Is your home defensively strong? You may think that your home is safe, but according to the Department of Justice, there are 2.5 million burglaries annually in the United States, with over half of these being home invasions.
While these statistics can be frightening, there are steps you can take to ensure your home is defensively strong. The sad truth is that no home is 100 percent safe from break-ins, but there are steps you can take to make your home more secure and make it less attractive to thieves.
Lighted Yard
Dark areas around your home can attract burglars, vandals, and other criminals. To keep your home and family safe, add plenty of lighting to your yard. Placing bright spotlights with motion sensors around doors and windows is an excellent way to keep criminals at bay.
Secure Entry Points
The doors and windows of your home are the primary entry point for criminals. One of the best ways to stop unwanted and illegal entries into your home is to secure windows with security window screens and use security doors.
Security doors are strong and sturdy, and you can find them in attractive designs and styles. A properly installed security door can offer much better protection against intruders than standard doors. When securing the doors and windows of your home, don’t forget to secure your garage door by locking the interior and exterior locks.
High-Quality Security System
A High-quality security system can prevent intruders from considering your home a target. Security systems with lighting, cameras, and signage make your home less attractive to burglars and other criminals.
Secure WIFI Connection
When you think about home security, you have to think about more than just physical entry into your home. Your WIFI connection is a valuable resource for others to gain access to your personal and financial information. Suppose you have a home with lots of automation. In that case, tech-savvy intruders can use your WIFI connection to gain entry into your home. To secure your WIFI connection add a firewall, enable WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) or WPA2 encryption, and create strong passwords.
No Hiding Places
Criminals love to hide in dark spaces where you can’t see them. Regardless of how secure your home is, dark hiding places offer intruders a chance to catch you unaware while leaving or entering your home. Keep shrubs and trees trimmed, especially around windows and doors. You should also keep sheds locked and protected with motion-detecting lights.
Making your home defensively strong isn’t a task that you can accomplish in a single day. Evaluate your home for potential weaknesses and eliminate them one by one. Identify the most significant flaws in your home’s security and build up from that point.