Tips For Home Safety
The following article is about Tips for Home Safety. Women want their homes and family to be safe and secure. Unfortunately, robbery, burglary, and the more recently termed home invasion has become a major concern for most home owners. A statistic from the FBI reports that every 15.4 seconds a home evasion occurs. So what can you do to keep this from happening to your family? Women especially should have a keen grasp on the situation and become proactive in deterring the possibility of the problem occurring.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Experts on the subject agree on one thing for sure – have a plan.
Hold a family meeting to discuss the plan and the roles everyone will play. If you have children there are a few important factors to instill in them from a young age. First, NEVER open the door to a stranger. This advice is something we adults should practice also. Better yet tell your children, especially if they are young, to always have an adult with them before opening a door. Next, teach children about the 911 system and when it is appropriate to use it. Many schools are currently adapting emergency plans as part of their curriculum and reinforcing the measure at home will only help in case of an emergency in your home. Another important factor to consider is having an escape route. If the invasion happens in the back of the house try to escape from another area of the home without being noticed and call authorities immediately. Do not try to confront the perpetrator on your own, leave that to the professionals when at all possible.
The following checklist will assist you in minimizing the risks for invasion:
DOORS
• Install a wide angle peep hole in order to see an impending “visitor” before opening the door
• Use a solid core or metal door at all entrance points
• Use quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt locks with a one-inch throw bolts
• Use a quality, heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead-latch mechanism
• Use a heavy-duty, four-screw, strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame
• Use a secondary blocking device on all sliding glass doors
• Keep the latch mechanism in good condition and properly adjusted
• Keep sliding door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted
• Use anti-lift devices such as through-the-door pins or upper track screws
WINDOWS
• Make sure windows have a lock system that works
• Make sure someone cannot reach through an open window and unlock an entry door
• Secure all accessible windows with secondary blocking devices
• Make sure someone cannot reach inside the window and remove the blocking device
• Close curtains or shades in the evening before retiring for the night
LIGHTING
• Use interior light timers to establish a pattern of occupancy
• Use light timers to turn on/off lights automatically
• Have a entry light installed at every doorway; make sure the bulbs are burning brightly
• Exterior lighting should allow 100- feet of visibility
• Use good lighting along the pathway to the entries of your door/s
• Install floodlights with motion detectors on the corners of your home
It is also a good idea to make sure bushes and shrubs around the entry to your home are trimmed and the area is clutter-free so that perpetrators don’t have an area to lurk or hide.
Another good suggestion is to have local law enforcement complete a walk-through of your home to determine areas of vulnerability. Contact the local crime prevention chapter in your neighborhood to set up a meeting. You may also want to determine if there is a neighborhood watch program where you live. Sign up and remain active. The home invasion that the group prevents may be your own.
Although safety and security is still a major issue concerning women and their families following these measures should help in easing the worry surrounding the problem.
Above all remember your home is your castle. Do whatever it takes to fortify it.
