Home Security Tips

by Ralph R. Manento, Owner – Royal Security Services, Inc.

While it’s difficult to protect your home from professional thieves, most home burglaries are done by amateurs. These thieves are more easily thwarted if you employ some of these simple security precautions.

• Lock up your home, even if you go out only for a short time. Many burglars just walk in through an unlocked door or window.
• Your house should appear occupied at all times. Use timers to switch lights and radios on and off when you’re not at home.
• Change all the locks and tumblers when you move into a new house.
• If you have a faulty alarm that frequently goes off, get it fixed immediately and tell your neighbors that it’s been repaired. Many people ignore an alarm that goes off periodically.
• A spring-latch lock is easy prey for burglars who are “loiding”experts. Loiding is the method of slipping a plastic credit card against the latch tongue to depress it and unlock the door. A deadbolt defies any such attack. It is only vulnerable when there is enough space between the door and its frame.
• Don’t leave notes for service people or family members on the door. These act as a welcome mat for a burglar.
• If the entrances to your home are dark, consider installing lighting with an infrared detector. Most thieves don’t want to be observed trying to get in a door.
• Ask for credentials from any sales-person who requests entry to your home. Ask that t heir ID be pushed under the door.
• Do not list your full name on your mailbox or your entry in the telephone book. Use only your initial and your last name.
• If someone comes to your door asking to use the phone to call a mechanic or the police, keep the door locked and make the call yourself.
• Dogs are good deterrents to burglars. Even a small, noisy dog can be effective. Burglars do not like to have attention drawn to their presence.
• If there are door hinges on the outside of your house, take down the door and reset the hinges inside. Otherwise all a thief has to do to gain entry to your home is knock out the hinge pin.
• Keep your garage door closed and locked even when your car is not in the garage.
• Install a peephole in the door separating the house from the garage. If you hear suspicious sounds, you can check without opening the door.

For more information on keeping your home or business secure, or contact us at 570-992-1500 or look at the Pleasant Valley Sports Reporter.