Every year in the United States more than 1.4 million burglaries take place and this figure is rising! In fact, property crimes take place across every state in the country and are by far the most common type of crime in America. An invasion of your home and privacy can leave you feeling extremely vulnerable and can take a long time to recover from. Thankfully, we've compiled a list of the best deterrents for burglars from targeting your home. Want to know more about equipping your home with burglar deterrents? Then you've come to the right place!
Why Invest in Burglar Deterrents?
As we've already mentioned, becoming the victim of a burglary can have a huge impact on your financial and emotional well-being. However, this isn't the only reason why protecting your home is important. Only 13% of all property crimes committed in the United States each year are solved. This means that the chances of recovering any invaluable or personal property stolen during a burglary are extremely low. When it comes to home security, prevention is far easier than a cure. Keeping your home secure isn't just about protecting your possessions though. More than 200,000 burglaries a year in the United States escalate into violent crime. By minimizing the risk of a burglary, you also reduce the likelihood of being involved in a confrontation with a burglar. This means that you can keep yourself and anyone you live with safer by investing in burglar deterrents. With that in mind, let's take a look at the top ten burglar deterrents to use in 2021:
1. Home Security Cameras
Our best deterrent for burglars is the presence of an outdoor security camera. Having cameras mounted around your exterior home is a great way to prevent burglars from entering your home! This immediately makes it look as though burgling your home will be more of a risk. After all, the chances of a burglar getting caught, identified, and convicted are much higher when you involve a security camera system. Burglars are much more likely to target homes without outdoor security cameras than those with them. It is a good idea to mount night vision security cameras around the outside of your home. These should cover areas that people have to pass through before approaching the building itself. That way, there will be no clear path for a burglar to get up to your house without being caught on a surveillance camera.
2. Outdoor Lighting
When it comes to how to deter burglars at night, lighting is everything. Well-lit areas are nightmares for burglars , as it is much easier to spot them. In particular, motion sensor lighting can be a great way to startle burglars approaching your home. These work in a few ways. Firstly, a bright light coming on suddenly may surprise someone approaching your house. This can throw a burglar off their plan and send them on their way. It also demonstrates that you have invested in quality security equipment, which means there may be more challenges coming their way! Motion sensor lighting is also helpful for you inside your home as it alerts you to movement outside. If you see a motion sensor light come on outside your home, then it might be time to check your security cameras. The light coming on will also give these a clearer view of anyone approaching the house. Once again, it is a good idea to position lighting and motion sensors along paths near your home. That way people cannot approach it under the cover of darkness.
3. Smart Video Doorbell Cameras
It might surprise you to find out that many burglars will try to get into a property via the front door. This is because approaching a front door looks a lot less suspect than creeping around the side of a building. You can help protect your home against this using the latest video surveillance, smart home technology. Doorbells cameras allow you to monitor who approaches your front door from your smartphone. Some apps will even alert you when someone is approaching your door with motion detection and facial recognition. That way you can watch the wide field of view to see what they are doing. If a burglar does try to break in through your front door, you can record this or even (depending on your app) speak to them through the doorbell. Or you can simply call the cops and let them deal with your intruder!
4. Dogs
From the latest tech to an old-school classic, you might be wondering do dogs deter burglars? The answer is, yes they can! Breaking into a home with a dog in it massively increases the risk of being caught in the act and this can be enough to put some burglars off. Larger dogs are, of course, more threatening than small lap dogs. Putting up signs saying 'Beware of the Dog' when you don't have a dog can be enough to put off burglars although this will generally only put off opportunist burglars. If a burglar is watching your home they will quickly find out whether or not you have a dog. Lying about having a dog can undermine your other security arrangements. However, mustn't just rely on a dog as your line of defense against a burglar. They might put some people off, but a desperate burglar will be more deterred by practical security arrangements.
5. Security Gates
Installing security doors and gates won't work for every property but it can make your home harder to access. Climbing over security gates is not a very subtle way for someone to approach your home. This puts burglars at risk of being spotted from the street. On top of this, it makes it difficult for burglars to see into your home. This means that it is more challenging to plan a burglary or see how to target your home. This makes robbing your home more of a risk for any burglar. Often putting an obstacle like this in place is enough of a burglar deterrent to keep would-be intruders from trying to rob your home.
6. Keeping Open Spaces Around Your Home
The more covered areas you have around your home, the more protection you give to burglars approaching your house. This is why it is extremely important to keep the area around your house as clear as possible. The fewer places burglars have to hide, the greater the challenge you create for them.
- Some good ways to clear space around your home include:
- Cutting back bushes and hedges near windows and doors
- Not having high fences up around the front of your home
- Keeping your driveway clear of cars
If you have any work done on your home involving scaffolding, it is important to keep this in clear view at all times. Scaffolding that is covered gives burglars the perfect way to climb up to your windows unseen.
7. An Alarm System
If you are serious about keeping your home secure then installing a home security system is an absolute must. Homes without security systems are 300% more likely to be broken into than homes with them. These systems incorporate:
- Security cameras and recording
- Door and window monitoring systems
- Security lights
- Alarm systems
- A security sign
- Emergency service call-outs
This means you can monitor your home's entire security system from one place. Some systems also offer a remote monitoring service. This means that you can pay to have someone monitor your home's security 24/7.
8. Get Friendly With Your Neighbors
There are lots of benefits to getting to know the people you live next door to and home security is one of them! Neighbors that you know are much more likely to keep an eye on your property and act if they see suspicious activity. If you go away, having a neighbor or neighborhood watch that you can trust to let into your house can also provide extra protection. That way anyone watching the house will see that someone is keeping an eye on it.
9. Smart Locks
Smart locks are another great feature of smart technology that you can use to secure your home. These work like standard door locks. However, you can monitor them remotely with your smart device, Alexa or Google Assistant. This means that you can see from your phone or computer whether or not a door is open or shut. You can even use them to lock a door if you have forgotten too! Some smart locks are also often fitted with alarm systems. These activate if someone forces entry, which should be enough to scare most intruders away! This is a great way to increase your home's window security as burglars often target windows to enter a building.
10. Secure Your Garage
Speaking of vulnerable spots in your home - your garage is another one you should take special care to secure. Often homeowners focus their attention on the main entrances and exits to their houses. However, burglars will look out for weak points and this is where garages come in. Garage doors are generally easier to break into than deadbolt front or side doors. If your garage is connected to your home, this can provide quick and easy access to the rest of your house. Investing in garage door security is a quick and easy way to secure your garage door. It is also worth installing shatter-proofing on any of your garage's windows.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Deter Burglars
The more you understand about burglars, the easier it will be to deter one from targeting your home. With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the frequently asked questions about home security and burglar deterrents:
How Do Burglars Choose Houses?
Different burglars work in different ways. Some are opportunists, who will seize the chance to burgle an open garage or sneak in through an open window. However, the majority of burglaries are premeditated. This means that burglars will hunt for specific properties to target. Usually, they will look for homes with poor security. These are much easier to break into and the chance of being caught is lower.
When Do Most Burglaries Take Place?
A lot of people's biggest fear is being at home during a burglary, however, the majority of burglaries take place during the daytime. This is because it's far less risky to burgle a house when it is empty. During the day most people will be out running errands or at work. More burglaries take place in summer than in winter. During the summer months, people are more likely to be away from their homes and maybe laxer with their security. For example, windows and doors are more likely to be left open.
How Can You Protect Your Home While on Vacation?
Empty houses are a prime target for an opportunistic burglar, so it is important to think carefully about protecting your home and valuables before you go away. Some good things to consider are:
- Using timers so that lamps come on in your home in the evening
- Asking your neighbors to come and collect your post so it doesn't build up on your mat
- Checking that all of your doors and windows are properly secured before leaving
- Checking your security system regularly online while you are away
- Leaving your car on the driveway so it looks like someone is in
If a potential thief isn't sure whether or not someone is in your home, they may not want to risk burgling it.
Help Protect Your Home From Burglaries Today
As you can see, when it comes to security, defense is the best line of attack. Thankfully, there are plenty of great burglar deterrents that you can put in place to keep your home off burglar's radars. For more help protecting your home, get in touch today to start designing your home's custom security system! We're happy to help.