Security expert shares Top 10 tips for making your home burglar-proof
Jeani Read
Province
Maybe you’ve seen the ads: those grubby characters cheerfully breaking into houses and cars, thanking us for helping them rip us off. “Thanks for leaving the back door unlocked,” says the guy looting through all your stuff. “Thanks for letting me know you’re on vacation,” says the guy glancing at your stuffed mailbox. “Thanks for not installing a deadbolt,” says the guy kicking your door in.
These are part of the Vancouver Police Department’s latest ruse to confuse criminals: to enlist the public to get onside with ads that remind us of the common-sense ways we can help prevent crime. VPD says it reduced property crime five per cent in 2004 and a further six per cent by mid-2005. The aim is for 20 per cent within four years.
We thought giving them — instead of the criminals — a hand would be a great idea. Longtime security expert Frank Fourchalk recently launched his own popular crime prevention site, www.
yourhomesecurity.ca. We asked him for his top tips for preventing property crime, giving the path of least resistance a bit more resistance.
“About half of home burglaries are committed without force,” says Fourchalk. “Burglars are opportunists. They don’t usually spend more than 60 seconds trying to break into a home. But if you’re sitting in a home with cheap locks and a bare-bones alarm system, chances are an intruder could blow through your door, take off with your valuables and be gone long before the police arrive.”
So here goes.
1 Locks: These are your first line of defence. Install high security deadbolts, which have virtually pick-resistant cylinders, solid-spin collars to protect against twisting, two-inch deadlocking bolts of saw-resistant steel and a heavy-duty reinforced strike. “Cheap locks are just junk,” says Fourchalk.
2 Keys: When you move into a home, have the locks re-keyed. Previous owners, relatives and friends will have the key. In new homes and condos, builders often have master keys. It’s the most affordable and sensible thing to do.
3 Security system: Install a hard-wired system with good coverage. You need several motion detectors and contacts on all the windows and doors, even upstairs. Burglars will enter upstairs, partly because they know owners skimp on alarms there.
4 Doors: Make sure exterior doors are of solid-core construction. Install door viewers. All out-swinging doors should have the outside hinges pinned to prevent removing the door and sliding patio doors should have auxiliary locks with anti-lift shims or screws to prevent lifting the door out of the frame. Do not open the door to strangers. Paranoia aside, be suspicious of unscheduled visits from delivery or servicemen. If a forced entry is attempted, lock the door and phone 911. Have an accessible cellphone for emergency situations.
5 Windows: Windows should have auxiliary locks or a wood dowel in the bottom track to prevent prying, and anti-lift shims in the top track to prevent lifting the window out of the frame. Install security bars (with safety releases) on all vulnerable house windows, including garage and basement. Keep drapes drawn at night so bad guys don’t pick up on your living habits. Don’t leave open windows unattended.
6 Indoor illusion of security: Make the home look occupied at all times. Put indoor lights on a timer, use timers that randomly turn lights and radio on and off, and tune the station to talk radio rather than music. Leave the curtains open about an inch so that it gives the impression that someone is inside.
7 Outdoor illusion of security: Buy a big pair of boots — a size 12 or 13 — and leave them on the stoop. Dump the boots in muck so they don’t look brand new. You can also place a large dog dish and dog leash outside the door to create the illusion that a big person and a big dog live there.
8 Grounds: “Burglars hate lights,” says Fourchalk. Install outdoor lights at the entrance and place motion-sensor lights around the perimeter of the home, out of arm’s reach. And if you can’t do that, then install a protective cage around the fixture to slow the removal of the bulb. Make sure all entry areas are especially well lit. Keep all trees trimmed to help eliminate hiding places. Large trees should not have their lowest branches lower than seven feet off the ground. Keep all ground plants under windows below the window sill.
9 Garage: Install auxiliary locks on garage windows as well as the wood dowel in the bottom track and anti-lift shims in the top track. Interior doors from garage to home should be of solid-core construction with deadbolt. Install window coverings on garage windows. Never leave the remote garage door opener in your vehicle (purchase a mini remote and keep it on your key chain).
10 Join a Block Watch or Neighbourhood Watch Program, or at the very least get to know your neighbours and their habits. Detecting something suspicious can be the first step towards foiling a crime. Your neighbours can be your first line of defence.
© The Vancouver Province 2006
