About 78,000 burglaries are reported to the police in Belgium every year. This equates to about 200 burglaries per day. In the Netherlands this is even more so. There are an estimated 250 cases per day involving domestic burglary speech. Due to these large numbers, more and more people are installing alarm systems in their homes. But is this the best solution? There are several ways to protect your home from intruders.
Provide deception
Deceiving thieves is a great way to secure your home in the first step. When it seems like someone is at home, the chance is much smaller that they will try to break into the house. This method of security is used by approximately 20% of the total population of the Netherlands and Belgium. The most common way is to turn on the lights in certain rooms. This makes it seem as if someone is present in the home. However, this must be done correctly. It makes no sense to leave the light on in a room where you can see the whole room from the outside. In other words, turning on the light in a ground-floor room with clear windows makes it easier for thieves to find a way to break into the home. So closing curtains is a very good tip!
Besides the use of artificial light, there are other ways to make the house appear occupied. Some ways for this are:
- Turn on the radio or play a tape with spoken dialogue. This makes it seem as if a conversation is being held between two or more people;
- Leave devices such as the television on;
- Using an air blower and paper. When you hang a paper in front of the light and make it move with an air blower, it draws different shadow drawings on curtains. This makes it look like there is movement in the house.
Open spaces and doors
Another problem to consider is the locking of doors and open spaces. Cat flaps, the basement hole or glass doors are an easy way for burglars to get into the home. Therefore, make sure that they are always locked when you leave the house. Glass door windows can easily be smashed to get to the doorknob. So try not to provide glass in the front or back door.
Close as many interior doors as possible. Lock it and if necessary take the key with you when you leave the house. This will not stop burglars, but it will make it more difficult to get into all areas of the home. This creates a delay in breaking in, which means that the burglar will run out of time more quickly.
Locking doors is one way, but providing good door locks is certainly an extra security. This can be taken into account when buying door locks. The burglary protection of door locks is indicated with stars. The more stars a particular door lock has, the more time the burglar needs to break the door lock. Code locks also keep thieves busy longer than regular door locks.
Alarm systems: are they the ideal solution for burglary protection?
Alarm systems certainly ensure that thieves are deterred. However, these are not 100% effective. Any alarm system can be hacked by a burglar. Just like good locks, they only delay the burglary. Depending on the type of alarm system, it will become more difficult for the thief to break into the home. An alarm system is therefore a good way to secure your house, but it does not stop the burglar 100% from trying to get into the house.
A panic room helps better than an alarm system
Alarm systems may ensure that the burglar is less likely to break into the home unnoticed, but when they have cracked it, they can still plunder the entire home. But what if we look at the burglary from a different perspective? If we can ensure that once the burglar is in the house, he cannot get out? This is possible with a panic room. Most common panic rooms use a system that fills the entire room with a thick cloud of smoke. With this system, the doors are locked and the entire room is filled with smoke in a few seconds, so that the burglar can no longer see a hand. The system then notifies the police so that the burglar can be caught immediately.
Just like alarm systems, the system of a panic room can also be hacked. However, these systems are much less conspicuous, making them more effective than a regular alarm system.
