Home security advice for inside your home

It takes just seven seconds for a professional burglar to decide whether your home is an easy target or not. Once they’re inside they know exactly what they’re looking for, so why not carry out some simple home security measures inside your home to make sure burglars don’t get that far.

Your doors and windows are the easiest entrance points for a burglar, so making these as secure as possible is very important. This is done by having adequate locks (possibly including a deadlock on doors) and a security chain to make entry more difficult. These should be closed and locked every time you leave the house, even if it’s just for a short period of time.

Sliding glass doors can be secured with a metal bar or wooden dowel placed in the door track, and all ground floor and basement windows should be closed and fitted with locks. It is also possible to replace old fashioned windows with UPVC windows as these are more difficult to smash.

Doors can also provide access to keys which burglars can use to enter houses without force. This is why it’s important to remove keys from locks and place them away from doors and windows, as letterboxes can be used to ‘fish’ for keys or open doors from inside.

The same can be said of dog and cat flaps. Although a desperate burglar is a dangerous burglar, pets provide obstacles. For valuables kept inside the home it’s a good idea to use a security marker pen to mark your postcode on property, which makes it easier to return stolen items back to you if recovered.

You might want to think about having an inventory of your belongings and secure important documents and valuables either in a safe place or in a bank. If you do have valuables lying around then it’s important to add window coverings.

Lighting up your home, especially when nobody is home, is a good idea, as it’s an easy and very cost-effective measure to help prevent burglary. You can set timer switches which give the impression that a home is occupied even when it’s not.

You should be careful when you’re away. For example, don’t leave a note in the milk bottle telling your milkman you’re going on holiday – it’s not just him you’re telling. Ensure your letterbox is not overfilled, this is another giveaway that your home is currently empty.

A final way to improve the security inside your home is by investing in a monitored alarm system from a reputable security company, like ADT. This is an effective deterrent as it shows burglars that your property is always being watched and there’s someone on hand immediately when your alarm goes off.