Think Like a Burglar
By Robert Hessel
To prevent a break-in at your home and increase your
safety, you need to think like a burglar. Knowing when
and where burglaries occur is the best place to start.
Seventy-four percent of burglaries are at a residence
during the day when people are away at work. According
to the FBI, in 2014 only 28 percent of the almost 1.9 million
residential burglaries in the United States occurred at night.
In most cases, the burglar forced their way into the home, but
35 percent of the time, they simply entered through an unlocked
door or window and, more often than not, they entered through
the front door.
Companies such as Source 1 Solutions in Clearwater are on a
mission to help make homes and neighborhoods safer, starting
with the front door. Emerging technologies, such as video
doorbells, are helping homeowners prevent these home breakins.
The SkyBell HD, for example, is a proven way to help
achieve more safety around your home, as this video doorbell
enables users to bolster their security in other ways as well.
To fortify your home, you should beef up your locks and your
windows. Make sure they lock securely. You also can upgrade
to a “smart” lock that can be operated by remote control and
add window sensors that alert you if they are opened.
However, one of the best lines of defense is for a home to
look occupied, as this makes it uninviting to a potential burglar.
Having a car in the driveway (that doesn’t look dirty and
abandoned) is a start. Timed lights, radios or TV sets also make
a home look and sound occupied. Additionally, exterior lights
with motion detectors will often startle a would-be intruder
and deter a break-in. Of course, when you’re away, you should
stop newspaper and mail delivery and have neighbors watch
your home. A barking guard dog, or at least a warning sign,
can also help.
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To further protect your home, you need to go beyond these
recommendations and know your burglar. It is unlikely that
the person who breaks into your home will be a professional
thief. Statistically, the intruder will be an amateur or a teenager
who lives within walking distance of your home. Given that
profile, they probably won’t show up with a belt filled with
tools to aid them. So, don’t leave any laying around, and be
sure to lock your tool shed and secure anything that can be
used to break a window or pry open a door.
Burglars want to get in quick and get out fast, usually only
spending 10 minutes in your home. According to FBI statistics,
the back door (22 percent) and a first-floor window (23 percent)
were popular entry points, while 34 percent came through the
front door.
Knowing that many burglars break in via the front door,
it is a good place to let a burglar know that your house is
being watched and video recorded. With a SkyBell HD video
doorbell, that is now compatible with Honeywell smart home
security systems located in your entryway, you’ll let a burglar
know loud and clear that they are about to get caught. Even if
you’re away from home, you can answer the door and record
live video of the person at your doorstep.
While the SkyBell video doorbell is a fantastic new way to
increase your home security and to notify the police if necessary,
you should still upgrade your security systems to 360-degree,
24/7 professionally smart home security systems that provide
home automation and mobile system access. In addition to
improving home security, these systems will improve your
quality of life in ways that you couldn’t imagine. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Robert Hessel at Source 1 Solutions can be
contacted at (727) 538-4114 or www.source1security.com.
/www.source1security.com