Creating a Strong Home Security Plan

Crime remains a major concern for most homeowners. The reality of becoming a victim is frightening, yet many people don't know what steps are most effective at preventing crime.

There are many different tools for improving your chances of avoiding burglary. You may have retired neighbors who are home most of the time and know who should and shouldn't be around your house. You may have banded together with others on your block or in your neighborhood and created a formal neighborhood watch system. You may simply have a loud and intimidating dog that keeps criminals away.

All of these techniques are effective, but they aren't always reliable. Those retired neighbors may go on vacation. Your fellow watch members might get busy inside their own houses and not see someone approaching yours. And your barking friend may run off to chase a rabbit.

What homeowners need is protection that works all day, every day, with no intervention and a high degree of reliability. The following are some tips on ways to create a tougher target for aspiring thieves.

Monitor From Wherever You Are

With jobs, family commitments, and so much on the schedule these days, we all spend a good deal of time away from home. Criminals know that. They may have already been watching your home enough to know your usual schedule, and they will wait for the right opportunity to come by when no one is home.

Fortunately, there are ways to make sure that you know what's happening at home even when you aren't there. A quality security system can be an affordable way to prevent crime, and even save on your homeowner's insurance. As you look at ADT security prices, you'll see several options that provide meaningful functionality and have a real-world impact on reducing the chances that you'll be a victim of a crime.

These systems have a variety of methods for keeping you in direct contact with what's going on at home, via their call centers, video surveillance, and remote system management.

Shed Some Light On The Subject

Darkness is a thief's friend. Their ability to avoid detection is much better when there is not much light around the home.

Start with deterrents. Have lantern posts and large outdoor lights that run from dusk until dawn. Use solar-powered walkway lights to make a thief's approach more visible. Many homes can be sufficiently illuminated to discourage thieves with just these tools.

From there, focus your efforts. A brightly-lit entryway is an excellent tool. They also have an element of deterrent power, but they can also be motion-activated or, if you think you hear something outside, remotely activated from elsewhere in the home. Your efforts to brighten entryways--on all sides of the home--will contribute greatly to keeping a would-be burglar away.

Slow Thieves Down

Sometimes we assume that our home must be an impregnable fortress to thwart robbers. That's not exactly the case. It doesn't have to be impossible for thieves to get in, just slow or complicated.

The first thing is to simply lock your doors and windows. It seems like people would do it, but many don't. One police department reports that 38% of burglars gain entry through an unlocked door or window. That's over one-third of homes that practically invited the thieves to come in!

It shouldn't be that easy. Lock your doors and windows, and from there, consider the types of locks. While thieves can eventually make their way through almost any form of lock, they won't try for very long. The more time they spend in plain view of neighbors and passing motorists, the better the chance they are seen and reported. So use at least two locks on exterior doors. Consider positioning interior contents to obstruct windows. Plant bulky shrubs outside those windows.

There is no failsafe way of preventing burglaries. Things can play right into the criminal's hands sometimes, or the thieves themselves may be fast enough and experienced enough to circumvent your best-laid plans. But you can drastically reduce the odds of a break-in if you put these common-sense, affordable measures in place and keep them in good working order.