How Burglars Defeat Home Security Systems

Today's thieves are professional. You have to build your defense against them with that in mind. They are as professional as your dentist, brain surgeon, and computer repair man. They approach your house with care and preparation.

Some thieves are so good, they can visit your home, take a few items and be gone without disturbing your house and you will never know they were there until days later you discover your checkbook or extra credit cards, or favorite necklace is missing.

There are the bold ones who drive into a driveway with a delivery van or truck and spend hours loading up their stolen goods in broad daylight. I've seen new houses that have yet to be occupied suddenly get the appliances, light fixtures and even the carpet stolen on the night before the new owners were to move in. Thieves can take the strangest things.

Sometimes, they only need a few minutes to enter the front door using a ball point pen shaft as a key, make their way through the house and out the back door carrying the loot. It happened to me. I was gone for only half an hour and came home to ink stains on the front door and side paneling. When I opened the door the house was all upside down and our check book, coin collections, some jewelry, cameras, and other small items were gone. So I learned something about defending our home from burglars. Here are some suggestions:

Alarm Systems: If you have an alarm system in your house, DON'T use the protective sticker advertising the alarm company. While it is offered with good intentions, the name of the alarm company tells the practiced burglar what kind of system you have. He has the wiring diagrams to all the major systems, so he knows exactly how to pry open the control cover and cut the right wire before the alarm has a chance to send its signal.

Instead, of using the company's pretty sticker, if you feel a warning is a deterrent, then buy or make a generic one that simply says "HOUSE UNDER SURVEILLANCE" Don't tell that you have motion detectors, floor contacts, wired windows, or even silent alarms. Keep them guessing. The less you advertise the safer you are.

If you live in a large house, consider zoned alarms. Set detectors in rooms away from where you often spend your time in the house. Some thieves are so good they know you are in the living room watching TV and while you are enjoying your time, they are busy in the next room going through your dresser, chests, and closets.

Remember that you have no alarm until you activate it. If it is turned off, it doesn't exist. So when you leave the house unattended, even for a few minutes, activate the alarm.

In my case, the policeman who investigated and took fingerprints said the thief was probably in the house for less than three minutes. I had forgotten to turn the deadbolt on the front door. And even though the front door faces a busy street, he must have known when I drove away, and simply walked up to the door and stripped the cover off his ball point pen and inserted the metal shaft just above the key lock and walked in, wiping his hands of the ink on the house and the things he touched inside. He got what he could easily take and then exited the back door, jumped over the back privacy fence and disappeared. There were three other burglaries in the neighborhood over the next two weeks, but no suspects were arrested.

Defensive Action: So turn on your alarms and lock your doors with deadbolts. EVERYTIME you leave. Practiced thieves work a neighborhood carefully. They have watched you leave and arrive many times. They know your routine. They know when is the best time to crash into your house and take what they want. Try to vary your routine whenever possible. Every time you are in the neighborhood, drive by and park in your driveway for a few minutes (perhaps make a cell phone call) and then drive away. When you leave to run an errand, sometimes drive around the block and come back to the house for a few minutes and then leave on your errand.

Protecting Your Valuables: Don't hide your valuables in the bedroom. That's the first place a thief goes. They head directly for the dresser and look for the underwear and sock drawer and search it from top to bottom, often throwing most things on the floor. That's where they often find the jewelry, coin collections, extra credit cards, spare money, etc. The thief will separate your bedding and look under your mattress protector. He will go through your closets, especially the boxes up high. He will pull the boxes off the shelf tear open the tops and peak inside, then throw your cherished Christmas decorations on the floor. He will search your medicine cabinet in the bathroom, often pushing your prescriptions to the floor, even in the toilet. He will riffle through your towels and sheets. Forget about your food freezer and kitchen canisters, too. The dirty man who broke into our house ran his hands into the flour, sugar and tea containers leaving his ink smears behind.

Defensive Action: Store your precious items in a safe deposit box at the bank. If that is not always practical, then hide them in unusual places. Try under the insulation in the attic over the garage. Or, on the bottom shelf of dirty tools where a lot of things must be moved in order to get to them. Or, in a cut away hole in the wall behind heavy furniture. My computer was saved from the thief because it had so many wires going into it, it required more time to remove than the thief was willing to take. So tie or lock extra cords to your sound equipment, small televisions, and CD, DVD cabinets etc.

Other Quick Defenses: Forget about growing thorny bushes in front of windows. Thieves wear double pants and shirts, first to keep out the thorns and second to change identities when they leave your place. Keep bushes cut short so thieves will be exposed in your absence.

Forget the big dogs. Smart thieves know how to talk to them, pet them and feed them. A small yapping dog that makes a lot of noise is better. They are unpredictable with strangers.

Don't leave your lights on all the time. They only make it easier for the thieves. Instead set some lights on timers to come on and off at different times. Place outside lights on motion detectors to come on when someone enters your driveway or entrances - especially the back door.

Secure your door frames into the house with at least three-inch nails near your lock cavities. This keeps the thieves from crashing in. The short half inch screws used on the lock face plates are easy to overcome.

Never leave your garage door open or unlocked. It is a safe entry into your house. You may be doing yard work in the back yard and a thief can walk into an open garage, snatch what interests him and be gone. But he can also slip into your garage and then into the house, watch you work in the back yard while he is going through your dresser, closets and cabinets.

Exercise caution. Always lock your doors and windows Always turn on your alarm system. Make a deal with a trusted neighbor that you are leaving and not expecting deliveries. You watch his house and he watches your place. Never be shy about calling the police when you spot suspicious people in your neighborhood. Join a neighborhood watch group and help each other patrol the area. Thieves always go for the safest and easiest work. Make it tough on them and they are likely to leave you alone.