Home Security
1. Install a home
security system. A home alarm can be an effective deterrent to criminal
intruders. A variety of systems are available, ranging from inexpensive,
battery operated door models to monitored, motion detecting systems. Put the sign
announcing the system in a prominent location.
2. Never open
your door to a stranger. Criminals can evaluate you and your home by posing
as a door-to-door salesperson, a neighbor who has lost a pet, a person needing
to use your phone, or a floral delivery person at the wrong address.
3. Install a
wide-angle door viewer. These are an inexpensive aid for identifying people
at your doorstep. If children are allowed to open the door under certain circumstances,
install a second viewer at your child's height. If you do not see anyone, don’t
open the door.
4. Never tell a
stranger that you are home alone. If they ask for your “husband” or the “man
of the house”, simply tell them that he is unavailable.
5. Do not
broadcast your plans in public where others can overhear. Burglars can use
this information to determine whether your home might be an easy target in your
absence.
6. Keep your
house or apartment well lit. Use exterior motion-sensor lights and interior
lights plugged into timers to create the illusion of an occupied home when you
are away. Turn on a radio when you are not home.
7. Do not leave
windows open or uncovered. Prevent casual observers from looking directly
into your home. During the day, draw the drapes or position blinds to allow
just enough light for plants. At night, cover your windows completely.
8. Keep trees and
shrubbery around your home well trimmed. Overgrown bushes and trees often
provide excellent hiding places for criminals.
9. Plant
"defensive" shrubbery around your home, especially beneath windows. Bushes that feature
thorns or stiff, spiky leaves are not good places for hiding.
10. When moving
into a house or apartment, always change or re-key the locks or have the
tumblers reset. Otherwise, the previous resident - and anyone who had access
to their keys - has unrestricted access to your home.
11. Never hide an
extra key under a mat, in a flowerpot, or in any other easily accessible place.
Criminals know all the hiding places. Consider hiding your neighbor’s key
at your house and your keys at their house.
12. Lock your
doors when working in the yard, attic, laundry room, or any place away from
your home's entry areas. While you are busy elsewhere, burglars could easily
enter your home unnoticed.
13. Do not give
information to strangers on the telephone. Thieves often target homes using
information obtained from "telephone surveys".
14. If you use an
answering machine or voice mail, do not announce your name and number as part
of your message. Avoid giving criminals any information about you. A common
mistake is revealing your exact whereabouts in a message.
15. Consider
keeping a separate line or cellular phone as a security device. Taking one
phone off the hook renders other units on that line inoperable. Using a separate
line or cellular phone in your bedroom is a good precaution. Where is your cell
phone at night? Can you find it in the dark?
16. Never give
important information like travel plans or credit card numbers using a cellular
phone. For fewer than one hundred dollars, anyone can buy scanning
equipment and listen to your cellular phone conversation.