Is Your Home Inviting to Burglars?

Most home burglaries are spur-of-the-moment decisions. Anyone can be a target at any time of the day. Luckily there are several easily identifiable factors in determining your risk; and deterrents that homeowners can use to keep burglars at bay. 

The more difficult your house is to get into quickly without being seen, and the less visible payoff for the attempt will keep you low on the list of possible hits.

Perfect Cover

Everyone's home is unique, from the layout of driveways, bushes, and privacy fences to its orientation to the street. And sometimes, those very aspects that we love about our home make it a perfect target for a burglary. 

Take a hard look around your property to see if you can find any blind spots looking from the road. These areas tend to be blocked by privacy fences, outbuildings, or larger landscaped plants. 

When a window or door falls out of your eye line for a significant amount of time, you just found trouble. A blind spot allows potential burglars a greater degree of time when attempting to access the interior of your home. It also means they are less likely to get spotted by a neighbor or passerby who might alert authorities and give a description. 

Some blind spots are unfixable by the very nature of how the home was oriented when built. But where possible, try to avoid or mitigate the creation of new ones. Keep bushes underneath windows trimmed low, and make sure no fences or buildings block the view of first-floor windows or doors.

Low Security

There are many things about the layout of our home that we just can’t change. But we can turn a critical eye towards keeping it secure. 

Keep your exterior well lit at night from the front, and invest in motion sensor lights or cameras on significant entry points. Motion-activated devices can often scare off intruders before they enter your house and give you the heads up that something may be afoot.

Very few homeowners invest in monitored security systems, even though statistics show they are a major deterrent to theft. Alarms not only indicate to a potential thief that they’ve been caught, but ensure a prompt response from law enforcement. 

If you have a system, display this information at the front of the house. But make sure only people who need to know how to operate the system do. 

More than half of all burglaries are committed by someone the victim knew. So keep the panel location and code as secret as possible.

• Light up your house at night with motion sensors
• If you need to hide a key outside, the further away from the door, the better
• Display that you have a security system, but keep the panel out of sight
• Secure ladders inside to prevent access to upper floors
• Update locks when moving into a new home

Tempting Target

The term ‘smash and grab’ exists for a reason. Home burglaries are lightning-fast affairs generally completed in under ten minutes. This "get in and get out " mentality means that home invaders are more likely to target houses they can see have a payday.

Look around your first floor to see what high ticket items are easily visible from outside. Large electronics might not be an option to reposition but consider moving valuables to areas out of sight. 

If you upgrade to a new computer or tv, make sure to dispose of the box. Leaving it out at the curb signals you have something new and big-ticket.

• Keep valuables tucked away from the eye line of windows
• Close curtains and blinds to block an invader's view of your home's layout and valuables
• Have an area for package delivery that isn’t visible from the street
• Dispose of packaging for expensive items without leaving them visible next to trash or recycling

Time is everything, and if a burglar knows they might have more of it, they are at an increased chance of attempting a robbery. Do not telegraph it to the world if you find yourself out of town for work or vacation for an extended period. Do your best to keep up the appearance that it is still business as usual and that you could be home at any minute.

• Wait until after your trip is complete to post on social media
• Put a temporary stop to mail service, or have a trusted neighbor pick up delivered items
• Keep up with landscaping, like mowing the lawn or trimming bushes
• Recruit a friend to park in your driveway if you would typically have a car there

Risky Habits

At the end of the day, homeowners are often the biggest risk to the security of their own homes. Many of our bad habits can make us a tempting target, but the worst of them make it easy for burglars. 

It is vital to make sure your house is consistently locked and secured. Over a third of all burglars enter through a property's front door. So get into the habit of checking the door behind you when you leave.

If you have had a security system installed, make sure you use it. A sign may deter some burglars, but not regularly arming the system does you no good when a home robbery occurs. It is also essential to have the system regularly maintained by a service professional, to ensure it operates correctly and provides the security coverage you expect.

Home Security with Integrity

If you think your home's security might be lacking, contact the experts at Integrity Security to get started on a more secure future today. With over 50 years of combined experience in the field, Integrity Security can help set you up with a home system that fits your needs. Located in North Wilkesboro, we serve residents throughout the foothills and piedmont of North Carolina.

Whether it’s motion-activated cameras and lights, smart locks, or 24/7 monitoring, we have the knowledge and technology to protect your home and family.