Image Courtesy: mrallshouse
Eight homes are burglarized in the US every two and a half minutes, reports PR Web. This startling statistics seems enough to keep all of us alert and on guard against burglars.
Are you doing your best to prevent burglars from breaking into your house? Don’t wait to be the next victim; make sure that you have the best defense against intruders. Below are important guidelines on how to keep your home burglar-proof and select the best locks:
Sturdy and Solid Doors
Make sure that your home has a sturdy and solid front door, back door, and garage door. Solid wood or metal on exterior doors provide the best protection against break-ins. Roller shutter doors are also excellent visual deterrent to criminals – their tough and highly durable built gives your garage a superior level of security. Remember that most burglars used brute force rather than finesse tactics in breaking into your home. Investing in very expensive locks does not make sense if your doors are cheap and weak.
Door Frames and Hinges
Leave no gaps around the door frame because these will help burglars remove doors from their frame. Door frames must be strong and tight enough to resist forcing or spreading. In addition, door hinges should be protected from removal from the outside.
Tamper-Proof Locks
Select tamper-proof locks for your doors. Most burglars will attempt to twist, pry, or lock-pick your doors, so you want to buy only high-security locks that can resist the cleverest attacks. Crime prevention officers suggest using high-grade and heavy-duty deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt. A good quality deadbolt lock has a bevelled casing to inhibit the use of channel-lock pliers used to shear off lock cylinder pins. If you are unsure which locks are most secure, seek further information from crime reduction officers in your area.
Grills or Burglar Bars
Secure windows with grills or burglar bars. If properly installed, these can deter burglars from entering your house. Most locksmiths would be able to customize locks for all your windows. However, make sure you know where you leave the key to these strong bars in case you need to get out through the window during emergencies.
Make Sure to ‘Lock’ the Locks!
Secure all entry points. You have padlocks for garage doors, deadbolt locks on your front and back doors, customized locks for your windows – but you forget to lock them when you leave home. Absent-mindedness is costly. Victims of burglaries have collectively lost billions worth of properties because of this often overlooked practice.
“Don’t leave all doors, gates, and windows unlocked” is probably the most obvious advice homeowners should never neglect. Intruders will seize every opportunity to break into your house. If you have a pet door, make sure that you lock it every time you leave the house. A screen door or storm door is only a good additional protection if it is securely locked when you are not around.
Look for Good Lock Inventions
The ultra secure MCS (Magnetic Code System) technology lock – by Locks Online of UK
In 2012, many homes in West Yorkshire with cylinder locks were broken into using a finesse lock picking method called lock snapping. It seems that all locks have weak points. But take heart, as there are still a lot of good lock inventions out there.
Disk tumbler locks and magnetic-coded locks are just some of good examples of secure locks readily available in the market today. If you want to be sure, before buying any locks, check their ratings from any of these organizations: ASTM (US), Sold Secure (UK), CEN (Europe), and TNO (The Netherlands). They have set standards that measure the ability of locks to resist forced entry and surreptitious attacks that keep people and property almost always safe.
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