A mans home is his castle

Having your home burgled can be very frightening. Here are two steps you can take to make your property more secure and thus reduce the likelihood of a burglar breaking into it.

Invest in a burglar alarm

One of the most effective ways of preventing burglars from breaking into your home and stealing your belongings is to install a high-quality alarm system.

Burglar alarms serve two main purposes. Firstly, they can act as visual deterrents; if a burglar is considering targeting your property, the presence of a visible alarm system on your house's exterior could be enough to make them decide against burglarising it, as most criminals of this kind are well-aware of the fact that an alarm system will increase their chances of being caught in the act.

Secondly, security alarms can prevent any burglar who succeeds in gaining entry to your home from actually stealing anything. The reason for this is as follows; if a burglar breaks into a property which features this type of device, the alarm will immediately begin to sound as soon as they step foot inside.

This sound will, in almost all cases, send a burglar running the moment they hear it, as they will know that the police will soon be on their way. This, in turn, will mean that they will have little to no time to grab any valuables inside the property.

Fit peepholes and chains on your exterior doors

Most burglars choose to break into homes at night, when most homeowners are asleep, or choose to target properties whose owners are away on holiday. They do this in order to avoid being spotted and caught.

However, there are burglars who are quite willing to break into properties when their owners are at home and awake. This can be even more frightening and distressing than a 'normal' burglary as, in addition to having your possessions stolen, your personal safety could also be at risk.

Criminals who do this often pose as tradespeople and attempt to convince homeowners to let them inside.

It is important to take certain precautions to prevent this type of burglar from gaining access to your home. One way to do this is to install peepholes and chains on your exterior doors.

The peephole will enable you to take a look at the people who knock on your door before you decide to answer it, and determine whether or not they appear to be trustworthy, whilst a chain will prevent a would-be burglar from pushing their way into your home if you open the door to speak to them.