Keeping our home safe and secure from intrusions is one of the biggest daily challenges that many of us face, but something we often bury our head in the sand over. Of course, you do not need to go overboard and start hooking up CCTV all over your house and garden, but there are some small changes that you can make in your life to give you peace mind that you have done everything you can to prevent a break-in.
Change the Locks
When we move into a new home, we often do not give much thought as to who may have a set of keys to get in. Not only do the previous homeowners or tenants potentially have one still, but they may have given copies to neighbours, family members and friends. One of the first jobs you should do when you move into a new property is have the locks changed. In an ideal world, you should be doing this every time you lose a set of keys or every couple of years just to ensure that there is no outside entry. It may seem like a bit of an overreaction, but it will keep you safe going forward.
Check the Windows and Doors
The majority of intruders gain access to your home through the doors and windows. If your windows have locks on them, make sure that you are utilising them and ensuring that they are properly locked whenever you leave the house and at night. If you have noticed that the windows and doors aren’t shutting as cleanly and quickly as you would like, or that if a simple push can gain you access (handy if you’re locked out, but not so much if other people can get in), it’s time to consider having them replaced.
Consider a home security system.
A home security monitoring system can provide you with peace of mind when you are away from your house. It watches your house around the clock, and if something sets off the alarm, you are notified, and if it is someone in your house that should not be there, the appropriate emergency services will be notified.
Try to avoid an obvious routine.
As scary as the thought may be, you never quite know who is watching you at any given point. The majority are break-ins are done on the assumption that you are not home – but how do they know this? Some criminals will watch your house and make a note of the times you leave and return to the house, to build up a picture of your daily routine. Obviously, work schedules and things like school runs and shopping trips do not make it easy, but if you can, get a neighbor or a friend to pop in at random times of the day to break the routine up a little.
You can never wholly eradicate the risk of someone breaking into your home, but there are steps that you can take to reduce the risk.
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