Around Your House

* Make sure your home is easily identifiable to the authorities in the case of an emergency with large, clearly visible numbers on the building and/or mailbox.  Make these reflective if possible.  Remember never to put your name on your mailbox, however, as this information can be used to obtain your phone number allowing potential burglars to check when you are out.

* If you are in the habit of losing your keys, ask a reliable neighbor to hold a spare key for you; NEVER hide a spare key near your front door: it is the burglar’s job to know all the usual hiding places.

* Do not leave ladders, garbage cans, building supplies or tools where they can be used as aids to gain access to your home; all these items should be secured out of sight for safety as well as security.

* Trees growing near your house should be trimmed to prevent access to upstairs windows or balconies, and branches that overhang your garden wall or fence should be removed.  

* Access points such as doors, balconies, and windows should not be hidden by shrubbery; burglars will avoid homes where they can be observed breaking in from the road or neighbors’ homes.  However, low growing spiky or thorny plants such as holly, roses, or cacti can be planted beneath windows to further hinder intruders.  

* Alarm-company, neighborhood-watch, or “Beware of the Dog” signs can act as a deterrent, but are no substitute for the real thing, and should not be relied upon to keep your home secure.  

* Bear in mind that while a solid wall or privacy fence affords your property the seclusion and privacy many of us desire, can provide a burglar with cover to break into your home. Consider an iron railing (topped with spikes, to discourage climbers), picket or chain-link fence instead. Garden gates should be locked as securely as any other access point to your property.

* Your home and yard should always be well lit at night to deter burglars.  Motion-sensor lights are a good ecological option, but make sure to install the units in places inaccessible to intruders.

* Remember that when you are outside in the back yard, the front of your home is as vulnerable as if you were out.  Ask your All Security consultant about the viability of an intercom system with motion-sensor video to alert you of people approaching your home wherever you are.

* If you travel frequently, consider protecting your property with a series of surveillance cameras that can be viewed over the Internet.  Cameras that operate off a motion sensor will keep you from wasting valuable hard-drive space.

* To ensure that your video surveillance cameras can provide evidence of any crime committed on your property, make sure that the central recording device is securely locked away.  If the worst happens, at least the intruded cannot remove the proof of their criminal behavior.

* A baby video monitor is another option to provide surveillance, or a more hi-tech option would be a wireless enunciator, a gadget that will alert you when someone comes within 50 feet of its range.