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Overview Most Residential Burglaries are crimes of opportunity. They occur because homeowners provide the opportunity and the criminal is willing to take advantage of the situation. When criminals look for a home, they seek somewhere that they can get in and out of in a minimum amount of time. Police and Community often work together to combat this type of crime,. As a result some areas set up crime prevention and community safety initiatives like Neighbourhood Watch.. This does make for a better overall defence against such acts, however nothing is impenetrable! DNA Marking Kits

First Level Visual deterrents are your first level of home security protection. In a high proportion of cases visual deterrents are sufficient to prevent crimes of an opportunistic nature. Most of the security items available are relatively inexpensive and are positively proven ways to "harden your target". Finding the right security system for your home can be a bit of a challenge. First find places in your home that you want to watch-front door, back door, bedrooms, living rooms and so forth. One of the first things you should consider is the size of your home, and the way that your home is built. Do you have a lot of windows in your home? How many stories is the property? Once you have identified those areas you simply carry out a sight assessment of each individual room. This will also include an assessment of you exterior, garden and perimeter boundaries. You need to think like a potential thief, what would you do? take a long hard look at the strengths and weaknesses of your property. When criminals look for a home, they seek somewhere that they can get in quickly and out with valuables in the shortest time possible. Homes that are obviously unguarded and not occupied are the top of the list. CCTV Security

Prevention Remove Papers and Mail: Most burglaries occur when a home is unoccupied. This is such an easy way of knowing your victims property is empty! This would give the perpetrator a lot more flexibility and time to do the job. Make It Seem Like You're Home: Don't just opt for the automatic light imitative, burglars know this and it won't fool them if your property is marked for a break in! Although it would probably do the trick to deter a opportunist burglar. Leaving a light on is a common method for making a home appear occupied, but if your are on holiday/vacation then it would be far better to get a friend or relative to visit and switch lights on and open your blinds. This task really needs to be sporadic so that a pattern does not emerge whilst you are away.

Tips And Advice Trees and shrubs near any windows ensure trees and shrubs cannot conceal a potential intruder and allow the offender to work unnoticed on doors or windows. Hedge, Perimeter Bushes or Fence - does their height, density or privacy allow for offender concealment. But at the same time does your perimeter have thorny trees, shrubs? This sometimes does make life harder for the thief especially if this is his only way in. This is a matter of finding the right balance, again think like you are going to break in? What would you do? Sensor Lights/Motion Detectors - use motion detectors on lighting so that when the lights come on the neighbours know something or someone is moving around your property. Have at least one on the front and one on the back of your property. The added advantage to this is that if you do have CCTV installed it dramatically increases the cameras capability of recording good quality images at night. But be mindful not let the light obstruct/obscure the lens directly, if this happened you would severely decrease the quality. The light should be placed behind the camera if at all possible, this is sometimes a trial and error process, but you will succeed with patience. CCTV Security

Dogs And Ladders A dog really can increase your protection, a dog inside your house that barks on the slightest motion or noise outside your house is a great opportunity reducer. I feel a barking dog is more effective than an burglar alarm system. Do not aide any burglars attempts remove all climbable objects like ladders, trellises, BBQ, picnic table, trees close to the house. These could be used to gain access to any areas of vulnerability. Ensure that you have good locks fitted to any external buildings. The idea is to make sure that nothing can be removed easily, remember anything can be stolen.....some things easier than others and that's what a thief relies on!

Summary This is just a brief summary of what you can do to make your home safer. It is a fact that most self help techniques do help, but every property is different to the next. This means you need to tailor the reduction measures to suit your environment and budget. Next we will be talking about property marking and Garage security including what's available on the market to help you from being a victim of crime. DNA Marking Kits