Home Security Checklist - 10 Simple Steps to Securing Your House Interior - Residential Security

Homeowners can stop most Residential Break and Enters (B & E). B & E offences are perpetrated mostly by unsophisticated criminals who seize immediate opportunities. Unfortunately, opportunities provided by homeowners themselves.

Specific things (opportunities) the potential offender looks for:

\"Home Security\"

1) Homes which appear unoccupied (i.e. Owner/renter on vacation) - lawns not mowed, newspapers piled at the front door, mail accumulation, no lights at times (usually night) when a family might be expected to be at home;

Home Security Checklist - 10 Simple Steps to Securing Your House Interior - Residential Security

2) Homes and neighborhoods where the owners/renters appears to be at work - mail in mailbox, packages at door, advertising flyers left at front door. A simple act of ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door can confirm this;

3) Homes in upscale neighborhoods (more to steal);

4) Open garages (entry point to the house, place to hide or steal contents);

5) An easy method of entry offering concealment - fenced-in or hedged back yards, rear or side doors/windows completely or partially shielded from view by fences, screened patios, shrubs, sheds, basement window wells;

6) Easy entry points - unlocked doors/windows, easy-to-open doors/windows (sliding windows or patio doors that can be lifted out of their tracks), breakable glass in or near doors that could allow door to be unlocked, doors that can easily be forced open using a foot, plastic card, crowbar or chisel (poor quality locks or poor installation).

Here are 10 ways to Target Harden your Dwelling whether you are away for the day or for a lengthy trip:

1) Create Light and Sound. Use automatic timers for your lights inside and motion detector lighting outside your house. New timers have a random on/off time and battery backup in case of power outages. Make it look like your house is occupied both during the day as well as at night. Attach lights and radios to these timers.

2) Leave a key with a trusted friend or neighbor so they can check, at least every 48 hours, on your home. Some home insurance policies stipulate such regular checks of your home or you void your insurance coverage. Consider a house sitter.

3) Create that lived-in look. For lengthy trips away from home, have a neighbor park a car in your driveway, keep your front door clear of newspapers/brochures and mow grass/remove snow.

4) Ensure all windows, all doors and all garage doors are locked. Disconnect power to automatic garage doors. Proper dead bolt, hinge, lock, latch and door frame installation is important to ensure doorways and windows cannot be pried open, spread apart or screws removed to allow easier forced entry into your home. Change locks on new homes or if your key has been lost. If they want in make breaking glass the only option for a criminal. Glass can be hardened, especially in and near doors, with tempered and special break-proof laminates. Use steel solid exterior doors only. Install through-door viewers to ensure you can see who in at your door before you open it. Video surveillance cameras connected to your PC and also your PDA are now reasonably priced.

5) Install an alarm system that wails loudly when tripped. Just like the flashing alarm light in your automobile, have a similar visible indicator in your front and back windows. Make potential intruders know that you have a burglar alarm system.

6) Install bars or grill work in your basement windows (these can be opened from inside in case of fire). A window well provides a convenient place for a would-be thief to take lots of time to enter your home through the basement.

7) Don't leave your garage door opener in your car when you are at work. If a thief breaks into your automobile they know your home address from your vehicle permit. If you leave your garage door opener in the vehicle, they now also have easy access to your home, while you are at work.

8) Document your possessions. Take Photos and/or Videotape all your valuables. Every year video your entire home, belongings and property. Record serial numbers on large valuables. Store all this information off-site. You now have a record of all your property incase of theft or fire.

9) Register and mark valuables through Operation Identification (contact your local Police). Obtain an engraver from your Community Police Office or buy one. Etch or engrave your driver's license number (not SSN or SIN) on valuables. If stolen and later found, Police can check with Motor Vehicles for your name and address. Keep minimum cash and valuables in your home. Secure valuables off-site (bank safety deposit box).

10) Maintain a good neighbor community. Organize a Neighborhood Watch [http://www.neighbourhoodwatchregistry.com/]. Look out for each other. That snoopy neighbor can be a perfect burglar alarm system.

Your home and property are part of a community and neighborhood. There is always strength in numbers. Expand your home security network. Work to have your community burglar unfriendly. Clearly let the bad guys know, "Go Somewhere Else"!

Home Security Checklist - 10 Simple Steps to Securing Your House Interior - Residential Security

Carl Chesal is a business and channel development consultant, trainer, internet marketer and professional photographer. He operates BizFare Enterprise Inc, providing business, marketing, and internet marketing consulting services. Bizfare Enterprise also operates a number of secure on-line shopping sites, like Home and Body How To Plans Recipes Hobbies and Collectibles.

How to Stop Home Break-Ins - Eight Simple Tips to Prevent Burglary and Enhance Security

Burglars break into a home every 15.4 seconds according to the FBI. It's the most common threat to your home's security. With some minor changes, you can protect your home from break-ins.

Burglars want to get into a house quickly and quietly, so if you make your home difficult to break into, they'll usually move on. Here are eight easy ways to make yourself less of a target and beef up the security on your home.

\"Home Security\"

1. Lock all windows and doors. This one may seem silly, but many burglars get into homes because the owner forgot to lock their windows or doors. And don't just keep your windows and doors locked when you're gone-lock them at night when you're asleep too.

How to Stop Home Break-Ins - Eight Simple Tips to Prevent Burglary and Enhance Security

Some windows come with special interlocking mechanisms designed to prevent burglars from slipping credit cards or similar items in and unlatching the lock. If you have a window with this interlock system, make sure the windows are aligned properly, or the lock won't protect you adequately.

2. Hide spare keys in less obvious places. Maybe you keep a spare key under the welcome mat. On top of the doorframe. In the garage under a paint can. In a stone turtle in your garden.

Burglars know to look for spare keys in these places. Find somewhere more hidden and less obvious to keep your spare key.

3. Beware of open windows. Don't windows open while you're not at home. A burglar can easily get in. If you leave windows open at night, only open them about six inches, and make sure they can't be opened further from the outside. And never leave windows near doors open, or the burglar could reach in and unlock the door.

4. Reinforce any glass near or in a door. A window near a door is a prime target for burglars. A burglar could break the glass, then reach in and unlock the door. If you have a choice, don't put windows within one foot of a door. If you already have windows near the door, or have glass in or around your door, make sure the glass is tempered safety glass. This glass is four times stronger than regular glass, so a burglar won't be able to break it easily.

5. Get a quality, 1" deadbolt. Basic locks can easily be picked or bypassed. Deadbolts, on the other hand, extend from the door into the doorframe, creating a strong lock that's tough to beat. Multi-point locking systems, with several deadbolts spread up and down the door, provide even greater security.

6. Protect your entry doors from kick-ins. The most common method of forced entry is to . Many doors are easy to kick in, even if they have a deadbolt. That's because the area around the lock is reinforced with wood. When a burglar kicks at the lock, the lock often rips straight through the wood around the lock.

To better protect your door, get a 20-gauge metal plate to reinforce the lock area. A deadbolt with a lock area reinforced by metal, is virtually impervious to kick in attempts.

7. Reinforce your patio door. Most patio doors have latches, not locks. Burglars can force latches open from the outside. A simple way to enhance the security of your patio door is to put a wooden block or rod in the track, preventing the door from being opened from the outside.

Burglars can also just lift the patio door off the track. Since patio doors are on rollers, they aren't actually secured to the track. To prevent this, make sure your rollers are working smoothly and your door isn't wobbly, as this indicates a burglar could easily pick the door up.

The best way to protect your sliding patio door is with an auxiliary foot lock. Foot locks have metal rods that extend into the metal track, creating a deadbolt for your patio door. This prevents the door from being opened even if the latch isn't in place, and it stops the door from being lifted.

8. Get a timer for your lights. Burglars often case neighborhoods, looking for homes where the lights are out night after night. This tells the burglar that the owners are out of town or on a trip, and that house.

Don't paint a target on your house. Get a light switch timer. These are available at most home improvement stores. They turn your lights on and off at a time you set. So you'll look like you're home even when you aren't.

How to Stop Home Break-Ins - Eight Simple Tips to Prevent Burglary and Enhance Security

If you're looking for windows, entry doors, and patio doors to enhance the security of your home, visit Mr. Rogers Windows. All products come standard with security and safety features to protect your home and family, including:

• Interlocking mechanisms for all double-hung and sliding windows
• Auxiliary foot locks for sliding patio doors
• Five-point locking systems for French doors
• Schlage 1" deadbolts and 20-gauge steel reinforced lock areas on all entry doors
• Multi-point locking systems on all fiberglass entry doors

To discover more information about secure windows, doors, and patio doors, visit:

http://www.mrrogerswindows.com/steel-doors.php
http://www.mrrogerswindows.com/sliding-doors.php

Home Security Checklist - 10 Simple Steps to Securing Your House Interior - Residential Security

Homeowners can stop most Residential Break and Enters (B & E). B & E offences are perpetrated mostly by unsophisticated criminals who seize immediate opportunities. Unfortunately, opportunities provided by homeowners themselves.

Specific things (opportunities) the potential offender looks for:

\"Home Security\"

1) Homes which appear unoccupied (i.e. Owner/renter on vacation) - lawns not mowed, newspapers piled at the front door, mail accumulation, no lights at times (usually night) when a family might be expected to be at home;

2) Homes and neighborhoods where the owners/renters appears to be at work - mail in mailbox, packages at door, advertising flyers left at front door. A simple act of ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door can confirm this;

3) Homes in upscale neighborhoods (more to steal);

4) Open garages (entry point to the house, place to hide or steal contents);

5) An easy method of entry offering concealment - fenced-in or hedged back yards, rear or side doors/windows completely or partially shielded from view by fences, screened patios, shrubs, sheds, basement window wells;

6) Easy entry points - unlocked doors/windows, easy-to-open doors/windows (sliding windows or patio doors that can be lifted out of their tracks), breakable glass in or near doors that could allow door to be unlocked, doors that can easily be forced open using a foot, plastic card, crowbar or chisel (poor quality locks or poor installation).

Here are 10 ways to Target Harden your Dwelling whether you are away for the day or for a lengthy trip:

1) Create Light and Sound. Use automatic timers for your lights inside and motion detector lighting outside your house. New timers have a random on/off time and battery backup in case of power outages. Make it look like your house is occupied both during the day as well as at night. Attach lights and radios to these timers.

2) Leave a key with a trusted friend or neighbor so they can check, at least every 48 hours, on your home. Some home insurance policies stipulate such regular checks of your home or you void your insurance coverage. Consider a house sitter.

3) Create that lived-in look. For lengthy trips away from home, have a neighbor park a car in your driveway, keep your front door clear of newspapers/brochures and mow grass/remove snow.

4) Ensure all windows, all doors and all garage doors are locked. Disconnect power to automatic garage doors. Proper dead bolt, hinge, lock, latch and door frame installation is important to ensure doorways and windows cannot be pried open, spread apart or screws removed to allow easier forced entry into your home. Change locks on new homes or if your key has been lost. If they want in make breaking glass the only option for a criminal. Glass can be hardened, especially in and near doors, with tempered and special break-proof laminates. Use steel solid exterior doors only. Install through-door viewers to ensure you can see who in at your door before you open it. Video surveillance cameras connected to your PC and also your PDA are now reasonably priced.

5) Install an alarm system that wails loudly when tripped. Just like the flashing alarm light in your automobile, have a similar visible indicator in your front and back windows. Make potential intruders know that you have a burglar alarm system.

6) Install bars or grill work in your basement windows (these can be opened from inside in case of fire). A window well provides a convenient place for a would-be thief to take lots of time to enter your home through the basement.

7) Don't leave your garage door opener in your car when you are at work. If a thief breaks into your automobile they know your home address from your vehicle permit. If you leave your garage door opener in the vehicle, they now also have easy access to your home, while you are at work.

8) Document your possessions. Take Photos and/or Videotape all your valuables. Every year video your entire home, belongings and property. Record serial numbers on large valuables. Store all this information off-site. You now have a record of all your property incase of theft or fire.

9) Register and mark valuables through Operation Identification (contact your local Police). Obtain an engraver from your Community Police Office or buy one. Etch or engrave your driver's license number (not SSN or SIN) on valuables. If stolen and later found, Police can check with Motor Vehicles for your name and address. Keep minimum cash and valuables in your home. Secure valuables off-site (bank safety deposit box).

10) Maintain a good neighbor community. Organize a Neighborhood Watch [http://www.neighbourhoodwatchregistry.com/]. Look out for each other. That snoopy neighbor can be a perfect burglar alarm system.

Your home and property are part of a community and neighborhood. There is always strength in numbers. Expand your home security network. Work to have your community burglar unfriendly. Clearly let the bad guys know, "Go Somewhere Else"!

Home Security Checklist - 10 Simple Steps to Securing Your House Interior - Residential Security

Carl Chesal is a business and channel development consultant, trainer, internet marketer and professional photographer. He operates BizFare Enterprise Inc, providing business, marketing, and internet marketing consulting services. Bizfare Enterprise also operates a number of secure on-line shopping sites, like Home and Body How To Plans Recipes Hobbies and Collectibles.

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