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How to Improve Security at Home

, How to Improve Security at Home

A good home should be one which not only shelters its occupants and their possessions from the weather, but which also provides protection against intruders. There are a few techniques through which a home can be made more secure. Some of them involve expensive technology; others involve simple changes in behaviour. Let’s look at some of the ways in which the home can be protected.

Advertise Your Security

Burglars, vandals and other would-be trespassers are not stupid. Like any predator, they prefer easy targets to high-risk ones. If one house has a sign outside warning that CCTV is in operation, and another does not, then a burglar will, in all likelihood, target the apparently weaker property.

When scouting for potential targets, a burglar might look for is a point of entry. This means that substantial-looking doors and windows will dissuade, while flimsy ones will invite. Suffice to say that doors and windows should be kept close where possible – particularly if they are on the ground floor. If security cameras are conspicuously placed, they too can act as a deterrent.   Moreover, you can even invest in cameras which aren’t even real, thereby making your property seem more secure than it actually is.

As well as emphasising the strengths of your security arrangements, it’s also wise to downplay any weaknesses. If you should happen to be leaving the house empty for a while, it’s perhaps best not to advertise the fact over social media. Potential burglars may also look for more subtle indications that a property is empty. A slowly-building pile of post, for example, might give the game away. For this reason it’s often advisable to ask a neighbour, or some other trusted person, to collect your post and milk in order to prevent such a pile from building.

Another strategy employed by many holidaymakers is to leave a light switched on all night in order to give the impression that someone is in. The efficacy of this strategy is somewhat dubious; its ubiquity is such that almost every potential intruder will be familiar with it, and so is less likely to be fooled. A far better strategy is to introduce some automation into your lighting. Automated light switches can be purchased cheaply, and will introduce some rhythm to your lighting which will help to deter intruders.

A Guard Dog

The right breed of dog, given the right training, can make an excellent security system. They hold a number of advantages over technological solutions. Unlike a security camera, they are capable of detecting intruders via sight, smell and hearing, and of moving anywhere on your property. Unlike an alarm system, they can make a tremendous racket without requiring a code to remember or batteries to replace.

Burglars, as we have seen, prefer low-hanging fruit. Anything which might increase the likelihood of being apprehended will likely cause the burglar to turn tail and flee. A barking dog is therefore akin to kryptonite as far as burglars are concerned. Can you imagine trying to sneak around at night when such a racket it going on? Dogs are also uniquely capable of biting an intruder, should it come to it – though most will get the message and flee before it does.

That said, there are a few downsides to investing in a guard dog. The first and most obvious is that you have to care and look after it.  A dog which is large enough to be intimidating will also demand a considerable supply of food, along with regular exercise. The second downside is that guard dogs have to be trained in order to discriminate between strangers, and understand who is an intruder and who isn’t based on the time of day and other circumstances. Teaching a dog to blithely attack anyone other than yourself on sight is obviously not a sensible thing to do. The third barrier to entry is that you have to like dogs in order to own one. For these reasons, a guard dog is a sensible solution only for those who had planned on getting a dog anyway.

Like any security solution, a guard dog will more effective if its presence is advertised. This means that you might invest in a classic ‘beware of the dog’ sign, to proudly affix to your front gate. Of course, you might invest in such a sign even if you don’t yet have a dog!

Sheds and Outbuildings

Securing your home is a difficult task at the best of times. But this is especially in the case of sheds and other outbuildings. Such things are often targeted by burglars, since they combine low risk with potentially high reward.

A shed’s security is invariably less substantial that that of a house or apartment. In most cases, the door is flimsier and can be removed with brute force. In many cases, screws are exposed, allowing an enterprising thief a means of removing the door entirely. A shed is also attractive to burglars as it is removed from the building where people might be – and the risk of detection is therefore lower.

Another thing that makes outbuildings so attractive to intruders is that they often contain high-value goods, like bicycles and lawnmowers. If you’re using a shed to store such items, then it’s best to make sure that they’re hidden from view – drape a blanket over the top of them, and chain them to an anchor. This way, even if someone should gain entry, they will be unable to make off with their ill-gotten gains.

If absolutely must keep particularly high-value equipment in a shed, then it’s wise to check whether your insurance will cover any theft. After all, you certainly wouldn’t want to discover that it doesn’t after the fact! You might also consider investing in a battery-operated intruder alarm. These will emit a loud siren when triggered, and thereby alert you (and the neighbourhood) that an intrusion has occurred.

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