It’s no news to preppers that keeping your home safe is important. We’ve got that part down.
What’s a little more tricky is knowing which home security improvements are the most important for you to do, so you don’t end up spending money buffing up security in areas that are perfectly fine, and accidentally overlooking other, more glaring security issues.
There’s no point in getting a quality lock, for example, if your back door is actually intended for indoor use. It’d take no time at all for someone to break down that door, so a good lock would really be a waste until you had a proper back door fitted.
Same with getting a top-of-the-line lock system when you already have a very good one. You’re better off spending the money reinforcing your door frames than you are upgrading an already good lock system to something better.
SouthOrd PXS-14 Lockpick Set – eBay / Amazon.co.uk
It can be hard to tell which security measures are most important, however, especially if you’re new to thinking about home security. For newbies, finding chinks in the metaphorical armour is not as easy as for those who have been working away at home security improvements for decades.
So I’d love to know, especially for those who are new to this sort of thing, what do you think are the most important home security measures to take?
Since I’m no security expert, I asked Thomas for his thoughts and he said:
Personally, I find creating a staggered security system to be superior to a singular, strong solution. I know a few preppers who added doors in corridors and I think its a great system. You can have 2 doors outside + 1 door in the main corridor and a strong bedroom door. That’s 4 doors with 4 locks to get through which will give you (hopefully) both time for the police/backup to arrive and plenty of warning that shit is going down. Depending on a single solution like a strong front door with a decent lock just makes me uncomfortable.
What do you think?
A “wise” ( professional) criminal intent on stealing your valuables will get in your house no matter what you have but the juveniles and druggies will look for an easier mark. The guy next door with no sign or dog. The back of your house is the area of most break ins Place a beware of dog sign on your fence and a large dog bowl with water and a large dog toy. It won’t stop the professional but it will slow down others. Just a thought
Aye, gotta say I love my neighbours Alaskan Malamute. Completely understand why people tread softly around our gates.
I’ve almost been victim of a home invasion (intruder didn’t make it through, though 2 separate guys came in to check) and my God! It’s an unspeakably terrifying experience! Stumbled into this website by “accident” and I must say has made me way more aware of the things I should do to keep me and my family as safe as possible. Really thank you guys for your labor on this site! Be blessed and be safe!
Yeah, its definitely a surreal experience. What stopped those home invasion attempts? Just couldn’t get through the door?
Glad it all worked out for you mate, all the best.
I’ve also heard just a security monitoring sign in the front is enough to scare away most would be burglars. Is that actually true?
Jarrett, I doubt a security sign is much of a deterrent to a “wise” criminal intent on stealing your valuables. Even a working security system is of little use EVEN if it calls the police to inform that an entry has been made. A “wise” criminal knows he has about 90 seconds to grab whatever he can find without ever getting caught. Grab and go and no one will know unless there is someone watching (and following) the culprit. Ask any cop, they’ll confirm this.
Thing is, it costs you little to nothing to place a sign like this in the front, so why not? I wouldn’t count on it to deter everyone, but if it’s enough to deter just one less person at basically zero cost, I’d be game for trying it.
Might not deter the wise criminals, but maybe the opportunists, or as bdc labelled them, “truant male juveniles.”
@Really_Old_Guy – super interesting and makes you think, if you have a security system like that and make it hard to find & grab valuables within 90 seconds, maybe much of what you have will be safe.
That being said, I hate leaving valuables in the house in the first place, so as little of that as possible is always my rule of thumb. Being on the 7th floor of an apartment building sure helps me feel more at ease though.
Jarrett,
I spent 27 years in law enforcement in Southern California. That myth is a popular “marketing tool”of alarm system sales people. It STILL takes law enforcement several minutes to respond to any alarm call, IF, no other call is a higher priority. Burglar alarm calls (property crimes),are not a high priority call. Depending upon what responding agency’s agency area you live in, you could be waiting as l9ng as an hour or more, on average.
Very interesting! Based your experience, what do you think are some of the most common ways homes have been broken into?
Best deterrent I know of is a dog that barks when someone comes to the door, unless they are really determined to get in. they’ll go away and find a softer target.
Such a good point ;)
Most home burglaries are committed by truant male juveniles and not by professionals. The point of entry is usually an unlocked back door. Lock the door! Put a radio and at least one light on a random timer. If you live in a ground floor apartment, the point of entry will be a bathroom window. You can put in a tamperproof screen. Nothing expensive, so far!
If you have the ability to put a steel mesh screen door with a twist inside deadbolt lock, on a door frame, you won’t have unwanted guests in the garage or home in the summer time. The lady next door had such an uninvited guest. 15 years later, no steel mesh screen door. Oh, yes, she spent hundreds putting up a camera – which will only allow a view of the person who has either killed you or already ransacked your home.
I put internal twist open deadbolts on each bedroom door. It deters entry into each bedroom if you are away or simply want more internal security when you are at home in bed.
The radio and light on a random timer is a great idea.
And lol @ “Oh, yes, she spent hundreds putting up a camera – which will only allow a view of the person who has either killed you or already ransacked your home.” So true.
Deadbolts on bedrooms is a great idea for slowing the process of getting to valuables. Which is important since if you’re a burglar, you want to get in and out as quickly as possible. Nice tip!