It’s often forgotten by the public that burglars are people, as opposed to a faceless threat. While this should come as a relief to many, meaning that burglars are susceptible to the same faulty judgement and mistakes as any human, it also means that simply having a strong lock installed isn’t enough of a security measure to prevent burglars with creative, actively working brains to gain access to your property. In this blog post, the residential security experts here at Golden Locksmith will detail some of the best burglary deterring practices that one can adopt in order to discourage criminals from even attempting to break into your home or business in the first place.
Always Keep Valuables in Weird Areas
Consider keeping your valuables in strange areas of your house – and NEVER the master bedroom, which is the first place most burglars will look for cash and expensive items. Burglars rarely go into other bedrooms for valuables – especially obvious children’s bedrooms, so we recommend placing your valuables in areas where they are way less likely to be found – like in a cabinet in a child’s room.
Install Security Keypads in an Area that Can’t be Seen from the Doorstep
This is especially important if there is any glass on or near your front door. You want it to be impossible for a burglar to determine whether or not your alarm is currently set and armed or not. Install your alarm keypad in an area of your front room that cannot be seen from outside your home.
Get Rid of your Mail Slot
Mail slots are usually installed against the wood grain of your door, weakening its side-to-side integrity, making it much much easier to kick in. If your alarm is near your door, a mail slot can provide burglars the ability to potentially deactivate the alarm using a long object. Remove your mail slots – they pose a security risk. Instead, go for a dedicated, locked mailbox with a drop slot.
Have Neighbors Check your Home when you’re Away
If you go on vacation, have a trusted friend, family member, or neighbor remove newspapers or fliers from your home. Some burglars intentionally place ads on front doors to see how long it takes for homeowners to get rid of them, which is a way of determining whether a home is empty or not. This a great burglary scoping tactic that can prove a home is empty, even if the homeowner is savvy enough to deploy decoy strategies, like keeping lights on timers.
Check Bathrooms after Workers Leave your Home
Some unscrupulous workers can ask to go to the bathroom to stake out and unlatch windows to allow them to easily access your home in the night to rob it. If you let workers use the bathroom in your house, make sure to double check your home’s windows and locks after they leave to verify that they are truly locked.
Always Change Locks ASAP when Keys go Missing
Make sure to ALWAYS change your home lock, or at the very least, rekey it, when your keys or spare keys have gone missing. This includes keys that you are not sure are replaced or stolen from their designated hiding spots. It’s way better to be safe than sorry when it comes to home security, so we recommend not taking any chances, and contacting a trustworthy locksmith right away to help replace your locks.