As Winter Approaches, the Number of Burglarized Homes Increases

When winter starts for the Northern hemisphere the burglary rate increases. This may be due to the fact that there are more nighttime hours; therefore giving burglars more time to break into houses. Houses seldom get burglarized in the daytime because there is too much of a chance of the thief being seen. One source quotes that the burglary rate in London rises as much as twenty percent in the winter months.

There are some things you can do to protect yourself and your belongings. Secure your property. Make sure there are no items such as ladders laying around which would give burglars easy access to second story windows. Consider putting a fence around your property and installing motion sensor lights. Bushes with thorns may also deter a burglar. A thief is usually searching for an easy target.

Install an alarm. Put a sign in your yard or on your door advertising the fact that you have a personal security alarm. An alarm will not stop a thief if they really want access to your house but it may deter the random burglary. It may also be a good idea to look into hiring a security company to do checks of your home periodically throughout the night.

Always make sure your valuables are not in plain view. Chances are that if a thief does not see anything worth stealing they will not take the risk of breaking into your home.

Make sure your doors and windows are locked at all times. Use good visible locks and make sure your windows are not the type that will open easily even if they are locked. The random thief will not go through the extra trouble of picking a good quality lock or breaking a double paned glass window.

Always keep an eye on your property and know what is going on around you. If you go on a vacation and have to leave your house unattended, ask a neighbor to check your home periodically. A thief is good at detecting when you are gone. So make sure to safeguard against burglary. Leave a light on and ask someone to change what light is on at night. Make it look like you are still there. This is also a good time to hire a security company to check your house for you. You should make sure your valuables are safe in case someone does get into your house while you are gone. Ask someone to hold your valuables such as jewelry while you are on vacation or put them in a lock box.

Thieves do not want to go through the extra work involved in burglarizing a home that has security features such as these. It is too much work for them and also raises their chances of getting caught. Use all of these safeguards or a combination of them to ensure your possessions are as safe as possible.