Follow these tips to secure your home against break-ins and burglaries:

Alarms
Home alarms can be deterrents, but be wary of a false sense of security or being sold a system you don’t need. Choose an alarm system with an established company and make sure everyone in your home knows how to properly use the system to avoid false alarms. More than three false alarms in a year will result in fines starting at $100.

Options to the home alarm are sirens, strobe lights, floodlights with motions sensors and photo cell lights that turn on and off at dusk and dawn.

Doors
All outside doors should be metal or solid wood. If your doors don’t fit tightly in their frames, install weather stripping around them. Install a peephole or wide-angle viewer in all entry doors at a height everyone in the home can use, so you can see who is outside without opening your door. Door chains break easily and won’t keep out an intruder. Keep your garage door closed.

Locks
Always lock your home. Equip every external door with a sturdy deadbolt lock with at least a 1-1/2 inch throw and three-inch screws through the plate. Secure sliding glass doors by installing commercially available “Charlie bars,” or by simply putting a piece of wood or broomstick in the track. To prevent the door from being lifted off the track, drill a hole through the sliding door and the fixed frame, and insert a nail in the hole.

Lock double-hung windows with key locks, or by drilling a small hole at a 45-degree angle between the inner and outer frames, and then inserting a nail that can be removed. Secure basement windows with removable grills or grates. When you move into a new house or apartment, re-key the locks.

Perimeter
Instead of hiding keys around the outside of your home, give an extra key to a neighbor you trust. Install outside lights and keep them on overnight. Keep your yard clean. Prune back shrubbery so it doesn’t hide doors and windows. Trim tree limbs that could be used to climb into an upper-level window. Clearly display your house number, so police and emergency services can find your home quickly.

If you travel, create the illusion that you’re home with timers that will turn lights on and off in different rooms throughout the evening. Lights burning 24 hours a day signal an empty home. Leave shades, blinds and curtains in normal positions. Don’t let your mail or newspapers pile up. Make a list of your valuables and sign out an engraver with the police department so you can engrave your driver’s license number on the item.

Windows
Fix older windows so they can only be opened about 10 inches by installing wood screws on both sides, leaving them sticking out far enough so that when the window is raised, it will hit the screws and not go up any higher.

If you suspect a break-in...
If something looks questionable – a slit screen, a broken window or an open door – don’t go in the house. Leave and immediately call 9-1-1 from a cell phone or neighbor’s phone. If you think someone is breaking in while you’re at home, leave the home if you can and then call 9-1-1. If you can’t leave, lock yourself in a room with a phone and call police. If an intruder is in your room at night, pretend you are asleep.

Guns are responsible for many accidental deaths every year. Think carefully before buying one and keeping it for protection. If you choose to have a gun in your home, learn how to store and use it safely. The police department will be glad to furnish you with a free gunlock for each gun you own.

Request a home security audit
If you would like a free security survey of your home, contact the Crime Prevention Unit at 913.477.7245.

For more home security recommendations, see the City Code information on Physical Security.