in the yard doing yardwork.
Use your key to lock up even if you are just
oging out for a short walk or over the neighbor's
place "for a few minutes." This makes it easy
to lock and unlock at all times.
if your default setting for all doors and
windows is "locked" rather than
open, then your default setting for protection
is "secure" rather than vulnerable.
Remember to lock the garage. Keep the garage
door closed and locked even if you are home
or "just going out for a few minutes."
Frost or cover over your garage windows so
that it is impossible to tell if your car
is in there or not.
Are your locks working well enough? Check
out your current door locks to make sure they
are working and sturdy. Consider upgrading
your locks and replacing weak doors. Even
if you don't have a lot of money to spend,
you can improve the security of weak door
locks by replacing the metal plate mounted
on the door jamb (it's the plate that the
lock’s bolt slides into) which is known as
the "strike." Consumer Reports found that
replacing a lock’s strike can improve the
strength of even the weakest locks. Another
easy-to-do improvement is to replace the short
mounting screws in the strike with longer
3-inch ones. The longer screws penetrate the
door jamb and reach to the wall studs. This
provides even more resistance and support
if someone tries to kick in your door.
Of course, deadbolts and more high security
locks are important, so consider replacing
yours if you have not already done so. It
just takes a trip to the local hardware store
or the local locksmith store, although we
admit that the time it takes to replace a
deadbolt always seems like more than you want
to spend. If you're not a do-it-yourselfer,
don't be intimidated! When you buy a deadbolt,
instructions are included. You will need a
power drill and a couple of correctly-sized
hole drills.
Consider adding locks to important interior
doors, as well, such as your bedroom. Good
locks should always be one of your first additions
as a homeowner or even as a renter.
Beefing up your locks is gratifying. But,
you may never even know what crime your new
or improved locks may prevent, when they do
their job preventing entry!
It makes obvious sense to most people to try
to make it look as if they are home when leaving
for an extended period. Even your neighbors
should never really know when you have gone
out, unless you tell them. So, a lot of folks
use light switch timers and TV or radio noise
that goes on and off using timers as well.
It's also a good idea to make sure it looks
as if there are several people in your home,
even if you are home alone. Consider that
you might want to at least have the TV on,
so that the lights glow through your windows,
even if you turn down the sound when you are
not realy watching it.
If you are going to be gone for several days,
don't leave telltale signs like mail or newspapers
piling up. Stop the mail, newspaper delivery
and also delivery services such as UPS and
FedEx. If you can trust your neighbor, you
might ask them to park a car in your driveway
from time to time.
How to Buy a Security Camera...
A neighborhood watch group is something that
is always recommended, but this also requires
that you trust your neighbors. You can probably
get some official help from your local law
enforcement. For example, the City of Memphis
posts the following recommendations on the
Web and also gives city residents help to
get going:
- Defind your neighborhood.
- Secure a meeting spot.
- Identify crime in your area.
- Get help from local law enforcement.
- Recruit neighbors.
- Stay active.
Contact your local police department to find
out of a Neighborhood Watch Group is appropriate
for you.
Dogs really do deter burglars. With that
in mind, trained guard dogs don't really make
the best pets. Obedience training and attack
training are entirely different. Only the
former is appropriate for a house pet. Nevertheless,
burglars know that dogs bite and dog bites
are full of bad bacteria that may send them
to the hospital, so they really do prefer
to avoid homes and properties that are defended
by Man's Best Friend.
Binoculars for seeing what's out there when
your security light turns on, pepper spray,
stun guns and firearms for the heaven forbid
case that you are confronted on your own property
and in your home. These are all important
in case your defenses are breached. We cover
these products in depth in other sections
of this Personal Security Guide by PersonalSecurityZone.com.
| What happens if someone invades
your home? Venturing out into your
home to conduct a search is one
of the most hazardous things you
can do. Dave says if you don't have
to, then don't. Dave demonstrates
an emergency situation where you
hear someone breaking into your
home. His instructions include:
grab your gun, take cover for concealment,
call the police, issue clear verbal
commands, leave the phone off the
hook so 911 can keep recording and
hearing, and at last if you do need
to venture out into your home to
clear your home or save loved ones
who are depending on you, Dave shows
how...
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potent and effective pepper sprays.
