Home invasions have become one of the biggest criminal threats facing the public; in fact, according to law enforcement, a home invasion/burglary occurs nearly every 15 seconds in the United States.
Some quick stats on Home Invasions
- Every year, there are over 2.2 million burglaries in the US
- Most Home Invasions happen between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. since that’s when most people are at work or in school.
- According to the FBI, 1 in every 36 homes will be robbed.
5 things you are doing that could be inviting a criminal to burglarize your home
You have a Big Mouth!
Burglars aren’t always the shady guy you see in a Hollywood movie; in fact, a lot of times it’s either someone that you know or someone who you recently interacted with. From the guy installing your new entertainment system to the handyman who was fixing the clog in your kitchen sink, you need to be careful about what you say to the people you invite into your home.
You Share too much on Social Media
In an age where everyone shares far too much information online, criminals are quick to take advantage of how open our society has become. Modern criminals spend a lot of time on social media looking for victims. From posting pics while you’re at a local restaurant to bragging about that vacation that you are about to take you could be telling a criminal everything he needs to know about his next target – the empty home that you just told him about online.
- Don’t RSVP on Social Media platforms that announce you are going to be attending a party, concert, etc. Any time you publicly RSVP, you are sending out a public invite to criminals to come check out your empty home!
- Stop using Social Media Check-Ins. Seriously, if you really need to tell people where you just ate, wait until you get home to share the photos.
- Stop Publicly sharing photos of your home! How many of the images that you share on social media show everything you have to offer (TVs, video game systems, computers, etc.)?
You Leave your Windows and Doors Unlocked
According to law enforcement, a third of all burglars enter through an unlocked door or window. After knocking on the door to check if anyone’s home, a criminal’s next step is often to test the doorknob and the closest windows. Law enforcement reports are filled with countless examples where a burglar entered the home through an unlocked door when the occupants were in the backyard or upstairs. They mistakenly believed that because they were home, they could leave the doors unlocked.
You think your Home Alarm will Save You!
Home alarms are not the deterrent most people believe them to be. In fact, a lot of criminals seek them out. First, they think that people with an alarm likely have something valuable they are trying to protect. Second, when they hear the alarm go off, they know nobody is home, and they know they have a good 5 – 10 minutes before police will arrive.
If you are going to spend money on a security system, you are better off investing in something like the Ring Video Doorbell that allows you to see, hear and speak to anyone at your door from your phone, tablet or PC.
Criminals hate these systems because they have no idea whether you are home or at work when you are talking.
You Make it Easy for them to Hide!
Many people believe a fence will provide protection for their home, but it endsup doing the opposite. Yes, it can provide privacy for you, but it also allows a criminal to move unseen behind it.
The last thing a criminal wants is to be seen by people. When looking for a target, they will search out homes with big fences, overgrown trees, and bushes, or other areas that offer concealment.
Not true. Home alarms like Protect America can be set to an “at home” mode. Disabling motion sensors. The alarm will still go off and you can be at home. The statement that intruders seek out houses with home alarms is just not true. Also, IP cameras can catch pictures of the face and license plates of intruders. Ring cameras are a good choice so is KUNA and Arlo.
TIME TO RIG THE 12 GAGE SHOTGUNS UP AROUND THE HOUSE- WHEN YOUR NOT HOME LOAD THEM COCK THEM AND MOVE ON!
Nice idea to dream about, but not according to law enforcement. There was a farmer in northwest iowa a quite a few yrs ago that set a 12 gage shotgun to catch a burglar that been braking and entering. The bad guy lost both legs and sued the farmer, who ended up losing the farm and his ability to make a living. Good idea, but not legal in this day and age.
The farmer’s mistake was calling the police, he should have made fertilizer out of the criminal.
I remember that happening, yes the farmer lost his farm, but the neighbors all went together ( people for a large radius chipped in enough money ) and helped the farmer get his farm back. Also the bad guy was counter sued by the farmer and received a partial settlement. the prep / what ever you called burglar had been hitting a quite a few farms in the area, so local were on the look out for the guy.
Door stops are extremely under utilized yet cheap and easy to install. I am particular to a device called the door club. It amazing how much people don’t inspect thier door frames. Especially with older homes a good kick can knock a lot of locks right out of the frame if the door itself doesn’t give but a good brace at floor level can do wonders.
You’re right, I’ve replaced all the screws in my door frames with 3″ to 3 1/2″ wood screws, it makes a big difference.
You are right about the way door frames are made and put together. some yrs ago I got or was locked out of the house at 1 AM ( seeing my wife off to take care of a sick grandson ), it only took 5 minutes to kick the door in ( entry door to house from garage ), but took about 2 hrs to fix. Now I don’t know if longer screws would do any good in that door frame.
I have two dogs I call “Mouth” and “Muscle”. Mouth is a Jack Russell who misses nothing and sounds an alarm better than a motion detector. Muscle is a large dog who can scare you even hearing him bark…the kind of dog most people will try to avoid getting too close to. These two, along with a doggie door and a chain link fence seem to be as effective a deterrent as a home alarm would be. If someone attempts to come into our back yard uninvited, they will meet with loud and painful resistance. And every time I answer my front door, Mouth and Muscle are right behind me.
I hope you also have some fire power with you as well.
I had to laugh at Mouth and Muscle. For I have Detect and Protect. A shit-zue and a Great Dane.
Really doesn’t hurt having a big dog around the house.
I have heard so many stories about people posting on Facebook about going on holidays, then getting robbed while they are away.