Author: David Hobbsbr
Source: ezinearticles.combr
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Mark Twain is famously quoted as having said, Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Much the same can be said about home security. We think about it, we talk about it but we often do little about it. The most common reason seems to be cost. Thats an unfortunate obstacle to implementing home security measures on your property because, frankly, the effort doesnt need to cost you a great deal.

With just a few changes to your habits, your landscape and your home, you and your family can be much safer than you are today. I hope youll find this article a helpful guide to getting started on the road to better home security without breaking the bank.

Before going into details, remember that your real objective here isnt to turn your property into a fortress. After all, a completely secure home would be little more than a prison to its occupants. What you do want to accomplish is deterrence. Basically, you want a criminal to take a gander at your property and decide there are easier pickings a few houses over. To do that, you simply need to cost a crook time, deny him tools and leave him exposed. Lets talk about time.

A criminal wants to spend no more than 10-15 minutes getting into your home, gathering as many valuables as he can and getting out the door. Thats a beginning to end process. Your goal is to slow him down. If the obstacles you put in his way make the length of time required to get in your home too risky relative to the reward, hell skip your home. So what are some inexpensive obstacles?

Use your deadbolts and security locks. The knob lock on your door is so easy to bypass, it might as well not be there. I can get into my own home in under 15 seconds using a credit card. Imagine how little trouble a professional criminal would have getting into yours. A key lock deadbolt, however, cant be jimmied with a credit card. That means a crook has to invest extra time to actually pick your lock (time consuming), smash in your door (great way to call attention to yourself), find an alternate way in or move on. Get in the habit of always locking your deadbolt at night and when you leave your home. A few extra seconds of your time is hardly as inconvenient as coming home to find your belongings missing and your house ransacked.

Install security locks for your windows. Much like the tab-lock on my door, I can slip open the crescent latches on my windows with a credit card in under 15 seconds. That is, I could do it. I cant anymore because Ive replaced them all with security locks. Do this for all ground floor or patio/deck accessible windows. Your criminal may smash in a window pane and simply reach in to flip the lock so window locks requiring keys are the most secure. Providing, of course, you dont get lazy and just leave the key in the lock.

So now weve cost a would-be criminal time. Stage one of our anti-theft triangle is pretty solid. Lets move onto our next deterrent which involves denying him the tools he might use.

Dont give criminals a hand. Youd be surprised how often criminals find themselves daunted by a homes security only to find the perfect tool they need in the owners own back yard. Dont leave ladders out for your criminals to use. Dont leave tools that can be used as pry-bars on your doors and windows. If you dont have a secure place to store a ladder, at least use a cable lock and lock it to something solid.

Another tool (one for you rather than for the criminals) is a security system. Now, this obviously isnt an inexpensive home security method (the whole point of this article) so lets refine that to – the illusion of a security system. See if you can purchase yard signs and window stickers from a reputable security company. Many will agree to sell you signs without requiring a contract simply because the sign is free advertising for them. You can also purchase a fake security camera on the internet. In conjunction with your yard signs, both of these tools can deter a criminal from even bothering with your property if there are easier pickings available a few houses down.

Many of us have learned a hard lesson after locking ourselves out and have decided to solve the problem by leaving an emergency key hidden outside. Criminals know this. The first places theyll look are any hiding places by the front door. That includes above the door, under a welcome mat and flower pots. If you must leave a hidden key outside, leave it as far away from the door as you can and hide it in the most inconspicuous place you can find.

Your neighbors represent another criminal tool; unwittingly, of course. Its common practice for burglars to prep a site by posing as repairmen, salesmen, potential home buyers, anything that might get a neighbor to let his or her guard down. Once suspicion has been allayed, the criminal will milk your neighbor for all kinds of information in an effort to learn about your work schedule, sleep schedule, travel habits and anything else that will give them insight into when youre home and when youre gone. The only real way to protect yourself here is to ensure you and your neighbors are educated. Work together, get to know each other and make a point to protect each other.

The point is to take the time to talk to them and let them know what they need to know such as the fact that, should you ever hire a house sitter, youll let your neighbors know who to look out for. Likewise should a relative come to visit for an extended period. You want your neighbors to be suspicious should they see somebody wandering around your property without you having advised them in advance they will be there.

This is actually a good chance to move on to exposure and start with a neighborhood watch. As youre already chatting up your neighbors, why not see if theres interest in forming a neighborhood watch? Your local police very likely have a neighborhood watch program and will be happy to educate you on how to get one going. Every time you or your neighbors do your rounds represents a risk of exposure criminals dont want. Just remember that your job is to observe and report. NEVER put yourself in danger by confronting a suspicious person directly.

Another element of exposure is simply lighting. Whether you go with motion activated security lights or just keep up a good habit of having your front, side and back doors well illuminated at night, youll make your property far less appealing than somebody who likes to keep their property dark. If youre trying to go green and save energy, use an energy efficient bulb. I want to save the environment too, but not at the risk of my familys safety.

Also keep your hedges short and neatly trimmed. Having tall bushes near ground-level windows gives your criminals the perfect hiding place while they work. A cop or pedestrian could walk right by and wouldnt see a thing. Deny them any and all hiding places.

Finally, while weve focused on visual exposure, dont discount sound. Everything from bells on a back gate to a yapping dog can frustrate a crook and have him spending too much time looking over his shoulder for it to be worth his while. But while were on the topic, the issue of dogs is something that warrants addressing.

All too many of us dog owners are filled with a false sense of security. Yes, a barking dog does a lot to dissuade some criminals. For others, it does nothing. Do NOT depend on your dog to protect your property. Thats entirely too much responsibility and places him at risk. Youre much better off relying on Fido to alert you to an attempted break in than hoping hell actually thwart one. But that means applying a bit of common sense. If you let your dog sleep in your bed with you, hes just as unlikely as you to realize somebody is rummaging around downstairs and depriving you of your valuables. Let your pup sleep on the main floor where hell immediately recognize an attempted intrusion and will bark to alert you.

And thats where Im going to leave things, folks. There are plenty more low-to-no cost ways you can protect yourself, your family and your property but this is long enough already. Your best bet is to simply put yourself in a criminals shoes and analyze your home to determine how youd break in. You know it better than anybody else. If you can implement a strategy that would keep you out, you can feel somewhat confident that youve made any potential criminals life difficult enough hell probably move on to greener pastures. Best of luck and stay safe.

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pDavid has contributed to many blogs and articles on security, the ethical use of wireless surveillance cameras and the proper and effective ways to include a target=_new href=http://www.dgswireless.com/ rel=nofollowfake security cameras/a into a plausible home security design. Learn how you can protect your home with free information and guidance related to a target=_new href=http://www.infobarrel.com/Inexpensive_Home_Security_Tips rel=nofollowfake security cameras/a and other security measures./pbr
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