Last night I was walking in to town and I couldn't help but notice the number of homes that I walked past which didn't have a visible alarm on the outside of them.
This made me think, if I was a potential burglar who was walking down these very streets on this very evening what house would I choose to burgle? Which houses I would I pass by?
On my journey there were plenty on homes without a visible burglar alarm when viewed from the street, but of these there were some which didn't even have any form of security lighting which would illuminate anyone who walked up the path to the front door or across the garden.
Then I noticed that there were some houses with lights on inside. €Somebody is home€ I thought. But there were just as many homes which looked empty. Either the lights were off, or there was no car on the driveway and the curtains were open. These would give any potential intruder an invite to at least take a look closer and suss out if there is anyone at home, or if there they can see if there is anything worth stealing.
I also noticed a number houses which were either fully or partially hid from view because of walls, fences, bushes or trees. Of these houses I could see that some looked empty or they had no visible signs of any defence systems. They never even had a PIR intruder security light which would light up the garden automatically should somebody enter it. Plus, because of the secluded nature of these homes, they offered a fantastic opportunity for someone to hide in the shadows and check to make sure nobody was home.
Another thing I looked for on my travels was to take note if I could see if there were any high priced, easy to steal items which were visible to passers-by on the street. If there were this would give me, as a burglar, a great incentive to break in, especially if there was no visible signs of home security.
This did tend to be quite difficult at night due to the lack of visibility, closed curtains or €black€ rooms due to the lights being off, but there were some which had the lights on and the curtains open, making it very easy for me to see everything inside the room from the street without being noticed by the occupants of neighbours as I walked past.
I believe that it would be a practical idea for any home owner to take a few minutes of their time both during the day, and at night to walk along their street and think like a burglar. What houses are easy targets? Which ones have no visible security? What houses have high value items such as laptops, Ipads, DVD players and TV's on show to passers-by? What houses have secluded hiding places? Which house look unoccupied? Are there any Neighbourhood Watch signs in place?
Once you have figured this out you can then take time to assess your own home and make the appropriate changes to keep both it and its contents secure. Then it would be worth speaking with neighbours and getting them to do them same, or take time to speak to neighbours who homes look particularly vulnerable and advise them on ways to protect their homes.
Remember, you have to think like a burglar to keep your home safe.