Some criminals watch the newspaper for certain events; weddings, funerals, births, retirements etc.

Here’s an example: John Doe and Mary Smith will be Wed at St. Mary’s church January 15 at 6:00 pm and will be honeymooning on a cruise in the Caribbean for two weeks following the reception. This means that all the nice wedding presents, still in their boxes, will be waiting for a burglar.

Unfortunately, many burglaries have taken place while you are attending a loved ones funeral. Leave someone at home during this time.

If you are planning an extended vacation or such, share your story in the newspapers after you come home. It will make a better story anyway. Don’t put information in the newspapers that will invite a burglar to your home.

Is having a safe a good idea? Most safes I’ve seen are in a location easily found. Not secured to the floor and can be moved. Sure your valuables will protected against fire but, now you have all your valuables in a nice container to be carried off by a burgler.

A few weeks after your home is burglarized your door bell rings. It’s the burgler that ransacked your home earlier. He announces he was the one that burglarized your home and he knows you have a safe and where it is. You have the combination and he demands at gun point for you to open it. Now your whole family is in a bad situation.

There is a company that specializes in “hidden safes”. They have unique ways of hiding their safes so that no would be theif could ever find it. They claim they have never had one of their safes found.

Their website is: hiddensafes.com. Dan Perkins is the owner and will gladly discuss their line of “hidden safes” with with you. I highly recommend this company. I’ve worked with him in the past with always good results.

It is important that you research the alarm company carefully before you sign a contract with them. Most alarm companies require that you to sign at least a three year monitoring contract. It is very hard to get out of this contract if you are dissatisfied with your service.

Some questions to ask:
1. Is the monitoring center UL Approved.
2. How many agents are on duty at any time? (some smaller compaies only have one or two on duty. If there are a lot of calls coming into the center at the same time, some calls could be lost.)
3. Do you send a call report of alarms?
4. Is your company licensed by the state?
5. What kind of security checks does your company perform on your personnel? Does the sales representative have a license by the state, also the installing technician? (Most states do a criminal background check on all alarm company employees and require them to carry and update this at all times.)
6. Is the equipment you install UL approved?
7. Is an alarm license required by the city you live in? If so, what penalties does the community impose for multiple alarms?

A good idea is to call your local police department and ask them what alarm companies they have the most problems with. They can’t recommend a company but they can tell you about the companies that do inferior work. Ask your neighbors who have an alarm system.

Be sure and do your research before you install an alarm system.

Mistakes made in installing an alarm system:

Most alarm systems are tied into your phone system to call the monitoring center when the alarm is activated. Quite often the alarm companies tie the alarm system into your phone line leaving the wire exposed to the outside. Even if they tie it into the phone lines inside the home, the out-going phone lines are still exposed outside the home. These exposed lines can be cut by a would be burglar so the alarm system will not call the monitoring center.

There are several solutions to this problem. The easiest way is to have your alarm technician to run a (6) wire to connect the system to your phone line. They have to run a (4) pair anyway so the extra pair could be used for a loop when cut would sound the alarm.

The best solution is a “cellular system“. This system is secured inside your home and will automatically sieze the line if the phone line goes down for any reason. This system will call the monitoring center via radio waves just as your cellular phone system works. This is the best protection you can add to your security system. The expense is worth every penny for security.

There are also “line siezure” systems. These monitor your phone line at all times and if there is and interuption of phone service your alarm will activate causing the siren to sound. Even if they phone line is cut, the burglar does not know if you have a wireless back-up system. So when the system goes into alarm and the siren is blaring away the burglar will flee.

Talk to your alarm company and ask about the different ways they have of protecting your phone lines. A system that does not report to the monitoring center is dangerous. It gives you a false sense of security.

The four things burglars hate are: Light, Noise, Exposure and Time.

Records show that most burglaries are done during the hours of 10am to 2:30 pm. Why? Dad’s at work and mom’s out doing her errands while the kids are at school. He’ll be home around 5:30 pm but mom wants to be home when the kids get home from school. This time of day he has all the natural light he needs.

Noise .A security system should have the loudess siren on it. Even if you do not have the system monitored, which is not good, he knows he’s been detected and will flee the home. This also why he would rather kick in a door than break a window. Windows make a distinct noise when they break alerting your neighbors. Doors just a low thud noise. Put good locks and dead-bolts on all doors.

Exposure. Does your home have high shrubberies, dense trees, stockade fencing or something that will give a burglar a place where he can’t be seen? Trim the shrubs so they are no taller than waist high.

Time is the burglars most worst enemies. Most burglars are in your home only three to ten minutes. They have a system of where to go to grab what they want and leave as fast as they can. Don’t leave items out to cut down on the time it takes to steal from you.

Start looking at your home inside and out as a burglar would do.

It’s that time of year again when it starts to get dark early. Do you leave an outside light on at a front or side door all day?

A lot of people do so when they get get home from work , the door they use to come into the home is lit.
This is a beacon to a burglar. Leaving this light on is a pretty good indication that the home owner is gone for the day and will not be home until after dark. Not only is this a good indication but it gives him a time frame of how much time he has to steal from you.

The solution is to replace your outside lights with automatic dusk to dawn lights. They have some very decorative lights for all styles of homes. Using this type of lighting, there will be no lights on during the day, but plenty of lights at night.

It always amazed me of how many people would put in a security system and not arm the second floor windows. Most of these homes had the Master Bedroom on the second floor. That’s the most treasured room in the home because that’s where most of the “stuff” a burglar wants is in the master bedroom. Jewelry, cash, passports, blanks checks, guns, etc.

Many ladders are left outside giving the burglar access to the second floor. It might not be your ladder, it could be your neighbors.

Even if you don’t have an alarm system it’s still wise to lock ALL windows & doors in your home. A burglar that sees a window cracked open on the second story will go to great lengths to come into your home through it. Word for today, “Lock It.”

I know everyone thinks they have the perfect place to hide a key to their home incase they lock themselves out.

The problem is many people use the same hiding place. It is not wise to leave a hidden key for your home. In fact, take a look at your home as a burgler would do. That’s where you hid your key.

Some would be criminals actually follow the school bus and watch the children coming home.

Example: Let’s see, this is 123 Any Street and little johnny went to the third rock from the front door. I’ll come back tomorrow when everyone is gone.

There are new door locks in which a key is not necessary. It unlocks using a numbered key pad. You decide what numbers you want to use to unlock the door. They cost approximately $100.00. This product makes your home more secure.

Many homes have been robbed by hidden keys and the owners wonder how they got into the house. If a key gets lost or stolen, it will cost you more than $100.oo to change locks.