Tips
for Keeping You "Home Invasion" Free
by Scott Shaper
Home
invasion formerly known as burglary is the type of crime that
you can do something to prevent. In this article I am going to
address preventative steps to protect your home from being unlawfully
entered. What is home invasion? Home invasion is where someone
enters a dwelling with the intent to commit a felony, larceny
(theft), or assault. In most cases these criminals look for easy
opportunities or in other words look for the path of least resistance.
In fact it is stated that statistically a home invasion criminal
will not at the most spend more then two minutes attempting to
break into a home. By understanding this, your best defense is
to create a path of great resistance. Here are some suggestions
to securing your home.
Install
deadbolt locks. The downside of deadbolt locks is that the deadbolt
goes into the wood jam, which makes up the doorway. Because most
doorway jams are about three quarters of an inch think, the deadbolt
bolt is not long enough to penetrate into the stud. A good kick
or two and that door is going to fly open causing the door jam
to split. During my time as a Police Officer I had to kick open
a few doors and it's not all that hard to do. The alternative
is to get steel jams. The steel jams will not splinter like wood
thus making it very difficult to kick in the door. I have also
had my experiences attempting to kick in a steel jammed door,
in which I was unsuccessful. We usually had to use a battering
ram, or have the Fire Department come and pry the door open. This
took some time and caused a lot of commotion something a criminal
is not going to waste their time doing.
Unfortunately
installing steel jams on all your exterior doors is a costly proposition.
However in researching this article I came across a company that
does have an excellent alternative. What they provide is a steel
plate called "Strike Master II" it's about five feet
long and easily installs on the door jam. It is installed on the
side of the door jam that the doorknob and deadbolt secure to.
By installing their product you in a sense have just created a
steel jam but without any of the high cost, or extensive labor.
For more information about all their products you can find their
website on the resources page of http://www.crimeawareness101.com.
Patio
doors are another entryway that needs to be secured. Many people
do not realize that some patio doors can be lifted up slightly
and disengage from their locking mechanism. This is especially
true for patio doors that are a few years old and the jams have
expanded. An easy and cheap way to secure a patio door is to put
a pole in between the patio door end and the wall. Place the pole
on the track where the patio door slides when opening up. This
will prevent the patio door from being opened until the pole is
removed. You can use an old broom stick handle or even a board.
You want to cut it to the same length as the open track area when
the patio door is closed.
To
keep the door from being lifted up and removed you can install
a flat headed metal screw into the top of the patio door frame
one should be about six inches from the edge and one in the middle.
Make sure the screw is just above the door so that it will not
interfere with the door sliding open or close. You can also purchase
products, which have been specially designed for patio door security
such as patio door security bars, patio door pins, and patio door
locks, etc. You can find these items at your local hardware store.
The same thing goes for your windows make sure they are locked
and secured the same way.
Note: be careful when you are installing
anything, which requires you to drill into your patio doorframe
you could damage the door, or break the glass. If you are not
that handy I would recommend you hire a contractor to do the work
for you.
Lighting is an excellent deterrent to criminal
activity at night. I recommend if possible installing outside
lighting on motion detectors. That way the lights will go on when
motion is detected. Many times they will detect small animals
or some other thing and go on. Just because they go on doesn't
necessarily mean there is someone there. But having them go on
is a good deterrent if someone was. Like stated above thieves
don't want to make a scene, and they surely do not want a light
shining on them. If possible, it is suggested that you install
floodlights on each of the four corners of your home. That way
you could have perimeter lighting with motion detectors watching
all sides of your home. When purchasing a motion detector spend
the extra few dollars and get one of good quality.
Home alarm systems are also becoming popular
and are a good deterrent. If you get just an audible alarm that
will help, but I recommend that if you are getting an alarm system,
get one that has a service that monitors your home and will contact
the proper authorities when the alarm goes off. If someone does
enter your home you want the police to be notified as quickly
as possible. Also make sure your alarm company knows which police
department to contact for your jurisdiction. We had numerous calls
for police service from alarm companies whose customer's residence
was outside of our jurisdiction, this caused unnecessary delays
in police response. If you do get an alarm make sure to put the
notification stickers on the doors that state "This home
is protected by..." A would-be criminal might see those stickers
and look for a house that isn't alarmed.
When going on vacation I recommend you have
a friend of family member (someone trustworthy) to stay in your
home while you are gone. If that is not possible have a neighbor,
friend, or family member keep an eye on your home and come by
daily to take in the mail and any newspapers you have delivered.
They should also do a daily walk around the house and check to
make sure all windows and doors are secure. We have had people
go away for a couple weeks only to come back and find there home
broken into. Later it was determined that their home was broken
into only a couple days after they left. The rest of the time
it sat wide open to the elements of weather, and possibly another
thief.
If
you do not have anyone available to check your home, and take
in your mail, you can have your mail held for you at the post
office. You can do this online at http://dunsapp.usps.gov/HoldMail.jsp.
Remember the more difficult you make it
to get into your home the less likely you are of being a Home
Invasion victim.
For more information of Home Invasion and
what you can do check out the book "Crime Awareness 101"
©
Scott Shaper
Scott
Shaper is a former police officer with over fourteen years law
enforcement experience. He is also the author of the book "Crime
Awareness 101", and the operator of the website, http://www.crimeawareness101.com.
Visit his site for more crime prevention articles and information
about his book.