How to keep your home safe from criminal activity?
And here we are again at the sweet blog, the sweetest blog online.
And today, Instead of discussing home design issues, we will focus on something similar - how to help you keep your home safer from criminal activity?
Although we are deviating a bit from our familiar comfort zone, We are still in the area of our main theme - The home concept in all its aspects.
This article will list the most effective ways to deal with everyday crime challenges directly or indirectly related to your home.
And as always, at the end of the article, there will be a refreshing infographic presentation to summarize its content for you.
Stay tuned.
1. The most common - Burglary.
Unfortunately, in the context of domestic crime, burglary is the most common felony. Therefore, it is the first one that we will discuss.
Home burglary is a serious and very common felony. In some cases, it even degenerates into much more severe stuff than just theft of property, such as physical injury and murder.
To give you a general idea about the sheer scale of the phenomenon, we will note that in the US alone, the annual average of home burglaries is a little over a million!
Besides the severe financial harm, powerful and far-reaching psychological phenomena can be caused to these felonies victims.
There is a well-known saying - 'A man's home is his fortress.'
The inner meaning hidden in this quote is that a person's home supposed to be the safest place for him - An escape zone from his daily difficulties and which is the place where he feels most comfortable and peaceful.
In light of this fact, you will surely be able to relatively understand what a violent break-in to that intimate and personal place means to him.
Home burglary victims say they intuitive feeling the desecration of their private place. Without proper care, anxiety about being left alone or leaving their home may accompany them from here on out.
So after this prologue, you probably ask yourself, 'what are the best ways to make your home as protected as possible?'
That's why we're here.
Technological means.
You will surely be happy to hear that the home security products market is enormous and diverse.
Remote monitoring using security cameras.
Cameras with Wi-Fi that record and upload to the cloud.
Sophisticated alarms with touch and volume detectors.
Video doorbell.
Door Locks with Bluetooth technology.
Smartphone-controlled sensors.
Smart lock (based on face/voice/fingerprint recognition)
'Smart' lighting (functions as a sensor and detector).
Those are just a tiny part of the technological protection means for every home. You can read more here about the latest home security gadgets for 2022.
The home security market is dynamic and constantly changing. You must understand the specific needs of your home environment and implement them wisely.
And, of course, there are the "older" and more traditional tools - thick bars made of solid metals/heavy bolt locks/large and heavy metal doors, Etc.
By the way, you will be surprised to hear that those "older" home safety measures such as heavy metal and simple bars are the ones that will cause the modern burglar - who is preparing himself to deal with technological safety measures - The most trouble.
We are not claiming that he can not overcome those safety measures. He certainly can. But the noise and effort involved in dealing with them (there are no magic buttons there. Heavy metal needs to be sawn) might divert him toward another victim.
Use advanced means!
Studies show us that technological home security products can significantly reduce the rate of home burglaries.
Therefore, when discussing the best ways to protect your home from crime, we must set aside an essential section related to technological means. They are the future of the field.
By the way, When dealing with burglary, We must note that, unfortunately, in many cases (especially when homeowners are present within the house during the act of the burglary), It can degenerate very quickly into a state of violent robbery. Therefore, we must also discuss the most effective ways to deal with this situation regarding the required products.
The purpose of those products in question will be to respond to immediate emergency needs, Assuming that the victim and the intruder are at an extremely close physical distance and significant physical damage is a matter of a few seconds.
A good example can be found in emergency buttons (some of which will not be easily visible) located in critical areas within your house and even means of self-defense (within the legal restrictions, of course).
Another good tip would be the maintenance of a fake safe, which will contain a few valuable things, and which, with her very presence, You can make the intruder think that, indeed, it is all you own. He has nothing more to "squeeze" from you because you have nothing more To give him.
We do not want to stress you out, but even a first aid kit must be included with these means. It is impossible to know how far things will go.
Little tricks.
In addition to the more "serious" measures mentioned above as tools for defending against home burglaries, you should know that there are also little tips that can help you in your efforts against this unfortunate phenomenon.
If you plan to leave your house for the night or even for a long time during the day, Ensure that the average person who passes by your door will think that there are people inside the house. You can do this by leaving lights on/the TV or radio on Etc.
There is a lot of evidence that leaving lights (or TV) on - can help you prevent burglary. Unfortunately, the same sources will also tell you that while this may help with some of them, many other burglars will still try their luck and knock on your door to see if there really is anyone within the house. Therefore, our recommendation is to combine this little tip with the technological means mentioned above, such as - a 'smart' front door lock, which allows you to answer back to anyone who knocks from your phone even if you are on the other side of the globe.
This combination of measures can help you drastically lower your chances of becoming a home burglary victim.
Another essential trick is getting help from friends and family.
Besides the intuitive reason, there is another helpful factor here - Ensure that one of your friends or distant family members comes to your house from time to time and checks on his condition.
Let's say you went on vacation or a business trip for a few days. Most burglars gather preliminary information before breaking in to understand the ideal time and course of action. Therefore, If a family member or friend comes to your house from time to time, it will be difficult for the burglar to gather his information properly and prevent him from even knowing that you are on vacation. By the way, try not to post about your upcoming vacation on social media. Just between us - no one really cares Anyway (except the burglars).
It would be best if you remembered that most home burglaries are implemented by amateurs (who, in most cases, are pretty desperate, which makes them very dangerous), so with your slightly deep awareness and dedicated preparation in advance - you can quite easily overcome them.
Read more here about facts and statistics regarding home burglary felony.
Home burglary is very common!
Initiated activity.
In addition to the set of tools mentioned above, you can also conduct an initiated activity that will help with your efforts to make your home safer from burglary.
1. Contacting your local police station and requesting patrols to increase police presence, and as a result, your sense of security in your neighborhood is likely to increase to some degree. Some police stations in the US even allow for an online patrol request.
You can also request additional assistance from the community police officer in your neighborhood - a police function that provides police services - community-oriented - Within the neighborhoods.
There is ample evidence showing the direct causal link between police patrols in the area and decreased crime levels.
2. If you are part of a strong community that can afford it, you can always consider hiring a private security company that will provide you with security services that the police can not give you due to its multitasking. You can read more here about the effect of private security agents in public spaces on crime.
So, to sum up, burglary is the most significant felony to the issue we are discussing, and for you to make your home more protected from crime, you will have to approach it first.
2. Keep your eyes open.
Awareness and keeping your eyes open are good tactics for lots of things. Particularly regarding the ways to keep your home safer from crime.
For example, many pedophiles/sexual harassers are characterized by a sudden arrival in a particular residential area, And you or the other neighbors do not have early acquaintance with them.
Therefore, make sure to keep your eyes open for all kinds of new "guests" coming to your area, whether their stay will be temporary or permanent.
Improving community communication and upgrading the possibilities of conveying messages among all community members can assist in these efforts.
Moreover, if we return for a brief moment to the issue of burglary, as noted above, gathering preliminary information regarding the victim of burglary is an elementary tactic for most burglars. Indeed, 65 percent of home burglars know their victims.
Therefore, keep your eyes open.
Be aware!
By the way, the potential suspect does not have to be a new resident who just came to your area to live. It is also relevant for all kinds of "new interested people" who show up and start asking questions out of the blue. The guiding principle is that you should be aware that most crimes begin with collecting preliminary information, and the sooner you notice suspicious things, The less likely you are to become a victim of crime.
3. Good habits.
Adopt good habits. Those that will help you in your efforts to create a safer environment for your home.
Habits like:
Development of good inter-family communication.
We are pretty sure you are aware that burglary is just one of many crimes that can be committed in the context of your home.
There are many other dangers, such as child abuse by strangers who have come to your home area for various reasons and more. In addition to the many tools we have presented, communication is another essential one.
Good communication skills between you and those close to you can be the difference between maintaining a safe home environment and the complete opposite.
A good and tailored explanation for your child regarding suspicious people and the duty to report, and that they can - always, under all circumstances - tell you everything, is a critical part of the efforts to keep them safe.
Make them feel as comfortable as possible to tell you about disturbing situations they may have encountered.
Be aware!
Communicate with each other!
You can read more here about understanding the best ways to talk to your child about sensitive issues such as these.
Family checklist.
"Safety routine," call him if you will.
Set up a house checklist, which will cover several safety vulnerabilities within your house. Such as Checking locks, checking the alertness and correctness of electronic security measures, a monthly conversation of one of the family members with the neighborhood police officer, and more.
A checklist that will get you on the right track
All of the above will put you in a good position of awareness, which will help you in your efforts - to keep your home safer.
We hope this article - 'How to keep your home safe from criminal activity?' - has helped you to some extent in your efforts to keep your home safer.
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