How to Increase Home and Personal Security

The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics displays the results of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on their website. The NCVS (one of the Nation's largest ongoing household surveys) provides statistics and other data about how many rapes, sexual assaults, robberies, assaults, thefts, household burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts U.S. residents age 12 or older experience each year. That data, those statistics, all those numbers, are talking about people just like you and me who have gone through something they probably thought would never happen to them - something that only happens to other people... not them.

Let me be clear, you are a potential victim. You are a target. Your home and belongings and your person are at risk every day. No, I am not trying to instill paranoia or anxiety in you. I am simply helping you understand the fact that there are people out there who do not have your best interests in mind, and might in fact have something quite unpleasant in store and are waiting for an opportune moment to put their plan into action. Do not give them that opportunity!

I subscribe to a set of personal security standards which I have expanded and strengthened over the years, partly due to life experiences, partly due to my criminal justice studies, and partly due to my training in the military. I have done my best to share these easy security tips with friends, family, and colleagues and now I'm sharing them with you.

The goal is to make your home and your person a hard target so as to become less vulnerable and consequently less attractive to career criminals as well as criminal opportunists. The idea is that if the "prize" is not worth the risk, the bad guys will move on and look for something easier. To some degree, each choice you make and action you take either increases or decreases your level of security. That being understood, here are some rather easy things you can do to help increase your level of security.

LIGHTING

Keep your porch light on all night and have motion sensing lighting (or continuous lighting) at other points around the house such as corners where a flood light can illuminate two sides at once. I cannot emphasize this point enough. The cost to benefit ratio falls heavily on the side of benefits. In other words, the increased electrical bill is a small price to pay for the increased amount of security it affords.

DOORS

Make sure your outside doors have deadbolts and use them. Keep doors locked even during the day. It's surprising how many crimes are committed each year where the perpetrator did not have to force his or her way into the house.

WINDOWS

Keep windows locked/latched when unattended, including at night while you are sleeping. It's also not a bad idea to get

SHRUBBERY

Trim back hedges or trees that obscure your view outside or where someone could hide along walkways or against the building while attempting entry through a window or door.

Get to know your neighbors. It will be more difficult for a criminal to gain entry to your home under false pretenses if you have a neighbor that knows when you are away and can recognize unusual activity such as unknown persons entering/exiting your home, or a moving van sitting in your driveway when they know you aren't moving.

GARAGE and VEHICLE

Pull your car into the garage if you have one and keep the garage door closed and locked. This will prevent passersby from seeing anything you have worth stealing in the garage area and prevent or delay access should they attempt entry. Even more importantly, most garages have a connecting door to the home which should be locked but is often left unsecure. This is unfortunate since some garage doors are easily opened and an unlocked interior door grants easy access to the home and people inside it!

SECURITY SYSTEM

Invest in a professional security system if you have the money and be sure to place the decals in prominent locations (instructions on where to place decals will usually be provided with the security system literature). If you don't have the money, simply placing decals indicating your home is protected by a security system will make a potential intruder think twice before breaking and entering.

Installing a closed circuit camera system can be a great criminal deterrent as well. As with the security system, if cost is a problem, even a dummy system will help increase your home security without much money out of pocket.

Another inexpensive alternative to a professional security system is to buy and install magnetic window and door alarms. They can be purchased online or at many hardware stores for very reasonable prices. The mechanism is very simple - install batteries then turn it on and whenever the window or door is opened an alarm sounds. This will alert you to unauthorized entry and might be just enough to scare away the intruder.

KNOW YOUR SURROUNDINGS

Be attentive. Observe your neighborhood and learn what is normal so you can better detect something that may be out of place. Report any suspicious activity to the professionals (i.e. the police) - do not go out and investigate for yourself.

Join the neighborhood watch and post neighborhood watch signs in conspicuous locations around your property.

Increasing your home security level will not only help deter the monetary, emotional, and physical costs associated with becoming a victim of criminal activity; you will also enjoy an enhanced sense of well being from knowing you have done what you can to protect your home and family from those who would do them harm if given the opportunity. Remember - make yourself a hard target for criminals. Don't become a victim. Don't become a statistic.