How Secure is Your Home?
There’s no need to be paranoid about home security, but there’s a need to be sensible, says Nick Dunstan.
In the Australian hit film The Castle, Mr Kerrigan tells the High Court of Australia, speaking for families everywhere, “A man’s house is his castle.” Well, considering that a person’s home is somehow sacrosanct, no-one wants their castle entered unlawfully, broken into by those seeking cash or goods, or, worse, to assault. However, in this country, it’s almost inevitable that sometime in your life your family home will be violated.
Commonly known as burglary or, more legally, unlawful entry with intent (UEWI), it’s become one of the most common crimes in Australia. Statistics reveal that in 1999 more than 220,000 residential burglaries were reported. This might send a shiver down your spine, especially as you recall the news reports of the drug- and alcohol-related assaults that sometimes accompany home invasions and burglaries.
Despite this, burglary is among the most preventable of crimes. According to NSW police statistics, some 20 per cent of all house robberies in the state are due to carelessness. So you don’t have to take it for granted that when you come back from your Christmas holiday that your house will be trashed and your VCR, TV and computer will be missing. On the other hand, an optimistic mentality that it-wouldn’t-happen-to-me is also dangerous. There is a third option.
be prepared
Preventing a burglary or home invasion before it occurs is easy, but there is a cost, both in terms of your wallet and convenience. Prevention starts at the margins of your property, be that the driveway of a detached residence, or the porch or hallway in a flat or home unit.
Assuming that a burglary won’t occur, and therefore taking minimal precautions, gives the criminal an edge, but by utilising some commonsense measures it’s possible to have effective burglary prevention without adding a moat, drawbridge and keep to your family castle.
The more prevention strategies you employ, the less likely you’ll have your home broken into or targeted. In the longer term, any money and inconvenience you invest is likely to save you a lot more money and inconvenience. Most importantly, it will minimise your anguish and anxiety over you and your family’s wellbeing.
know your enemy
Burglary victims often wonder why the burglar picked their house. Remember, burglars know all the “tricks” (including likely spare key hide-outs around the front porch) and will usually target the house with the least amount of obstacles, so it’s a good idea to make your house look somewhat “unattractive” to a potential burglar. A burglar selects his or her target based on the probabilities of entering and leaving it undetected and the number of obstacles they might encounter as they do so.
A house that presents itself as insecure or easy is far more likely to be targeted than one where some obvious initiatives are in place. These can range from such seemingly small acts as locking the side gate to the more obvious, such as not leaving a concealed key around the front door, to installing an alarm system with a notice that says you have.
taking precautions
When a burglar looks at your home, what hints of a high degree of accessibility do you present that gives the burglar an otherwise avoidable edge? Here’s a few to consider:
- Are there milk bottles or parcels on the doorstep?
- Are newspapers on the lawn or mail in the letterbox?
- Is the house unlit at night?
- Are your windows closed up in very hot weather?
- Are ladders left outside, giving easier access to otherwise inaccessible windows?
- Are garden tools available to force entry?
- Is the side gate open?
- Have you left temptations in view from the exterior?
- Have you misleadingly labelled your house keys in the event they fall into unwanted hands?
If you can take measures that leave the burglar uncertain, creating too much risk, then most times they will move on and seek an easier target. On the other hand, according to the National Crime Prevention Initiative, a burglar will “not only walk right in if the door’s open, many of them don’t really mind if you’re happily pottering around somewhere else in the house.”
But when the home is necessarily unattended, your neighbours can be an excellent source of home security. The Neighbourhood Watch program is an example of this. However, neighbours can do more than watch your home. If cooperative, they can also collect delivered items, such as newspapers, packages and mail; park their car in your driveway, house-sit and maintain your garden.
One expert has said that getting on well with your neighbours is among the best method of preventing a burglary—many burglaries are committed by neighbours. But at a broader level, as the Federal Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison, says, “Building a sense of connection between community members can also help create a more cohesive society and one that is less likely to have high levels of crime.”
what burglars want
The obvious targets are expensive, portable and easily disposed of. This will include your TV, VCR, lap-top computer, audio equipment, jewellery, and cash and credit cards. Also likely to disappear are handbags, wallets, power and garden tools, prescription drugs, bicycles and clothing—especially brand labels and leather jackets.
Having said that, your level of paranoia may have risen to the point where you think you should hire security or stay at home this Christmas. Don’t! According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, your chances of being burgled are still relatively low. This is particularly so if you live in Victoria, where the rate is around 1250 victims per 100,000 of population. This rises to just over 2000 per 100,000 in the ACT, Tasmania and WA. This means you have at most a 2 per cent chance of being burgled as an individual.
Factors making it a more likely occurrence are where you live and your involvement in other illegal operations (for instance, drugs). On the other side of the ledger are the preventive measures you’ve taken to minimise its likelihood.
Burglary isn’t something you should fret over. However, taking the initiative and implementing strategies will greatly reduce the likelihood of it happening to you.
burglary avoidance check list:
1 Always lock up. Don’t overlook the obvious.
Doors and windows should be locked not only when we leave the house, but when you are elsewhere in the house, on the phone, in the back garden or away from points of entry.
2 Cut away camouflage.
Cultivate a garden, but not a burglar’s paradise. Burglars love camouflage, so site trees, shrubs, walls and fences so that an intruder can be clearly seen in your front or back yard, and keep bushes around doorways and windows trimmed. Grow cacti below windows.
3 Deadlock
the main entry.
The front door is the most likely point of entry and should be your first priority. A key-operated deadlock on a solid timber door is the best option. If intruders get into your house through another entry, a key-operated deadlock on the main door makes it more difficult to carry larger goods away. Reinforce the deadlock with a security screen and peephole.
4 Synchronies
door locks.
Install the same key-operated lock system on all other doors—it makes locking up and owner entry easier. Security firms have tamper-proof locks. Sliding glass doors are particularly vulnerable and should be bolted top and bottom or fitted with a specifically designed deadlock.
5 Secure all windows.
No window is too high or too small for the determined burglars. All windows should be secured with keyed locks or security grills. Don’t go cheap with a piece of dowel in the window track, and lock all upper-level windows—they’re easier to reach than you might think.
6 Light up at night.
Keep doors, windows and pathways well lit at night. Movement-activated sensor lights are highly recommended. Many burglaries occur while the owners are asleep. These days car thieves and joy-riders enter a house to steal car keys, so if you have a powerful car, make sure the keys aren’t just dropped on the dresser.
7 Lock the side gates.
Side gates are easily overlooked, but should also be locked. Educate your children and regular visitors to always lock gates behind them.
8 Co-opt a canine.
Consider keeping a dog. And if you don’t want to own one, think about hanging a “Beware-of-the-dog” sign on the outside gate. If a non-local burglar is casing your place, the prospect of a burglar-unfriendly bark is good enough reason to move along.
9 Install a burglar alarm.
The best alarms to complement other forms of household security is a highly visible, audible, back-to-base alarm linked to a security service that monitors and responds to their call.
10 Lock up the
meter box.
Locking up your meter box prevents thieves interfering with your alarm power supply or security-sensor light. (Consult your electricity provider, who needs to read the meter, for further information.)
11 Padlock garden sheds and garages.
Sheds and garages are usually the repository of the implements burglars use to break-in. (They prefer not to carry a pinchbar.) Keep them padlocked. If there is a connecting door between your garage and house, ensure it is kept locked.
12 Prepare for an emergency.
Ensure your house number is clearly visible from the street. If you have to call police or other emergency services, they should be able to easily identify your house. Program telephone numbers for emergency services, close friends, relatives or neighbours into your telephone’s memory so that in an emergency you can summon assistance quickly.
(Source: Towards a Safer Australia, Commonwealth Government Crime Initiatve)
Insurance tips
Considering burglary is a possibility anywhere, households should have contents insurance cover. There are some things to note about your policy, however:
- Your insurance covers only those items and events specified in your policy document, so read it carefully and upgrade it if necessary.
- It is your responsibility to keep descriptions and original receipts for all the items insured, including the serial numbers where available. Do this on a formal property inventory, available from insurance companies.
- You must take reasonable steps to prevent a loss by fitting good locks to doors and windows and ensuring they are used. Some policies require you to have mortice locks, so check what precautions you must take to protect your cover.
- If you are burgled, you must do what you can to prevent further damage or loss, for example secure broken doors and board up windows.
- Get in touch with your insurance company promptly in the event of a problem.
Fact
- During 1999, in Australia alone, there were some 415,600 burglary victims. In 1998, 50 in every 1000 households in Australia were victims of at least one break-in.
(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics) - Most home burglars are spur-of-the-moment opportunists. They see an opportunity and take it. In 16 per cent of home burglaries reported to police, burglars entered through an unlocked door or window.
(Source: Victorian Department of Justice) - More than 30 per cent of home burglaries in NSW happen when someone is at home.
(Source: NRMA)
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