Creative Low-Cost to
No-Cost Ways to Avoid a Break-In
Think Like a Bad Guy
to Deter Burglary
While most folks are familiar with basic home
security---things like high-quality locks and a monitored security
system---there are numerous creative low-cost to no-cost ways to deter the
bad guys. But you have to think like a burglar.
Consider incorporating some of the following 10 items to help
keep your home secure whether you're away for a few minutes, a few days or
all season.
- Monitored, closed-circuit cameras are great, but
they're also expensive. At a glance, fake cameras can deter criminals,
especially kids and other inexperienced thieves.
- Stop delivery on mail and newspapers or enlist a
neighbor to pick them up daily. Also ask your neighbor to clear your
porch of flyers and menus if they're left by solicitors. And don't leave
boxes for new items by the curb, particularly electronics. They're like
signage announcing "Great Stuff to Steal Inside."
- Keep your landscape neat and grass manicured when
you're away. Nothing says you're not home like an uncut lawn .
- Install timers on interior and exterior lights and
even on your television.
- Pretend to say goodbye to someone inside every time
you leave to deter anyone possibly casing your home.
- Don't leave your ladder outdoors and help a potential
burglar gain easier access to an upper entrance or window.
- Angle interior mirrors away from the control panel of
your security system so as not to offer thieves the opportunity to study
your alarm from outside.
- Don't list status updates on social media. Nothing
announces to the world that you're not home quite like a public online
post announcing that you're not home.
- Display generic security system signage and decals.
But don't use signs branded by the company that monitors your system.
Putting a thief in touch with your monitoring company can help them work
around your alarm.
- Pack up your car before departing on a trip in the
privacy of your garage with the door closed. Again, avoid announcing to
anyone who happens to see that you're leaving.
Fortunately, burglars are essentially lazy opportunists. In
most cases, it's not your home in particular they're looking to burglarize;
it's any home that provides easy access. Give the bad guys a reason to avoid
yours, and they likely will. But you have to put on your thinking cap---or in
this case, your hoodie and dark glasses---and think like a burglar.
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