Whether you’re away on holiday, out for the night, or even just at the office, arriving home to find your home has been invaded can be truly devastating.
It’s not just the material loss that takes its toll on victims of burglary. The psychological and emotional effects of such a personal intrusion can stay with you for a long time.
Homeowners and burglars are in a constant arms race, perpetually trying to outwit one another. Here at IDS Security Systems, we have years of experience helping homeowners to stay ahead of the threat of burglary—so here are some expert tips to give you the edge over any would-be intruders.
Lock your doors and windows.
It seems obvious, but a securely-locked home should always be your first line of defence.
The fresh air may be very welcome when you're hanging out at home (especially during the hot summer months) but leaving the windows open when you go out leaves your home vulnerable to opportunistic burglars. The same goes for failing to lock the door behind you.
It’s important to check and lock any potential access points to your home—including any external buildings you may have on your property, like sheds and garages—before leaving your property unattended.
Be discreet—don’t advertise your absence.
Another major deterrent to burglars is the presence of the homeowners. Knowing that a homeowner will be away from their property for a certain length of time gives burglars a known window of opportunity.
For this reason, we recommend that you...
- Stay silent on social media. Avoid posting about your upcoming holiday or trip online. We understand: you're excited, and you want to share that excitement with your friends on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. But information can easily spread once it's on the Internet, and the details of your holiday (during which your home will be unoccupied) could easily fall into the wrong hands.
- Vary your schedule. This one can be a bit more more difficult depending on your personal circumstances, especially if you have a regular work schedule. But if possible, try not to be too predictable—leaving your house and arriving home at different times from one day to the next will throw off anyone who might be carrying out surveillance of your neighbourhood or street.
- Get a lockable box for parcels and letters. Stashing your deliveries in a locked container kills two birds with one stone: it keeps packages safe from opportunistic thieves AND makes it harder for anyone to notice if your mail is building up (indicating your absence from the property).
Eliminate potential hiding places.
Burglars like to be as invisible as possible. The ability to quickly conceal oneself—or better yet, avoid detection altogether—is an essential skill in the burglary trade. The thieves will want to remain hidden while carrying out pre-burglary surveillance on your property, and they may also need places to hide while they're actually carrying out the job.
You can slash their ability to do both of these things by reducing the number of available hiding places on your property. The following steps can help:
- Stay on top of the gardening. That way, anyone who's monitoring your property won't be able to take cover in long grass or overgrown hedges.
- Keep outbuildings, sheds and garages locked. This will prevent them being used as hiding places, plus it will protect any expensive equipment stored within.
- Ensure your exterior lights are in good working order. Remember, you want to remove any possibility for burglars to hide in shadows!
Install motion-sensitive deterrents.
Closely related to the above, motion sensors can be used to activate systems that reduce a burglar’s ability to hide (and deter them from even trying in the first place).
- Add lighting with motion sensors that will reveal anyone trying to hide on your property. Motion-sensitive floodlights can be particularly off-putting to trespassers due to the attention they draw.
- Install CCTV security cameras with motion sensors and night vision. These will act as both a deterrent and a source of video evidence in the event of a break-in.
- Use a smart doorbell—like a surveillance camera, this can both deter thieves and capture evidence, even if you’re away from home.
- Burglar alarms also work by sensing motion. Even the most determined burglar won’t want to risk setting off an intruder alarm and drawing loud attention to their illegal activities.
As you can see, a number of elements must be combined to effectively protect your home from burglars.
Rather than separately implementing all of the steps listed above, we at IDS Security can make things simple with our bespoke home security systems. Our approach is tailored to your specific needs—contact us now to arrange a free home survey and discuss your home security options.
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