Are you someone that prides yourself on how your house looks to the outside world? Homeowners spend a lot of time and money making their home look attractive. This is especially true over the past 18 months when people turned to home improvement projects during lockdown. Home burglaries are not elaborately planned events like you often see in movies. Lots of burglaries are crimes of opportunity. Don’t make your home an easy mark. Here are a few ideas to help you make your home ‘less attractive’ to criminals.
Lock All Entry Points
This is a no brainer, right? how many of you nip out, leave a back door unlocked, windows open, a sliding door ajar? Burglars are looking for an easy way into a property and a home. Keep your doors, windows and other access points locked when you are out and possibly when you are home as well.
Show Signs of Life
Burglars are often deterred from entering a home if they suspect they could be discovered by someone at home or by someone watching them in the community. For this reason, you should always keep some “signs of life” going even when you are not at home. This could include leaving lights on, having a motion activated light in your entryway, a radio playing, or the television on. The thought that someone could catch them may be just enough to have a criminal seek out another property to pursue.
Vary your routine so criminals don’t see an opportunity
Gardai suggest varying your regular routine to keep criminals guessing. For example, if you go for a walk every day, don’t do it at the same time to give a home invader a chance to follow your pattern and burglarise your home while you are out. Additionally, Feale Security suggest not broadcasting your holiday plans on your social media platforms. Keep the criminals guessing about when your next ‘staycation’ is. It’s fine to post after an event but never let people know in advance when your home will be vacant. 
Inform your neighbours if you are away
One of the best ways to keep your home safe is to inform the people who live around you when you are away. These people may be able to let you know if strangers have been around your home. They can also take in your online shopping packages while you are on holidays.
Be Alarming!
Above all, the best way to make your home unattractive to criminals is to have a fully monitored alarm that can protect your home 24/7. A monitored alarm will alert the Gardai and emergency services if anyone enters your home. A monitored alarm might be enough to stop criminals in their tracks and they may move on to an easier target.