How Thinking Like A Burglar Can Help Protect Your Home

While it may not come naturally to most of us to think like a burglar, doing so can help us to keep our precious homes safe and intruder proof, whether our property is regularly left unoccupied or not.

Burglars seek out the weaknesses in a property before deciding to target it, so rectifying any potential weak spots in your home could well see you being more burglar proof than your neighbours. Here’s how you can protect your home from those who wish to enter it unlawfully and help themselves to what does not belong to them:

Purchase a security intruder alarm:

While this is the simplest thing that you can do to help prevent your home being a target for burglars, it is often one of the most effective. If your home has an alarm that is visible to a burglar, then they will almost certainly be deterred from trying to burgle it, particularly if other properties in the locality are not fitted with them.

Check the main entry point to your home:

While this includes ensuring that your front door is securely fastened with more than one sturdy lock, it also requires that you thoroughly check any other means of accessing your property from the front, such as through a gate. If your gate is always kept closed and is strong, then moving through it to get to your front door will be less tempting. While some homeowners choose to display a ‘beware of the dog’ sign, this often indicates to burglars that you don’t have an alarm fitted at the property or that you may often leave your back or side doors open to allow your pet to go in and out at will.

Never leave a ladder outside your home:

Ladders that are left lying around in gardens or in unlocked garages are an open invitation for burglars, so always keep any ladders that you have inside your home where they can’t be seen through a window, or securely fastened inside a locked garage. Wheeled bins can also be used as climbing tools for burglars trying to enter your property from an upstairs window, so ideally keep them out of sight or chain them up away from the walls of your home.

Mailbox protectors:

If a burglar can look in through your mail slot and see keys left in the hallway or can reach keys left in the door, then this could be easy pickings for them. Consider buying a mail slot protector or simply remember to never leave keys where they can be seen by intruders.

Take photographs of your valuables:

Listing your valuables and taking pictures of them in situ, can be a huge help should you be unfortunate enough to have intruders steal items from your home. It will help you to be clear on what was taken and help with any insurance claims that you go on to make.

Thinking like a burglar could mean that your home never becomes a target for thieves; for more advice and guidance to check that your locks are performing as they should, contact your local locksmith.