HOME SECURITY CHECKLIST

Keep a list of all valuable property.
Make some duplicates of the list, with at least one copy kept in a place outside your home. In case of fire or burglary, the list will provide information necessary for identification by the police and insurance claims. Include the serial numbers of your valuable property (watches, cameras, computers, TVs, etc.)

Operation Identification.
Operation Identification (I.D.) is a program of marking personal property with a unique identifying numbers to make identification possible if the items are lost or stolen. This program aids the police in identifying your valuables. People who mark their property have a greater chance of getting it back if it's stolen. Operation I.D. also deters burglars by making it more difficult to sell stolen goods and by increasing burglars' chances of arrest. Numbers can be engraved onto metal objects or marked with indelible markers on other materials. Engraving pens can be purchased in hardware stores. 

Photograph or videotape valuable property that doesn't have an identifying number. Include copies of the photos with the list of valuable property.

Tips for key safety. Don't "hide" a house key under the doormat or in a similar location. It's safer to leave your house key with a close friend or reliable neighbor so that a burglar nosing around won't find it. Make sure you know everyone who has a key to your home. Don’t carry house keys on the same ring as car keys. However, if you do, keep a spare car key that you can leave when the car is in a garage for repairs or left in a commercial parking lot where an attendant parks cars. Anyone who handles your house keys can easily have duplicates made.

Make sure your family members know what to do if they discover a burglar breaking in or already in your home.
If you return to your home and find signs that it has been entered, don't go in. Go to a neighbor's home and phone the police or sheriff. If you enter your home and find a burglar inside, expect him to be frightened and dangerous. A scream may cause him to flee, but it might also provoke him to attack you. Never struggle with a burglar unless you are in danger of serious physical harm and you are forced to defend yourself. In that case, scream, kick, gouge - use your hands, feet, and teeth to try to fight off your attacker.

Leave everything undisturbed and call the sheriff or police if you discover that a burglary has been committed. It is important that you not move things or otherwise disturb the inside of your home or the grounds around your home until police have checked it. Valuable evidence might be lost if things are moved or disturbed.

Keep trees and shrubs trimmed to eliminate hiding places. Keep doorways, windows, and porches clear when planting bushes and tall flowers. Remember that the bushes that give you privacy also give a burglar places to hide. 

Keep the outside of your home well lit. Outside lighting Is important in home security. Light yards, windows, and each doorway to prevent burglars from hiding in them. Porch lamps and yard post lamps can be used to eliminate dark spots. Burn porch lights from dusk until dawn, and encourage neighbors to do the same. This denies burglars the cover of darkness, at a cost of about 10 cents per night, per each sixty-watt bulb.

Keep emergency telephone numbers listed and programmed on your phone. In most areas of the country the 911 phone number will connect you with the police department in your jurisdiction. With the 911 system, a computer immediately displays your address to the person who answers your emergency call. However, on cell phones, this doesn't always work.

Install wide-angle viewers or peepholes in your entrances. A wide-angle viewer or peephole lets you see who the visitor is before opening the door.

When leaving your home and going to sleep at night, ensure that all of your doors and windows (basement, porch, sliding, French, balcony) are securely locked. Be as careful to secure basement and second-story windows as you are to secure windows on the first floor.

Install a deadbolt and/or a secondary locking system on exterior doors and windows. It is an extra security measure to install a lock that can be operated only from the inside. There are strong locks available at you local hardware store that range in price from $10 - $50. Many are very easy to install. Additionally, you can install such a lock high enough on the door to prevent small children from opening your front door for strangers.

Many sliding doors can be easily derailed and defeated. As added deterrent, a broom handle or closet dowel cut to the length of the sliding door’s interior rail can be placed on the rail to prevent the door from being forced open. In addition, extra locks can be installed on the metal frame of your sliding door to deter derailment by locking the active side to the frame. You can secure a sliding window with a rod the same way as you would secure a sliding glass door. Check with your local hardware or home improvement store for options.

Secure your garage door with a padlock, hasp, or other good lock, and lock your garage door at night or when you are away from home. Even garage doors with electric openers need separate locks. In a double-car garage with a single long door, it's important to place a lock on each side of the door to keep a burglar from pulling out one side and crawling through.

Ensure that all of your locks are in good repair, and the door strike-plates are installed with three-inch screws. Shorter screws may be too shallow, and doors maybe easily kicked or forced in. Three-inch screws will reach the stud inside the wall.

Lock your car and take out the keys even when it is parked in your garage.

If you live in a high-burglary area, consider using window bars, security doors or ornamental grilles. Take care that bars or grilles don't create an escape hazard in the event of a fire. They should have an inside mechanism that allows them to swing out in an emergency. 

Make sure that the interior of your house or garage is not visible from the outside at night. Many burglars like to see if there is anything worth stealing before they go through the trouble of breaking into a house. Closing your curtains, blinds or shades at night will deter burglars from looking in. Remember when your interior lights are on, and it’s dark outside, your windows appear like mirrors from the inside, but can be easily seen through from the outside.

Telephone Security:
Never give personal information (name, age, address, etc.) to a stranger on the telephone.
Never let a stranger know that you are home alone.
Never let a stranger on the telephone know when you will or will not be home.
Instruct baby-sitters never to tell anyone who calls that they are home alone with children.
Teach children who are old enough to be left alone never to tell a stranger on the phone that parents are gone. Teach them to say, "My mom can't come to the phone right now. May I take a message?"

When you go on a trip, arrange for friends or neighbors to pick up newspapers, mail, packages, and any other deliveries.

Make your home look lived-in while you are away. Leave a key with a friend or neighbor; ask that your home be checked every so often. You can ask someone to periodically open and close the drapes and turn different lights on and off (or use timers) so that the house appears occupied. Use a timer to turn a radio on and off. Consider asking friends or a relative to live in your home while you are away. Leave a car in the driveway or ask neighbors to park in your driveway.

Store all your valuables in a secure place while you're gone, such as a safe, or a safe deposit box in a bank.

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DENNIS GRIGASSY, Realtor Associate - RE/MAX Heritage - 281.265.7355 Ext 388
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