Photo by Miłosz Klinowski
There is nowhere more important than your home, and that means that you need to keep it safe. Even if nothing important is stolen, having somebody break into your safe place can be violating, and many people end up living in fear of another break-in for months after the event. Whether you want to deter burglars before they can do harm or secretly catch them in the act, here are some guaranteed ways to increase your home security.
Protect Points of Entry
The media likes to show burglars as being crafty enough to sneak in through all kinds of hidden passageways, but almost 35% of the time, they just come through the front door. Unless a burglar specifically wants something from your home, they are usually just going to try every house until one door opens: locking and protecting your door can be more than enough to deter the quiet ones.
But what about the loud ones? In many cases, a burglar is just going to slam down your door and grab what they can before running off, no lockpicks and/or stealth involved. For normal doors, some reinforcements and even the most basic alarm system can help, as can a peephole or camera that is obviously watching the area. For sliding doors, which are notoriously flimsy, extra bolts and locks can help a lot.
The same goes for windows. A burglar may be slightly less likely to try them, but the same tricks can apply just set up some really basic security measures and/or reinforcements and you are usually going to be fine.
Use Connected Devices…
The internet (as well as the Internet of Things) can lead to some great security options. Apart from the usual security cameras and CCTV systems, some people like to have built-in alarms that silently trigger a warning on their phone, giving them time to call the police without scaring the burglar off and having them flee too early.
You can also go for something more gimmicky if you feel the need, like installing lights that you can trigger from your phone – letting you turn them on in the evening even if you are staying somewhere else overnight. This can make it easier to fool a potential criminal that you are still at home, and doesn’t take much time to prepare.
An electronic door lock can be useful if you want to remove the chance of a criminal getting a key, allowing you to set the lock to work with certain phones instead. At the very least, many of them will sound a silent alarm if they are damaged, so brute force stops being an option for somebody trying to get in.
…But Only When It Makes Sense
Unfortunately, the Internet of Things can be a blessing and a curse. Every device you add has a chance of being unsecured, and you never know what data somebody might gather. It might not matter that somebody can get access to your Smart Fridge’s data about what you buy, but that connection might also bring them to your Smart Lock. A skilled hacker, or even somebody with enough knowledge of what you have installed in your home, can turn your own tools against you and let themselves in.
On top of that, certain Smart devices might give away more than you expected. If only one door in your home has an electronic lock with a special key system, guess where a burglar will go first? You ideally want a mixture of subtle security and obvious warning signs, but not too much of either – just enough to warn burglars without suggesting that there is a prize hidden in your home worth taking.
Remember to protect your Wi-Fi too, even if you just have a simple password and firewall. It is a basic step, but one that many people overlook. Compromised internet security isn’t just a security concern, but in this age of working from home, it can become an active problem for people who work in specialized fields or government jobs.
Protect the Outside Too
The things in your home may be safe, but what about the things outside? Air conditioning units, sheds, cars, standalone mailboxes, or even something as tiny as an exterior power box can all be compromised and damaged or stolen, and there is not always an easy way to notice at first. Most people know to protect their car, but how do you protect an air conditioner?
The answer is to always think about what would stop a burglar taking them. Stronger connections and mountings between surfaces can help a lot, as can covering screws. It is even possible for a criminal to steal parts of your own security system: all it takes is a blind spot and some poor mounting screws for your security camera to be completely stolen and sold off.
On top of that, you should illuminate the outdoors. The more cluttered your yard or garden is, the more space there is for your home to be approached undetected and unheard, especially if you have a lot of plant life outside. It might give a discovered thief somewhere else to hide as they are trying to get away, this makes it a lot harder to tell the police where they have gone or what they looked like.
Be Unexpected, But Obvious
Most burglars are just people who will force their way into a space, grab something and leave. Complex heists aren’t usually the M.O. of whoever wants in, but you can use Smart security systems to your advantage without even needing to think very hard about how they are used. You want to scare thieves off with snags to their plan, even if the plan was “break down the door and swipe things”. For example, motion-sensing lights can deter many late-night criminals.
In almost all cases, your house is chosen as a target at complete random, with only some burglars actually caring that it is specifically your home (usually because they can see something valuable). If you make it impractical or add a complication that they can’t deal with, they will normally give up, which can be all the deterrent you need to keep your house safe. Having some practical solutions as a backup plan helps in the few cases where they still decide to break in, too.