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How Do I... Make My Home More Secure?
Keep your loved ones and valuables safe with these simple, practical tips from a security expert
In this practical series, we ask experts to answer your burning home and design questions. Here, Jeremy Stewart, vice president of global marketing at home-security firm Swann, reveals the simple steps you can take to keep your home safe from unwelcome intruders.
Start by looking at your home from a burglar’s point-of-view and ask yourself: How would I would break in? Chances are you’ll notice a couple of weak spots in your premises, which suggests that an experienced burglar would be able to identify several more.
Start with the basics
Even the most robust security system needs to be backed up by common sense measures. You should:
Even the most robust security system needs to be backed up by common sense measures. You should:
- Make your home appear to be lived in at all times.
- Double-check that all your window and door locks are in good working order.
- Keep all access doors and windows locked.
- Put security stickers on the windows and near your front door to give burglars the impression that your house is being closely monitored by cameras.
- If you have screen doors or windows, install iron bars across them so that even if burglars rip the screen, they still won’t be able to enter your premises.
Change your habits
A few small changes around the home can make it a far less appealing prospect to burglars.
A few small changes around the home can make it a far less appealing prospect to burglars.
- Avoid planting trees near the walls of your home.
- Keep ladders and any tools that could be used to break in to your home out of sight (including those stored in the garage).
- Rather than keeping a spare house key under the doormat or in a pot plant, give it to a neighbour or trusted friend who lives nearby.
- The closer your home is to the street and passers-by, the less likely a burglar will attempt to break in for fear of being caught. Make your home appear to be exposed to the street by regularly trimming trees and hedges at the front of your property.
Take extra measures if you go on holiday
- Leave a single light on inside your home, preferably working off a timer, to give burglars the impression that it is occupied. Though it may add a few extra dollars to your electricity bill, it’s a small price to pay for keeping your home safe.
- An overflowing mailbox is a sign that no one’s been home for a while. Ask a neighbour to collect your mail while you’re away.
- Arrange for a gardener to visit your home once a week to trim all the hedges and mow the lawn.
- Install sensor lights outside your home.
- Consider installing a CCTV camera outside your home to record activity around your property and act as visual deterrent to burglars.
Keep an eye on your rubbish
The location and contents of your rubbish bins are more telling than you might realise. Visible bins that contain empty boxes from expensive purchases give burglars a clear idea of what’s available to loot in your home. Make it less visible by cutting up packaging into smaller pieces and stuffing them inside your bin so they are fully concealed from the view of passers-by.
If you’re going away, ask a trusted friend or neighbour to take your bins out on collection days.
The location and contents of your rubbish bins are more telling than you might realise. Visible bins that contain empty boxes from expensive purchases give burglars a clear idea of what’s available to loot in your home. Make it less visible by cutting up packaging into smaller pieces and stuffing them inside your bin so they are fully concealed from the view of passers-by.
If you’re going away, ask a trusted friend or neighbour to take your bins out on collection days.
Re-think your social media habits
Burglars are constantly finding new ways to work out if people are away, and social media is chief among them. Search functions on social media allow burglars to look up popular hashtags, check-ins and status updates that suggest someone is away.
Burglars also use platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to track your lifestyle, keeping a close eye on your daily routine and any upcoming holidays. This information, combined with a drive-by and a simple Google Maps search, allows burglars to scan the area and check for ways to break in.
Avoid these risks by reviewing your social-media privacy settings and looking into which apps share your location. Also consider un-friending people on social media who you don’t know in real life.
Burglars are constantly finding new ways to work out if people are away, and social media is chief among them. Search functions on social media allow burglars to look up popular hashtags, check-ins and status updates that suggest someone is away.
Burglars also use platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to track your lifestyle, keeping a close eye on your daily routine and any upcoming holidays. This information, combined with a drive-by and a simple Google Maps search, allows burglars to scan the area and check for ways to break in.
Avoid these risks by reviewing your social-media privacy settings and looking into which apps share your location. Also consider un-friending people on social media who you don’t know in real life.
Image: Swann
Maximise your security
To keep your home as secure as possible, consider a comprehensive security set-up consisting of indoor and outdoor security cameras, motion sensors, and window and door sensors.
If you want to keep an eye on things at home when you’re at work or travelling, consider a wifi-connected security camera that connects to your smart devices and notifies you when sensors are triggered (the latest styles combine motion and heat sensors so they’re only triggered by humans and large animals). Many wifi-connected security cameras can also be connected to voice-controlled platforms such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing you to see what’s happening at home with a simple voice command, or arm or disarm the system remotely.
Maximise your security
To keep your home as secure as possible, consider a comprehensive security set-up consisting of indoor and outdoor security cameras, motion sensors, and window and door sensors.
If you want to keep an eye on things at home when you’re at work or travelling, consider a wifi-connected security camera that connects to your smart devices and notifies you when sensors are triggered (the latest styles combine motion and heat sensors so they’re only triggered by humans and large animals). Many wifi-connected security cameras can also be connected to voice-controlled platforms such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing you to see what’s happening at home with a simple voice command, or arm or disarm the system remotely.
Image: Swann
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Did you find this story useful? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like or share this story and save the photos. Join the conversation.
More
Find a security specialist or other specialty contractor near you