Protecting Your Home

Home Security: Locking Out Crime, Part 2 of a 3-Part Series

Precautionary measures can be taken to protect your family and assets - the secret is to protect yourself well in advance. Why not start with your home?
Robberies, breaking and entering, and other crimes occur more often than you would think. Hearing about occurances of these crimes to other people will still leave people thinking, “It will never happen to me”. The point is, protect your home and your assets – it could happen to you. Here are some suggestions to start you off.

The most advertised way to protect yourself and your home is by installing an alarm system. This form of protection is beneficial because they can detect intruders, fires, and the presence of carbon monoxide. Some of them could also perform to detect high temperatures and flooding. Something to consider when installing an alarm system is that smart burglars will cut the telephone lines before breaking into a home as a precaution against alarm systems. In order to avoid that, ensure that the telephone lines are well secured and out of reach from the outside. Perhaps you could have the telephone lines run underground to your home.

Glass-Gard is a safety and security film applied to glass windows and doors. It does not make the glass bulletproof, but takes away the most valuable asset to a burglar – time. The purpose of Glass-Gard is to increase the amount of time it takes to penetrate a window by smashing it. It is also a protective shield against any objects that may be thrust at the window, including, for example, a garbage can, or even a street sign, by the means of wayward winds. Something to think about: over 70% of all break-ins occur through glass.

Ensure that all of your valuables are secured and if possible, labelled with a unique code, in the case that somebody manages to break into your home despite measures taken to prevent it. You could use techniques such as engraving a number on all things possible such as the television, electronics, etc., which could be used to identify these items as your belongings if police were to find it.

Ultimately, any measures whether big or small taken to protect your home are advisable. You never know when you will need the extra security features.

Written By: Sevinj Najafova, you may contact Sevinj via e-mail at snajafova@terrequity.com.