Resources on Home Security

Protect Yourself Against Home Burglary
State Farm is one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S., so when they talk about protecting yourself from home burglary you can bet they know what they are talking about. Visit the Safety section of the site's Residence Learning Center and find several articles on home security, such the article Protect Yourself Against Home Burglary. According to the piece, while the chances of being a victim of burglary may be small in any one year, your odds increase over time that a burglary may occur to your home. So what can you do to protect yourself? This article has several ideas for ways that you can make your home less appealing to your average burglar. Start by using automatic lights to fool a burglar into thinking that someone is home. Burglars do not like to enter a home when someone is there, or when they think someone is there. Burglars don't like to be seen, so remove bushes and shrubbery from around the house. This leaves burglars more exposed and makes your home less inviting to them. Always lock doors and windows when you leave. Don't forget kitchen and bathroom windows, the most common windows for burglars to enter by. Install good quality deadbolts. Also install a deadbolt on the door from the garage to the house, and get in the habit of locking all the deadbolts every time you leave your house. There are several addition helpful and useful tips in this article. For addition articles, browse through the article slisted on the Residence Learning Center or run a keyword search for home safety and home security. As this site makes clear, the security of your home and the safety of your family is no accident.

Campus Safety Magazine
This is a trade publication for campus police chiefs, security directors, IT personnel, emergency managers and executive administrators responsible for or involved in security and public safety for schools, universities and hospitals. But it certainly has lots of good information for individuals attending or employed by these institutions for becoming aware of potential dangers and taking steps to protect themselves. There's a lot of information on the site. It has news, products, videos, a photo calary, blog, podcasts, research, events, webinars, a directory and educational tools—in addition to the magazine. There are sections on mass notification, school safety, emergency management, university security, hospital security, security technology, public safety, and students/ parents,

Security & Safety Tips from Houston Police Dept.
These security and safety tips are compliments of the police department of Houston, Texas. As you would expect from a police department, these tips are straight to the point and street smart. The page defines crime prevention as ...the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of some action to remove or reduce it. Start by locking your doors, using dead bolts. Exterior doors need a peephole and the frames must be solid and securely attached to the frame of the house. All windows should have a quality locking system, and sliding doors should have a rod that prevents them from sliding along the track if the lock is forced. Double hung windows should have a hole drilled through the bottom of the top sash and into the top of the bottom sash so that a nail or other metal pin can be dropped into the hole to keep the window from being opened. The hole should be just slightly larger than the pin and the pin must be long enough to stick out over the top of the hole for easy removal. Install a UL Approved alarm. Keep bushes cut back from the house and make sure there is enough exterior lighting at night. Keep shades drawn at night to prevent a would-be thief from determining how many people are in the house. Join your local neighborhood watch. There are several additional tips and advice for keeping your home and your business safe.

Burglar Proofing from Better Homes & Gardens
The website for Better Homes & Gardens has several articles that address everything you need to know about burlgar proofing your home. Some of the advice to be gleened include: make sure your outside doors have deadbolt locks; simple key locks are considered a joke by professional burglars, tips for securing your sliding glass door, which is one of the most common doors burglars use for gaining entry into your home, how to double lock hung windows and basement windows, don't hide keys around the outside of your home, make sure all outside doors are metal or solid wood and put a security sticker on your doors, install a peephole in outside doors and do not, under any circumstances rely on a door chain to keep a burglar out, install bright lights or motion-detector lights around the outside of your home, keep bushes trimmed away from windows so burglars don't have a convenient hiding place, when you're on vacation use timers to give the illusion that someone is home, and more. Article topics include using special dead-bolt locks, securing windows, securing special doors, adding dead-bolt locks, 10 ways to cut your homeowner's insurance, and evaluating security companies.