Keep your home safe from burglars

Are you doing all you can to keep your home safe from burglars? While it may be difficult and costly to keep out determined professional burglars, here are some simple cost-effective tips to help deter or even stop unwanted visitors from entering your home.

• Develop good security habits. Roughly one-third of all burglaries occur through unlocked doors and windows. You should establish a routine to follow before you leave home, such as making certain that all doors and windows are locked and alarm systems (if any), are turned on. In addition, don't hide house keys in obvious places, such as under doormats or on top of the doorframe.
• Make sure exterior doors are strong. The doors to your home should be made of metal or solid hardwood and be at least one inch thick. It is also important that your door frames are constructed equally well and that doors fit in their frames securely. A weak door or door frame renders a good lock useless. Add an extra lock for sliding glass doors to prevent them from being forced open or lifted off of their tracks.
• Deadbolt locks offer the best protection. Yet a lot of people don’t have deadbolts on their main door. The cylinder of the deadbolt (where the key is inserted) should be "pick resistant." Some deadbolts are locked with a key from the outside and a thumb turn on the inside. Others, known as double-cylinder locks, require keys on both the outside and the inside. If you install a double-cylinder lock, keep the key within reach of the door in case family members need to leave quickly due to a fire.
• Consider grilles. Although not aesthetically pleasing, grilles for the main door, sliding door and windows provide another level of protection and are recommended especially for ground floor units and even for first floor units. However, take note, if you are installing window grilles make sure that at least one window grille in each room can be opened in case of emergencies
• Consider a burglar alarm. Security systems vary in cost, but some systems offer a basic system which you can upgrade and customize to your preferences. The basic system includes a combination of door, window and sliding door sensors, motion sensors and a control box.
• Keep your home well lit. When you go out for the evening, leave a few lights on in the house, and leave the outside lights on, too. If you are going away for more than one night, put lights and a radio on automatic timers.
• Vacation time means extra precautions. You don't want to signal your absence with a pile of newspapers on your stoop and an overflowing mailbox. Temporarily stop your newspaper. If possible, you should ask a trusted friend or neighbor to stop by to collect the mail and check on your home while you're away.