Protect Yourself from a Home Invasion

It is sad, but a true fact that in today's' society you have to learn how to protect yourself from a home invasion. Some home invasions are nothing more than burglaries, but there is the odd occasion when the invasion has a more sinister reason.

Your job is not to make it easy for them to enter your home. Unfortunately, some of the things we are accustomed to doing around our homes, makes it very easy for these invasions to occur
It's like hanging out a welcome sign, and telling them to please enter.

You have to maintain the belief that home invasions can happen to any one. Don't ever think you are exempt. This type of crime can happen to anyone, in any part of the city, and it doesn't matter if your home is occupied by several people, or just yourself.

Neither does it have to be night for this to happen. Criminals have developed a new mind set, and will now commit crimes in board day light. Once you have been targeted, you will either become a
helpless victim or a resourceful survivor.

I'm not saying you can't enjoy life, or enjoy living in your home. What I am saying is that we should all be aware of the possibility, and put certain protective guidelines into play... for the safety of yourself and your family.

The measures you take should be known by the entire family. Make them as important as your family's disaster planning. It won't do any good if some of family follows these instructions, and some
don't.

Express the importance of the protective measures you have put in place - so that everyone in the family is on the same page. To help you out, I'm going to suggest some very easy steps you can take to protect yourself and your home.

1. A very simple and inexpensive step is having outdoor lighting around your house. Especially in areas that are extremely dark at night. Put all the outdoor lighting on timers. This way, they will still come on if you forget.

2. If you have flowers or shrubbery around your house, just make sure that you plant something with thorns on it underneath all the windows. This make deter someone from trying to enter.

3. Always make sure both your ground floor and second floor windows are well locked. Don't think your second floor windows are safe. If someone can climb, they will find a way inside a second floor
window, especially if you leave it cracked. That's a wide open invitation.

4. Have a security system installed that protects all windows and doors that have direct assess into your home. This may also include your cellar door if you have one. If you don't want to put an alarm
on this door, make sure it is well bolted from the inside. Outside locks can be tampered with.

5. Keep all your doors well locked at all times. I know it may be an inconvenience to some of you, but leaving your doors unlocked during the day because the kids are constantly coming in and out is
asking for trouble. If you've been targeted, and the person sees your children entering unlocked doors all day long, then this makes their job easier.

Now I know you're probably asking yourself, "What happens if the intruder makes it into the house?" Well, there are some protective measures you can still take for inside your home.

Again, make sure everyone is aware of these plans, and knows how to put them in action if the need arises.

1. Decide which doors or windows in each room of your home will be good to escape through. They need to be the fastest and easiest way of escape. I like the idea of having a dress rehearsal of your
escape plan. Your family needs to know what to do, and where they need to go.

2. The next thing you need to do is to establish a safe haven inside your home. A safe haven is a room that is well secured and protected against intrusion.

This room could be a bedroom, a bathroom or an office. It would need to have a window for easy escape, a cell phone, a door with a solid core, and a dead bolt that locks from the inside. You may also want to consider putting a panic button that is connected to your security company, inside this room.

3. If someone has invaded your home, the last thing you want to do is go and check the noise of someone breaking in. Leave all the checking and investigating to the authorities. You don't want to
confront the intruder or intruders.

4. Try your best to keep a locked door between you and them. Don't confront them if possible.

5. If you can't avoid confronting them, try to keep calm and non-confrontational. Don't provoke them and don't get in between them and their escape route. Once the intruder has been discovered, a lot of times all they want to do is leave. Don't try to stop them and don't get in their way.

6. You may find yourself in a situation where you can't escape or make it to your safe haven. You may be in a situation where you are attacked.

In this case, you have to fight for your life, and you can use anything and everything at your disposal. Anything you can use as a weapon is fair game.

Using a gun is your last resort, and only if you know how to use it and are willing to pull the trigger if you need to. If you can't do this, then forget the gun, because the home invader could easily take it and use it on you.

These plans to protect yourself from a home invasion are easy to implement, and may mean the difference of life or death for you and your family. Enjoy your life, but be aware of the dangers
surrounding you. Your objective is to take care of your home and your family.