Home Security Tips
Secure your home at the Property Line

A home intruder generally has two requirements for a potential score: he has to be able to get in and out quickly, and he must remain unseen. If either one of these conditions isn't met, usually he will move on to the next house. A great place to slow down an intruder and expose him is at the property line.

Home Security Products you can purchase.

• Perimeter lighting
  Many burglars prefer the cover of darkness. By keeping your property well lit at night, you take away their anonymity, forcing them to find another target. Make sure your lights illuminate darker areas like back doors and windows, shrubbery, walkways and entrances to your garage and basement.
   
• Motion sensors
  When linked to your outdoor lighting system, motion sensors will startle an intruder by instantly drowning him in light. You can set the sensitivity of most motion sensors so that lights go on when necessary, not when your neighbor's cat walks across the lawn.
   
• Timers for interior lights
  If you're going away on vacation, put timers on your interior lights. From the sidewalk your home will look occupied, encouraging burglars to move on without trying to break in.
   
• Home Security Cameras
  Home Security cameras are usually associated with businesses like banks and convenience stores, but many people use them for their home defense. Cameras can be linked to a VCR in your home or to a security company that will send help immediately.
   
• Maximum Home Security Deadbolts
  For your last line of defense, make sure you install deadbolts on every entry door to your house. As a minimum, your deadbolts should have Grade 2 security features. Schlage's Maximum Security deadbolt has Grade 1 security features in a less expensive Grade 2 package. If you have a garage attached to your home, make sure there's a deadbolt on the door linking your house and garage.

There's more you can do. There's more you can do. Part of the fun of owning a home is experimenting with your home's image. While you're making your home as attractive as you can to your friends and neighbors, you can make it equally unattractive to intruders.

• Neighborhood Watch
  One of the most effective and inexpensive ways to secure your home at the property line is to turn on the eyes and ears of your neighborhood. Community policing programs, like Neighborhood Watch, have shown great success in reducing property crime around the world. Burglars know when they're being watched. And they don't like it.
   
• Don't advertise
  Put away items like sports equipment, lawn mowers, portable grills and bicycles. If you leave your possessions outside, burglars may start wondering what you have inside.
   
• If you go on vacation …
  …have your mail and newspaper delivery stopped. And arrange to have your yard maintained and your driveway shoveled. Put your interior and exterior lights on timers. When they go on, it will look like someone's home and has just turned on the lights.
   
• Lock your car while it's in the driveway
  Always lock your car when it's in the driveway or parked in front of your house. Not only will you protect your car, you will prevent anyone from stealing your garage door opener, which would give them easy access to your home. Make sure that you include a deadbolt on the door leading from your garage to your house, in case anyone gains entry to your garage.

Strong perimeter security makes an intruder's job as hard as possible. Use any of the tips above and you'll go a long way toward making your home off limits to criminals.