What to Do If Your Home’s Being Broken Into AND What To Do That Might Stop A Burglary From Happening

If Someone Is Breaking In
Don’t turn on the lights, says Mark Safarik, a retired FBI profiler. That will diminish your night vision. Plus, if you’re near a window, a potential intruder will be able to see you and know instantly where you are. Instead, dial 911 immediately. Then, if you can, find your car’s remote entry device and press the panic button. It’s capable of triggering the alarm from a distance of some 30 to 60 feet, and the loud noise may well frighten the intruder away.


5 Ways to Make Your Front Door More Secure
1. Add a heavy-duty dead bolt. A dead bolt is a low-cost, high-value addition to your security system. Varieties include double-cylinder dead bolts, which are keyed on both sides, and single-cylinder dead bolts, keyed on one side. Whichever type you choose, make sure it has a grade 1 security rating, and follow the next suggestion below to connect it securely and solidly to the frame.

2. Add a strike box. A strike box toughens up your entry and deters intruders by replacing existing strike plates with a structure that includes a metal pocket, over-sized plates, and a solid connection into the wall stud behind the doorjamb with 3-inch screws. To accommodate this addition, you’ll need to enlarge both the hole in the jamb and the cover plate recess.

3. Add a reinforcer plate. Three-sided metal reinforcement plates add an extra layer of security by encasing a door around its handset or dead bolt. To select the correct size for your door, measure its thickness, the handset or dead bolt hole diameter, and the distance between its edge and the center of the handset or dead bolt (known as the setback). A reinforcement plate will typically extend the door’s edge a bit, so you may need to deepen the hinge mortises on the other side of the door to prevent catching and sticking.

4. Re-key the lock. If you’re not the first to live in your present abode, re-keying the entry locks is yet another way to enhance its security. Re-keying kits matching most lock brands can be found at hardware stores and home-improvement centers and work on both entrance and dead-bolt locks. They also allow up to six locks to be re-keyed for the same key.

5. Install a wide-angle peephole. You’ll be able to do a larger scale screening of unexpected visitors with a wide-angle peephole viewer. This easy-to-install safety accessory is designed to fit any door up to 2 inches thick.


13 Things a Burglar Won’t Tell You

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. And hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

7. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.

8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door? Understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

11. Here's a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.

12. You're right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe... The one where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)


Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina, Oregon, California, and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.


http://www.rd.com/slideshows/slideshow-13-things-a-burglar-wont-tell-you/2/?v=all

Thank you for posting this.

Very good article, I have seen it before.

Since the jerk/jerks tried to break-into my home in '09, we have a 2/4, notched at one end to fit under the door handle, then it is long enough to be braced against the wall. Only trouble with that is that if the electric goes out we cannot get into our own front door.

Yes, they do knock to see if you are home.I did not answer the door though. One thing I don't think that I will do again is stay on the phone with the dispatch, I will lay it down and try to see if I can get a license plate number, if there is a car in my driveway. The idea about the panic button on the remote for your car is a very good one. But be prepared to grab your cell phone and jump in the car and follow them, getting their license plate number and model, make and color of the vehicle. A lady around here came home at 3 in the afternoon, found them carrying things out of her home, she thought that she had blocked them in. They told her that the home was in foreclosure, and begged her not to call the police. They jumped in their vehicle and drove through the yard, she jumped in her car, called 911 on her cell and followed them. That is how they got those 2 young men and a young woman that had come from about 45 minutes south of here. I was also told to get a concealed carry, which I have not done yet. I need to feel comfortable with a weapon first. Just my two cents worth.

That is a very good post Nite.

In today's world, it makes you afraid to leave your home at all. I have been known to turn on a radio and have it turned up and out of site when I have to leave.

I watch my back but I don't think negatively as I believe our thoughts can actually make bad things happen. It's like if you tell yourself, "I am going to get sick" over and over, you will get sick. Or, if you say, "I know I am going to have a car accident" over and over, you will. I am proactive and careful but not paranoid cause that would make me

WOW!! We used to leave our doors unlocked back when I was a child. I has virtually No Fear. In this day and age, one Must watch their back but I try not to become obsessed about it cause I won't sleep one wink.