Home burglaries are an issue that most people worry about and we might have our own strategies that we have that we feel might protect us. However, most of those strategies might be ineffective when it comes to preventing home burglaries. With some tips from professional burglars, we will be able to offer their insights on how to prevent your home from being broken into.
Home burglaries are very common in South Africa with an estimate of 1.2 million incidences having occurred during the period of 2019/20 which sums up to 5.3% of households being affected. This shows the need to protect yourself and your home from being targeted. Burglars tend to go for homes that they see as being easy targets, and easy to rob quickly. So how do you prevent your home from looking like an easy target? You can follow the tips offered below by burglars to prevent your home crime being targeted..
- Breaking in at night isn’t common There is a myth that most home burglaries occur mainly at night. The reality is 75% of burglars interviewed stated that they would break into flats during the day. The main reason is they don’t want to run into other people as this complicates their job. During the day, most people are at work or school. Burglars look for signs that there is no one at home and usually between 12:30pm and 2:30pm are the times when no one is around. In family houses, the opposite is true. Burglars will most likely break in the evening as the homeowners are asleep.
- Burglaries occur because of social media clues
Burglars will look for signs that you are not home, and most clues can be seen online. We live in a social media heavy age and we might want to share every aspect of our life online, however this can be extremely dangerous. Burglars will look into your social media for clues of your activity, and where you live. It is incredibly easy to find the location of your home by using GPS data that is embedded in pictures you post that were taken in your home. Be careful about who you allow to see your posts.
- They can break into locked doors
When burglars try to gain access into your home, they will usually try to use the front door first and then the back, then they will try to use the windows. The problem is that most people don’t double check whether they locked their doors or windows before they leave.
Another scary thing is a locked door doesn’t discourage them from breaking in as they can use forcible entry. This is mainly because the locks that are used can be easily be broken into. In order to prevent this from happening you can invest in deadbolt locks that can be installed with a box strike plate. Sliding glass doors and windows are extremely vulnerable as they are easy to shatter. To add more protection for sliding glass doors, you can add shatterproof film or a heavy duty sliding door lock. Your windows should have security bars, grills or guards installed.
- Home security systems are the greatest deterrents
Alarm systems threaten burglars, so having one in place will make your home less of a target. The alarm doesn’t have to be from the best home security company to be effective. Once you have installed your alarm system then you should have a strong code that can’t be easily guessed, like your birthday. Motion sensor lights are also effective in keeping burglars away as they scare them away and they aren’t too expensive.
Another great investment is installing a home security camera and it should be installed where it is visible. A great home security camera should send an alert to your smartphone when someone enters the frame. If you can’t afford to invest in one, you can get a fake one as it will scare away burglars.
- Not having blind spots will make you an easy target
If you have tall bushes, they you are at risk as burglars love those. They are able to give them a spot to hide and they won’t be seen by people in the street. All the landscaping features should be short and if you do choose to have big plants, especially by the windows then they should be thorny. This will be able to restrict burglars from hiding behind there.
- Be careful where you hide valuables
You don’t necessarily have to show off your items for burglars to know you have them. This means that you should be careful about where you place your valuables, for example you shouldn’t leave your laptops laying around in your living room or leave your car keys in clear sight. Don’t leave large family calendars in clear view, especially if they have details about when you won’t be around and you will be on vacation. Be careful where you store your mail and documents with your personal information as you could easily become a victim of identity theft.
Try not to put your valuables in obvious places such as storing your jewellery in a jewellery box. You can store these valuable items in a home safe that must be professionally mounted on the floor or that is too heavy to pick up and carry.
Conclusion
When it comes to protecting your home, you shouldn’t rely on myths that you have heard about how burglars operate. The only way to protect your home from being broken into is by following the tips offered above from professional burglars.
