According to the adage, our homes are our castles, and yet it seems that burglars have little trouble plying their trade. If you’re concerned about a rising crime rate in your area, you could do worse than installing an alarm monitoring system in your home.
It’s one of the ways folks choose to secure their properties, but it’s probably best to go with a combinatory approach. That way, you have some fallback options in the event of one safety feature being bypassed during a break-in.
Setting Up Strong Barriers
Reinforcing your doors and windows is a very basic and effective method for preventing a burglary in your home. It used to be that the only options in this regard involved heavy metal grates or bars, but now it can be done without making your home look like a jail.
There are reinforcing options that seriously strengthen these weak points on any home but do so in a subtler way. You can install doors that seem ordinary, for example, but are made of tough materials that won’t break under duress.
The same thing is true of reinforced window options, which look just like any other lightweight frames but are, in fact, firmly bolted into the surrounding walls. In this way, you can fortify your home without that barricaded appearance.
Monitoring Options
Your monitoring options are broad and diverse. It can go from a simple and unobtrusive camera placed somewhere discrete right through to hiring a security firm. There are a few more techie solutions online nowadays, which may fit the bill nicely.
Firms offer a doorbell service, which allows you to see who’s at your door the moment the bell is activated, regardless of where you are. A step-up from this is a series of motion-detecting cameras that let you see around your home in real-time on your phone.
Similar systems can be installed both inside and out so that you’re made aware when someone is on your property. Then, if that person breaks in, you will have a high-res recording of everything they do inside as well. In today’s busy and uncertain world, it makes perfect sense to install a door bell wireless system in your home to stay on top of the security of your loved ones.
Teaming Up With Neighbors
The old neighborhood watch idea seems old-fashioned, but neighbors make excellent watchmen. Especially if you know the folks around you pretty well, they will see who comes and goes and recognize strangers instantly.
It can be a very valuable asset to safeguard your home, as well as being a service you can reciprocate in turn. This sort of method will be far less viable in the cities but works well in more rural or suburban settings.
Knowing the folks along your street works because they are likely to notice even an unusual vehicle passing up and down before anything happens. They may know your family members and friends too and can spot an uninvited person readily.
The Basics
It may seem like a silly thing, but do the basics right. Ensure that all your entry points are locked if you’re away for any length of time. Set the alarm, and also change the alarm codes regularly.
If you have a security firm monitoring your alarm, or your cameras, be sure to inform them about your movements too. All of these smaller considerations can add up to a lot in terms of keeping your property safe and sound.
Inform trusted people that you’ll be away. Where possible, have a friend drop by to collect any mail or leaflets so that it isn’t obvious you’re not home. Little things like this could be the difference between having a crime committed against you or not.
Final Thoughts
There are the obvious harms that come with burglary, like the loss and destruction of property. There’s also the financial loss when something of great value happens to be stolen as well.
What’s perhaps less often mentioned is the psychological side of things. For some, just knowing that a stranger entered their home is disturbing in itself. The loss of the feeling of safety may even be traumatic to more sensitive people.
Keeping your eye on the ball in this regard is essential, particularly in crime-prone areas. It can be achieved with some pretty basic habits, so it’s well within everyone’s ability to stay that little bit safer.
