Thieves often watch our flats and houses, waiting for the right moment when they can freely plunder them. How can you secure your home against burglary and minimise the possible material losses incurred in this way?
Protecting windows and doors
It is not through doors that burglars most often get into our flats and houses but through windows. Even if we go away during hot weather, it is better not to leave them unsealed because opening them is only a few seconds work for a thief. It is similar with balcony doors. The best protection is provided by external roller blinds, although they also have a disadvantage - when drawn they allow a thief to plunder a flat completely unnoticed by neighbours.
Simulated presence of household members
A flat in which no one is present for a few days is a good target for thieves. They have more time not only to search the house thoroughly, but also to sell stolen "goods", which the owner has not even started to look for yet. For this reason, a good solution is to use a system that simulates our presence.
Modern technologies offer us various solutions. An interesting option is a video intercom, which allows you to connect via Skype with your phone. Thanks to this solution, we can pretend that we are "sitting" at home, even when we are on holiday abroad. Another option is electronically (and remotely) managed lighting, which can also be activated by phone. There are also solutions available on the market that manage the lighting or raise the roller blinds depending on the weather.
A quite simple option is to buy a time switch for the socket (for a dozen zlotys or so) and set it in such a way that e.g. every day between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. the TV will be switched on.
Do not forget about such details as picking up the mail – in the era of ubiquitous leaflets, it is very easy to notice that no one is home, because the mailbox is full of leaflets. It's therefore a good idea to put up a notice stating that you do not wish to receive such mail or to ask your neighbours to empty your mailbox.
Securing valuables in a safe
Even the best security devices and alarms are not able to stop a thief from entering our house or flat in 100%. Therefore, even with ultra-modern solutions, it is also worth securing valuables and important documents in a safe. There are many options to choose from – from furniture safes, through tubular safes, floor safes or even double safes with a hidden compartment. The important thing is to install the safe properly and not to make any common mistakes.
It is worth remembering that a thief – thinking that there are valuable items in the house – will not give up looking for them. Especially if he knows (or suspects) that the inhabitants are on holiday. Unfortunately, property is often destroyed, because the thief does not care what condition he leaves the house in. As a result, the damage may even exceed the value of the lost valuables.
Two home safes are an interesting solution that can be used here. One of them is placed in a more obvious place (e.g. in the bedroom wardrobe) and less important valuables (or even well-made dummies) are put into it. Only in a second, well-hidden safe do you keep what you really want to hide from thieves. Another solution is a double day safe. These are most often built-in safes (wall safes), which, having a hidden compartment, allow you to deceive a thief.
There is no 100% effective method of securing property in a house or flat. Therefore, the use of several solutions and, above all, a well-hidden and secured safe gives the best chance that our property will remain intact.
