Resources on Home Security

50 Ways to Enhance Home Safety and Security
These home safety and security tips include: do not hide keys outside, lock all entrances, install double cylinder dead bolt locks if doors have glass panels nearby, consider auxiliary locks, destroy all envelopes that reflect your name and personal information, maintain friendly relations with neighbors, arrange for an unlisted telephone number, be alert to your surroundings, keep shrubs and trees near the house trimmed low, below window level, keep doors locked, vary your transportation routes, keep a cell phone on you, secure any weapons in the house, keep a cell phone in the bedroom, participate in a neighborhood watch, park in well lit areas, install a home alarm, keep portable fire extinguishers handy, conduct fire drills, travel with a companion, remain vigilant, and check for suspicious persons in your area.

Burglarproof Your Home by No Nonsense Self-Defense
Tips from police on home security, including providing layered defense for your home. A good example of a layered defense is rosebushes outside the window, double-locked, barred and safety coated side windows and something difficult to climb over inside under the window. Stand outside the windows and look in, make sure no valuables, like expensive electronics or artwork, are visible. If you can see your belongings doing this, so can criminals. A common combination of cheap locks and small construction flaws, that we tend not to notice, often give criminals the "cracks" in security they need to break in. Look at the gap between your door and your door frame from the inside - can you see the lock's tongue? All it takes is a flip of the criminal's wrist while holding a screwdriver while on the outside to break away the thin doorjamb molding and expose that same gap. From there, it is another simple wrist gesture to jimmy the tongue out of the faceplate. Put "window stops" on the first floor and basement window frames. These often functionally amount to secondary and tertiary locks. The best kind are those that go through a moveable frame and lock it into place. Something as simple as drilling a hole through both frames when the window is closed and placing a nail in the hole will lock the windows in place.

Better Homes & Gardens on Home Security
This site from Better Homes & Gardens Magazine has links to half a dozen articles on home safety and security. Articles include a home security quiz designed to point out any weaknesses in your home security plans and recommend fixes, door and window security and methods for making them more burglar-proof, ways to change your outdoor landscaping and lighting to make your indoors safer, how to determine which alarm system fits your particular needs, tips to help keep your general awareness of safety high, and advice on proper ways to mark your belongs, the proper insurance to carry and other safety measures for your valuables. No matter what your security needs or weaknesses are, this site can help you strengthen your chances of remaining burglar-proof.

Protecting Your Home, from the City of Wilmington, Ohio
This is a very complete article by the City of Wilmington, Ohio. This site is designed to make your home and your family as safe as is humanly possible. Read the entire article or click on links which will speed you to specific topics within the major article. The specific topics include Controlling Access to your Property with specific recommendations for the types of outside doors to buy, the right peepholes, and the proper locks. Providing Visibility explains the importance of proper outdoor lighting. Maintaining Your Property discusses the importance of keeping your house and yard looking its best and free from trash and other things that could make your property look unattended and inviting to a burglar. Protecting Your Home and Property When You Are Away covers the use of timers for controlling lights, leaving TVs and radios on, etc. Helping the Police Get to Your Home includes making certain that your street number is visible and the best places for it to be, and the importance of leaving entry codes and other security information with your police department if you plan to be away. Finally there is Identifying Your Property, which explains the importance of keeping lists of your valuables and etching an identifying number on your possessions to help police in identifying them in the event a burglar is captured or tries to sell anything.