A man's home is his castle. It's an oldie, but a goodie as far as clichés go. It implies that your home is secure. Unassailable. Impervious to outside invasion. Unfortunately, this is rarely, actually, the case.
Just how secure is your home? Take a minute and consider it. How strong are your locks? Your doors? Your windows? Were they installed by professionals? Have you changed the locks since you moved in? Were you planning to? Do you have a home security system in place? Who installed it? Were they reputable?
There are any number of questions to consider when assessing the security of your home. I find the best way to go about it is to put yourself in the shoes of a potential burglar-unpleasant, yes, but you'll find yourself looking at things in a new light.
Home security doors?
In many ways, your home is a collection of weak points.
Windows
Your windows, if they're close enough to the ground, are burglar-magnets of the first order. Glass, unless treated, breaks easily. A glass cutter, and a fist wrapped in a shirt, can get a hand in, and if a burglar can get a hand in, they can get everything else in. However, don't think that an upper floor window is safe from this. Ladders often give burglars a sort of camouflage, especially in suburban areas.
Other Weak Points
Chimneys, skylights and storm cellars are also weak points in your home's security. While it may seem ridiculous (Santa Claus, anyone?), a chimney, if wide enough (and unlit, of course), can provide a quick entrance for a careful burglar. Skylights and storm cellars provide much the same, allowing entrance from the roof and basement, respectively.
Even the top rated home security systems, while handy to have around, can provide a false confidence when it comes to protecting your home. Remember, security systems are only as good as the lock on your fuse box, and as good as the background checks on the technicians who installed it. Take no chances, and do thorough research on a company before hiring it.
Every house has a number of weak points which can be exploited by a canny thief. While many would-be burglars will simply bust a window, or take advantage of an unlocked back door, others will be more cunning. To protect your home, you must examine it with a careful eye, and put yourself in the mind of a thief. Remember, it takes a thief to catch a thief, and that goes for burglar-proofing your home as well.
Just how secure is your home? Take a minute and consider it. How strong are your locks? Your doors? Your windows? Were they installed by professionals? Have you changed the locks since you moved in? Were you planning to? Do you have a home security system in place? Who installed it? Were they reputable?
Home Security - How Secure is Your Home?