What can you do to prevent a burglary of your home?

Question

My brother's house got burglarized today, and I am wondering what can be done to make your house less inviting to burglars? What can you do to make sure your home is safe, or at least safer?

Also, I'm not investing in an intimidating dog, I'm a cat person...

Answer 1

Buy an alarm

Dont have things that are expensive or nice out in plain veiw as well as keep your keys hidden.

Put up a sign that says beware of dog..even if you dont have one, it will discourage them.

Get a door with deadbolt

Leave a pair of shoes outside at all times so it looks like you are home or if you can always have a vechicle around.

Always lock your windows and doors.

Keep a bat/knife or something close to your bed if your living alone

Dont flaught your expensive things.

Answer 2

I know that one deterrent is to put alarm signs in your yard or on your window, even if you don't have alarms, they don't know that.  

Answer 3

Agree with above they sell stickers at Lowes or Home Depot. They also sell dummy cameras.

At night you can turn the lights on where doors are. A light on all night cost less than $1 a month

Window locks... cut shrubs away from your house to prevent hiding places. When you are away have a radio on so burglars think someone is inside the house.

Answer 4

After having my home broken into several times when I lived in LA, we started a new neighborhood watch when I moved.  The police in our city say not to place the signs the alarm companies give you in your yard because professional thieves know what type of system you have and will dismantle it and know the fakes.  But, I cannot say how many times having my own alarm has been a godsend (had a fire last year, medical emergencies, and the panic button when an intruder was in the yard.  Not to mention that all of the windows and doors are wired so that if they are tampered with from the outside the alarm goes off and the police notified.)  As to what they suggest to make your home safer:

Lighting.  They suggest using motion detector lights particularly in areas around your home which are dark. The more lit a home is the less likely it is to be burglarized.  Solar lighting is also a good investment to light dark areas.

Keep bushes and trees trimmed so that they can not be used for hiding or as superhighways over fences.

Keep gates, outside doors and windows locked.  Keep a pole or wood in the rails of sliders so that if the lock is jimmied, the door cannot slide.  Additional window locks that keep the windows from being slid or elevated are also a good investment.

Use bump and pick free locks on door and have deadbolts.

Use timers on lights inside the house that go off in different rooms at different times and are re-set often so that there is no regular pattern.

Make it difficult to see what you have in your home.  Keep blinds and windows closed or tint the windows so that someone cannot see in and scope what is inside.

Do not leave overhead garage doors open when unattended.  

Even if you don't have a dog, a beware of the dog sign does deter the unprofessional thief.

Do not answer the door to solicitors. Often people posing as sales people are merely scoping out the homes they intend to burglarize.  A good rule of thumb is that if you don't know who is at the door, don't answer it.

Contact neighbors, ask about their schedules and starting a neighborhood watch.  In our city, areas with a neighborhood watch are far less likely to be burglarized.

Answer 5

This is speaking from a painful and costly experience, my beautiful home was burglarized while we were renovating -- mind you I had an appointment with ADT for installation the same day of the incident (they robbed me @ 3am and ADT was scheduled for 9am -that day -go figure (resulting in a lost over 6K of merchandise I just purchased the day before)..Fortunately, we @ our other home - in any event, I would strongly suggest in investing in an alarm system not only for the fear of being burglarized - but for the PEACE OF MIND when NOT home --- but MORE IMPORTANTLY when YOU ARE HOME.. Home invasions can happen at any given time day or night -- now I realized why my home was robbed --- is because someone was watching me receive that delivery that day === as there's ALWAYS someone watching who's knows your comings and goings/deliveries whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.. Getting a security system was by far the BEST investment I could have ever done in my home--  not only does it protect the home/apartment, but more importantly me and my family with the service I got a smoke detector/carbon monoxide device installed (no not one those $10 smoke detector @the local store) this smoke detector/carbon monoxide was connected to alarm -- which notifies the fire department in the event of a fire/police... My ADT people contact me immediately on my cell phone anytime something is wrong and the system I got talks to you - yes it talks and allows us to hear if a window/door/ opens or someone passes a sensor and in addition I got discount off my home owners insurance.. Now, I'm not trying to promote ADT  - there are other companies out there --(I'm just Extremely pleased with their service and thankful for them) whatever you decide just remember THINGS can be easily replaced but your LIFE is priceless.  Systems are not that expensive --- shop it around.

To answer one of questions in the meantime -- be more aware of your patterns as far as the routes you use when you 're leaving and returning home along with the times you do this --- lock and secure leak entrances of your home..and  remember robbers have a job as well to watch us (unfortunate for us) -- also try forming a watch community in your neighborhood -- once a robber can get away with it once -- he'll be back  - the more people are aware what's going on --  the more safe an area can come..  --- Good Luck,,.,.