Home Security Part 1– Self Defense

I am not a professional at all when it comes to self-defense. In fact, I know almost nothing on this subject. I will be learning right along with many of you about it as I talk to those that do know about such things and as I write these posts for this section of my blog. These posts will not be, nor are they intended to be, a complete lists of what to do or not to do. I am hoping though that they will give some people a starting point in helping make their life, and their family's life, safer. Feel free to post any tips or suggestions for self-defense in the comment section of these posts.

I have been talking to several law enforcement officers and security experts on self-defense. All of them stated that the first place that a person should start to better protect themselves is with their home. The reasoning given to me for that is that your home and homestead is the one (and just about the only) place that you can control the most in making a safe environment.

This does get rather lengthy, so rather than to overwhelm everyone with a lot of facts and ideas for securing your home, I will be breaking this down into several posts. While it is impossible to make a home completely break-in proof, making it look like a less attractive target than other homes in your neighborhood will greatly help in keeping you and your home safe.

Think Like a Bad Guy:

Look around the outside of your home and pretend that your are a burglar and ask, “How would you break in?” I have to admit, this one is the hardest one of the things that I will suggesting to do...st least it was for me. I am one of the most law abiding people around. I never have received even a speeding ticket. So trying think like someone who doesn't obey laws is way outside my realm of normal thinking. But here are some ideas that might help you started with this:

• If you were the bad guy, how would you break into your home?
• Are there places around the outside of your home that are dark at night?
• Are there landscaping around your home that the bad guy could hide behind or use as shield to keep from being seen while he was breaking into your home?
• Do you have a large dog or cat door that someone could slip through?
• Do you have glass in door that a burglar could break, reach in and unlock your door?
• Do you have valuables (large screen tv, computers, etc.) that are visible through a window or front door from the street or sidewalk?
• Does your home look like an easy target?

Call Your Local Police Department:

Some police departments offer a service to residents to come and inspect your home and point out areas that might need your attention with improving your security in order to strengthen your home's defense. Some police departments offer this service and others don't. Some charge for this service and others don't. So call your local police department's non emergency phone number and ask if they offer this service in your area. .

Get to Know Your Neighbors:

Know who lives in your neighborhood and who doesn't. Burglars will “case” or check out a neighborhood before they break in somewhere. They usually know when someone leaves for work, when they come home, and if the house is empty during that time. If you see someone who you don't recognize as living in your neighborhood acting suspicious, don't hesitate to call your police department. If you call, make sure to write down description of car, what the person looked like, what they were wearing and so on.

Don't Advertise Your Security System:

If you have one of those home security systems such as ADT, don't put their sticker in the window or little sign in your yard. Knowing what brand of security system you have, can give the bad guy enough information so that they know how to disable it so they can break in. Let the fact that you have a security system be a unpleasant surprise for them.

That should be enough general steps to take to help you to start thinking about how to better secure your property without spending a lot of cash. In Part 2 of Home Security, I will be dealing with some specific steps and ideas to increase your home security and thus, help to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)