House Break-Ins Are Growing In Alameda County
Posted on: 12/20/2016
House break-ins are becoming quite common in Alameda County as homeowners are relaxing their security procedures. There are quite a few things homeowners may do to keep their homes safe, and it is quite important that a homeowner is diligent around their house. This article has a few tips that will help you keep your home safe, and you will find it quite helpful in planning for security around you home.
The house is only vulnerable when you are not prepared. You will find your home open to the public when you are leaving windows open, doors unlocked and your alarm disarmed. You are sending a signal to everyone around you that your home is not protected, and you must ensure you step up your protocols for safety in the house. This is an overview of how you may teach your family safety.
Lock Your Windows
Every homeowner in the area must be committed to locking their windows, and the process of locking windows in the evening is quite important as it helps homeowners leave the first layer of security closed. Burglars and robbery suspects are looking for windows left open in the day as the temperature rises. They return later in the day enter the house, and they have free reign of the home after entering.
Windows that do not have locks may have them installed easily, and you must invest a small amount of money to keep each window closed tight. You are welcome to open your windows during the day, but you must understand that seasoned criminals are preparing to enter the house when you slip up.
Check The Doors
Doors around the house are often left unlatched or unlocked in part because homeowners believe one lock or one level of protection is enough. Doors are seen as the great equalizer that cannot be opened without a key, but the door may be opened any time by someone with a battering ram or enough strength to kick it in.
There are quite a few bail bonds issued to criminals every day, and they may come back into the community when they are released. The inmates you receive bail bonds are quite well-versed in the art of entering a home, and it is quite important that each door has a dead bolt and knob locked. You may send someone through the house to check every lock, and the process takes a few moments.
Set Your Alarm
You must use the home alarm that is installed, and there are quite a few homeowners who neglect to arm the alarm system after the family goes to bed. The alarm may be armed any time, and you may use it in a hostage situation when you must alert the authorities silently. The keypad may be used to lock the house down completely, or you may use the alarm system to leave a ten-second delay before you must enter the code.
Keep the system up-to-date as much as possible, and order a service appointment that will ensure the software is updated. Software updates are quite important, and you must ask the monitoring company how they plan to update. They may check the battery backup, the wiring for the system and the power for the keypads. Alameda County homeowners will find the alarm far more helpful when it is armed at all times.
Teach your children to use the alarm, and ensure all your guests are trained on the system. You want them to understand to use the system for their own safety, and you will find that guests or renters are unsure how to use alarms that are breached. The instruction manual for the keypad will explain how it may be used for delayed alarms, immediate sounding of the alarm and a private alarm.
Be On The Lookout
You must be on the lookout for people in the neighborhood who are not supposed to be there and you may take note of vehicles that are not supposed to be in the area. You will find it quite simple to protect yourself, and you will get an idea of what people are doing in the neighborhood. You will learn who should be there and who should not, and you will find it simple to alert the authorities to trouble in the area.
You may create a neighborhood watch association with your neighbors, and you will learn from them what they know about their part of the community. You are protecting yourself and your neighbors, and you may ask your neighbors if they saw the same things you saw during the day. Parked cars that you do not recognize, people walking down the street you do not know and delivery vehicles from companies you have not heard of must be reported.
Protecting your home in the Alameda area is quite important as you must lock down your home in a way that criminals will not feel invited to the house. There are quite a few homeowners who do not take precautions to protect their families, and they find someone breaking into the home after hours.