Living in a neighbourhood with higher crime rates means you should now extra precautions to protect your home. After all, studies say that a property gets burgled every five minutes in the UK. That’s why you should be very careful about making your premises burglary-proof. This checklist makes sure that you won’t come back to your home only to find it a mess. That is what we’ll discuss in this brief checklist and make sure that criminals won’t violate the place in your absence. So, before you head out that door, just implement these tips:
Why is a home security checklist important?
Did you know that average Brits dine out around 1.5 times each week? Whether you spend your time mostly away from home or not, these tips will still be very helpful. You can make your home burglary-proof with these recommendations and the help of a local locksmith. This checklist will make sure that your household’s security won’t have any vulnerabilities. So, keep your valuables, pets, and loved ones safe from burglars by implementing the recommendations mentioned here.
Interior home security measures
Let’s begin with something simple. You should make your home safer from the inside first. Here are some recommendations to make sure that your domestic interior is burglary-proof:
Set your alarms and security systems
A good, advanced alarm system will protect your premises when you’re not home. Thankfully, 56% of UK homes already have home security systems installed. In its rudimentary form, this system has an outdoor security alarm attached to a keypad to let you know if someone tries to break into your residence. You may take this alarm system up a few notches by adding:
- Motion sensors
- Activity detectors
- Entry sensors
- Glass-break sensor
Don’t forget to arm your home security system’s key features before leaving your home for work or to run some errands (especially if you live in a crime-prone neighbourhood). Make sure that all sensors are working just fine! Moreover, you may even schedule your alarms if burglars try to disarm them.
Turn on your indoor cameras
Always turn your indoor cameras ON when you are away from home. You never know when you capture important footage on camera in case your house gets vandalised. For instance, owners whose pets get stolen can find culprits with the help of this footage. Want to know what’s going on inside your home or what is all this ruckus about? Indoor cameras will provide the correct answer! Also, you should:
- Connect your indoor camera to your phone to see what’s happening inside your house when the security system sends an alarm.
- Double-check the camera angles to check that all vantage points are covered and there are no blind spots.
- Stream the camera footage before heading out the door so you can feel satisfied.
- Find a 24/7 professional indoor camera monitoring service for added safety.
Programme your smart home devices
Don’t forget to programme your smart home devices properly before heading out the door. Did you know that these devices go a long way in protecting your premises? So, before leaving your home, have a quick think about your tech.
Smart plugs are brilliant for making sure you haven’t left anything switched on – just a tap on your phone and you’re sorted. It’s also worth getting decent temperature and water sensors; they can be lifesavers, warning you about frozen pipes or leaks before things get seriously messy.
Finally, give all your smart home gadgets a once-over – are they plugged in, charged up, and talking to your phone properly? A little check now can save a lot of hassle later.
Hide your valuables
Don’t leave your burglars out there in the open for every passer-by to gawk at! You should store them somewhere safe where they’re hidden from view. Out of sight, out of mind! Don’t stash the most valuable items in your home on windows or letterboxes.
Keep them in a place where folks wouldn’t even think to look. Another great idea is to keep count of your valuables. Create a very updated inventory with serial numbers so you can easily detect if something’s missing and then report stolen items to the police.
Exterior security measures
Next, we’ll look into simple & interesting ways to make the exterior of your home safer. Follow these recommendations, please.
Turn on your outdoor cameras
Outdoor CCTV cameras aren’t only for business or banking establishments. Even your homes need an outdoor camera. Video doorbells and wireless outdoor cameras will cover all angles so burglars will realise they’re being watched all the time. You can also catch them red-handed and discourage them from committing criminal acts.
You should fit a CCTV camera outside both the front door of your residence and the back door, ensuring that you have covered all exits. Also, it will be incredibly helpful to turn ON your camera and watch its live stream. A 24/7 CCTV camera monitoring service will give you more clarity into your domestic exterior’s security.
Set your outdoor lighting
Many studies have been done to find the correlation between visibility and crime rate in London. So, reports show that outdoor lighting and street lighting can prevent crimes. Poorly lit homes in the UK are often targeted by burglars disproportionately.
So, if you plan to stay out of your home overnight, then you should make sure that there’s ample lighting outside your house. This way, you can prevent burglars from even daring to break into your home.
Scatter bulbs and lamps all around your domestic exterior (as long it doesn’t bother you or your neighbours) for extra safety & visibility! Also, you should only head out that door before making sure that your porch & garden lights are well-functional.
Tidy your garden
Burglars trying to break into somebody’s house can use the tools left out in the garden or old furniture thrown outside the house to their advantage. Gardens also provide plenty of stuff for them to steal! That’s why you should tidy your garden before leaving your house. Everything in the garden must be locked away securely, such as:
- Tools
- Ladders
- BBQs
- Loose furniture
- Toys and bikes
Secure your entry points
Lock all doors
It’s a no-brainer that you should always lock your doors before heading out and ensure you get them regularly checked by a trained locksmith. An interesting study by Neighbourhood Watch says that 6 in 10 Brits forget to do this one simple thing when they are about to leave. You’d be surprised how many burglars are creeping around to see if you do, or will try doors of homes they know are empty. Don’t forget about locking your back door either. It is actually prudent to do a quick run around of all entry point doors in the house. Check sheds & garage doors to see if you locked them or not. Also, apply deadbolts, chains & padlocks where possible, and consider installing entry sensors for extra security.
Lock all windows
Another survey claims that around two-thirds of homeowners won’t remember locking windows. It usually happens during the summer months when folks are trying to keep their homes cool & comfy. However, open windows can be awfully bad in terms of crime prevention, especially if your residence is in a ground-floor flat or bungalow. That’s why you should check every room in the house to see if there’s a window left unsecured accidentally. Lock all open windows. Having keys to lock your windows would be even better!
Lock your gates and secure your fences
How about securing your gates and fences? You should securely lock these entry points to your home as well before heading out. Using your gates with deadbolts isn’t enough. You may utilise padlocks and/or chains, too. Make sure that your garden fences won’t allow burglars to break into your residence. Also, you should install security spikes and anti-climb measures to gates & fences as well. The sight of these (or even just signs indicating to them) is enough to prevent burglars from climbing your walls, fences, or gates.
Plan for whilst you’re away
If you’re not going to be at home for the next few days (or weeks/months), then you should plan for your extended stay. Here’s what you can do to make sure that your house is looked after and not left vulnerable to burglaries:
Organise your mail and deliveries
Do something about your mail and make arrangements. That’s because unattended mail serves as a major sign for would-be burglaries and home invaders and nobody’s home. You should:
- Ask the Royal Mail to put a hold on your mail and package deliveries.
- Ask neighbours to accept these parcels on your behalf.
- Have your stuff redirected to close friends or family.
Ask your neighbours to keep an eye on your home
Make sure that someone is always checking in on your temporarily vacant home when you are away. Why don’t you ask a neighbour to keep checking in on your premises? A neighbour living nearby can easily keep an eye on the place while you’re away. You should:
- Share your contact information with your neighbour
- If you trust them enough, do give them a spare key
- Give them the PIN code to your security system if you find them trustworthy
- Join your local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme to prevent crimes in your area and also promote good behaviour
Make your home look occupied
Burglaries often target empty homes because they don’t expect to encounter anyone there. That is why you should make arrangements to make your home look occupied. You should:
- Make sure that there’s no mail left outside
- Put your lights on timers to look like somebody is still in
- Leaving the radio on so passers-by think this place is occupied
Avoid posting on social media
You might be tempted to post on social media about your upcoming journey. But it can also get unwanted attention from strangers who might use this information against you. Social media can be a major security risk, we’re afraid. That’s why you should avoid posting anything on your X or Facebook profile before heading out for a long vacation. You should:
- Don’t let strangers or acquaintances know when your home will be unoccupied (even for one day)
- Resist the urge to update your Facebook friends on your travel plans
- Start posting about your journey once you’re back from vacation
- Only inform your trusted friends about your out-of-city journey
- Only befriend people you know to avoid information leaks