Modern security technology has and is continuing to make homes safer against burglaries and intrusions. Security cameras, doorbell cameras, motion-detecting lights, home security systems, and so on—homeowners now consider these technologies essential in protecting themselves against anyone with ill intentions on their families, homes, and valuables.
However, let’s not forget about the importance of our homes’ first line of defense—the physical barriers. While a modern security camera may capture a burglar in the act and give you an early warning of their presence, it’s no use if said burglar can easily get past your flimsy window locks. And these days, you never know when people are persistent enough.
That said, let’s go over the best ways you can enhance your home’s physical barriers against burglars, home invaders, kidnappers, and anyone else who would want to get inside your property without permission:
1. Install cylinder locks
Not all door locks are made equal. Some are tough to get into, while some are very prone to picking. Cylinder locks belong to the former. These locks are designed to resist picking, drilling, and other methods criminals may use to get into your house. Install them on your front and rear doors (and your interior doors for extra protection), and refrain from hiding spare keys anywhere outside the house.
2. Reinforce door strike plates
When someone kicks in a door, the door will open if the strike plate breaks. The reason is that the screws that standard strike plates come with are short, usually only an inch or two. Another reason is that the strike plate itself is weak, which is typically the case for standard locksets.
To reinforce your door strike plates, simply replace the standard screws with longer ones, at least six inches in length. Better yet, replace your current strike plates with bigger, more durable ones, ideally those specially designed to prevent kick-ins. If anyone tries to kick in your door, they will most likely have difficulty doing so. And if they persist, the racket they make will probably alert everyone in the house before they manage to get inside.
3. Reinforce your fence
A fence is not more than a mere obstacle for a determined burglar, but there are many ways you can prevent uninvited guests from entering your property by reinforcing your fence. For instance, you can:
- Install more durable locks on your fence gates.
- Replace your fence with a taller, stronger one (as high as the locality permits).
- Address gaps and cracks on your fence to prevent peepers.
- Making the tips of your fence posts pointy to discourage climbing.
- Install anti-climb security spikes.
- Plant thorny bushes outside of the fence to deter anyone from going near it.
- Install a deadbolt on the gate, low enough that it will be difficult to reach from the other side.
4. Secure your exterior buildings
If you have a shed or a garage that is separated from your home, it is wise to upgrade their physical security as well. For starters, install heavy-duty locks on the doors; ideally, ones that are very difficult to cut through with bolt cutters. You can also opt for alarm padlocks that detect shock motion and blare a siren if someone tampers with the body or shackle.
5. Install security film on your windows
Another common point of entry for burglars is the window. Even if your windows are dutifully locked every night, a determined burglar can break it to get into your home by any means necessary. And even if you wake up upon hearing the commotion, it may already be too late to prevent them from entering your home.
Security window film helps avoid this occurrence by making it harder for criminals to get through the glass. Security film prevents the glass from shattering, which deters criminals from going through the act in fear of getting caught in the shards. It may also give you enough time to call the police after you hear the glass shattering.
Furthermore, the anti-shatter technology also helps protect your home during storms and other natural disasters. Strengthening the glass and keeping it in place reduces the chances of shards flying into your home due to heavy winds or impact from a flying object outside.
Conclusion
While modern security technologies are essential for keeping your home safe against intruders, they won’t mean anything if you don’t have suitable physical barriers in place. That said, it is high time that you upgrade your home’s security by reinforcing all the possible entry points into your home, especially if you live in an area where home invasions are relatively common.
