Secure Your Home from Burglaries, and Home Invasions:
We’ll look at some of the most common burglar access points in your home, and offer options as to how you can secure them. A lot of people presume that they will never experience a break-in and only a few will take the threat badly enough to take extra measures. However, it’s essential to take preemptive steps, as break-ins can happen and can be a very traumatic experience. Below is where the most common break in options are. In the FBI’s most recent statistics they have found that 55.7% of burglaries are forced break ins, which means they had to break something to enter the home. Below is the most common break in points in a household.
- Front door: 34%
- First-floor windows: 23%
- Back door or sliding Patio: 22% come in through the back door.
- Garage doors: 9% gain entrance through the garage.
- Basement: 4% choose the basement as a point of entry.
- Unlocked areas, sheds, and storage: Another 6% will simply try for any opening that isn’t locked down,
- Second-floor window: A daring 2% will go for the second-story window.
The Front Door
It’s wild to think that the front door is the most common way to break into a house. You would think that someone would choose the back, or side window to avoid being exposed from neighbors. However, coming in first place, there is a 34% chance of a burglary happening right at your front door. So how can you stop a burglar from coming in through your front door?
To protect your front door:
- Install better locks and make sure you use them. It’s common to forget about locking the door when you’re in a rush or are running late for work.
- Upgrade to a sturdier home security screen door.
- Installing cameras and motion control lights that are connected to a monitored alarm system is great, it doesn’t stop an intruder from entering your house.
- With response times in Washington State taking longer and longer, a home security system no longer deters criminals from breaking into your residence.
First Floor Windows
In second place coming in at 23% of Burglaries is the first floor windows. They are very vulnerable and sometimes out of sight if the window is on the side of the house, or in the back. Many of us completely forget about windows being unlocked with the belief that they’d be too difficult to access from the street. Install, and use locks on every window. However, that still doesn’t prevent a criminal from breaking into your house by simply just breaking the window.
To help protect your first floor windows:
- Use unbreakable glass to reduce your risk of burglary.
- Install a Security Screen window.
- Keep home safes, and valuables out of view so criminals can’t see them through the window.
- Remove vegetation that could help hide a burglar attempting to access your home through a window.
Patio or Sliding Doors
Patio and sliding doors are almost always located at the back of a home, and they are third on this list at 22%. Because they are in the back, they’re out of view and easier for criminals to access without being seen. Your neighbors won’t be looking at the back of your home, so a burglar can take their time breaking into your property without the worry of detection. These doors are very vulnerable for many reasons; out of sight, often left open, unlocked, and they’re a huge entry way to get into the house.
To protect your sliding doors and patio door:
- Install locks and double-check them before leaving the house.
- Add dowels to the tracks of sliding doors for extra security.
- Use unbreakable glass when possible.
- Install Sliding home Security Screens.
- Install cameras and motion sensor lights that are attached to a home alarm security system.
Outside Garage Doors
Outside garage doors attached to the house seems like a safe door to avoid securing, but 9% of burglars gain entrance through the garage door. The garage is easier to access due to shaky garage doors and unreliable locks. On top of all that, once they are in the garage, they now have full access to the house by simply just opening the garage door that is attached to the house.
To help burglar-proof your garage door, you can do the following:
- Install a Security Screen Door.
- Lock the garage door, as well as the door from inside the house that leads to the garage when you leave.
- Install cameras that span the full length of your driveway.
Basement Doors/Windows, a shed, and Second Floor windows:
A small percentage of criminals will get creative and find some obscure way of getting into your house. Burglaries happening through a second story floor, basement doors/windows, and a storage shed ends our list of most vulnerable access points. These still make up 8% of all Burglaries, and it is worth it to secure these access points as well.
To protect your second floor windows/basement doors, and shed:
- Install locks and double-check them before leaving the house.
- Add dowels to the tracks of sliding doors for extra security.
- get unbreakable glass on all the windows
Protect Your Home at Every Entry Point:
By subcategory, 55.7 percent of burglaries involved forcible entry, which means they are going to break something in your house to enter the home. Meanwhile 37.8 percent were unlawful entries, and that means they just found an unlocked door and just walked on in. On top of all that, Washington State has the 5th highest Burglary rate in the nation. There is more than one way that a burglar can gain access to your home. However, through diligence and care, you can protect yourself and your belongings from theft with Security Lynx’s home Security Screens, and our Riot glass windows, heavy-duty locks, stronger doors, and a reliable home safe. If you are considering having a safer home, our security screens by Crimsafe can help provide the extra safety and security your family, and your belongings need from potential burglaries and break-ins. If you live in Washington State, or British Columbia, reach out to us and schedule a free quote on our security screens.