A home is burglarized every

15 seconds in America!

Have you done everything you can to protect your family?

What's inside:

Strategy 1: Be Proactive Rather Than Reactive

Creating a hard target should be your fundamental objective when determining what security measures you need to implement. You need to adopt a “better them than us” mentality when comparing your house with the others on your street or neighborhood. After squaring away your home security, share these principles with your neighbors. This can transform your entire neighborhood into a hard target.

Strategy 2: Create a Hard Target

As mentioned previously, your primary objective is to make your house a hard target. This includes keeping exterior lights on during the hours of darkness, keeping windows covered, maintaining your lawn and landscaping, and posting signs to advertise the presence of a security system.

Strategy 3: Maintain Lifestyle Security (LifeSec)

Considering the locations of pictures and diplomas in relation to windows. Social engineers and identity thieves will exploit any information you provide, so do not make it easy for them. If you hang diplomas and certificates in your office, consider placing them in locations unobservable from the outside. Other LifeSec considerations include stick family bumper stickers, school bumper stickers, school pick-up window placards with kids’ names, mail or other personal documents visible in vehicle, weekly schedules visible on refrigerator, etc.

Strategy 4: Make Them Work For It

The Bureau of Justice statistic reported that the most common method of forced entry in both completed and failed entries was by damaging or removing a door. Replace the builder-grade screws of all exterior door hinges and striker plates with 2”-3″ construction screws. Longer screws mount deeper into the frame and studs; anchoring more effectively in the event someone tries to kick-in your door.

Strategy 5: Outsource Your Situational Awareness

Early Warning Systems are defined as any device that passively monitors a zone or boundary and alerts you when an individual or vehicle enters the zone or crosses the boundary. Many modern surveillance cameras and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) can monitor zones within their fields of view and can send a notification to your smartphone. Other early warning devices include motion sensors and magnetic driveway alarms.

Strategy 6: Use an Intrusion Detection System

The types and quantity of sensors needed will depend largely on your house layout. As a rule of thumb, I recommend recessed door sensors on every exterior door, including the door leading into the garage. Window sensors on first story windows or windows that would be the most attractive to a criminal. Tilt sensors on each garage door that will notify you if you garage is left open or opened.

Strategy 7: Plan to Burglarize Your House

Prior to determining what security upgrades your home needs, imagine you were a criminal targeting your home. Imagine how and when you would hit your house if you wanted to ransack for valuables or for more sinister motives. Survey the perimeter of your property and house and consider easy access points. By survey, I mean literally walk around the exterior of your house while looking inside and determine where you would make entry. Due to the significant changes in appearance from day to night, it is important to survey during the day and then again at night. Consider locations that might provide concealment for a burglar trying to gain access. Is it easy to observe inside the house from the outside without being seen? Does your house look like a hard or soft target when compared with the other houses on your street? Where might you want to breach to gain entry?

I'm ready to transform my Home into a Hard Target.

_{Follow us and stay up to date}