Theft-Proof Your Home
Are you making false assumptions about your family’s security? Here’s some must-have advice from the experts.

BY LISA BENDALL

While Karin Melberg Schwier parked the car at her Saskatoon home one spring afternoon, her husband, Rick, went ahead to unlock the side door of the house. He quickly returned. “Get the cellphone and call the police,” he said. The wooden door was splintered and hanging open. They’d been robbed.
“They cleaned out all the electronic stuff we had in the house,” says Karin. The thieves took a 27-inch television, a VCR, a DVD player, a stereo and laundry baskets full of CDs, tracking muddy footprints through the house. They also took a 20-year-old guitar with great sentimental value.
The very next day Karin and Rick started getting estimates for a home-security system. “It’s common sense,” Karin says, “but sometimes you don’t think about those things until it’s too late. We live in a neighbourhood with lawyers and retired university people, so it’s not exactly crime-ridden, and we’d never thought of security beyond locking doors and windows.”
Just how much do Canadians know about keeping their homes safe from intrusion? Surprisingly, many of us make assumptions about home security that can actually increase our risk of a burglary by leaving us—and our homes—undefended. Here are eight home-security myths and truths.

Sound the Alarm! Statistics show that houses with alarm systems are less likely to be broken into, and if they are, less property is stolen. And there’s an added bonus: Home-insurance companies typically offer a discount on your premium once you have a security system installed. Unmonitored alarms sound a siren inside or outside your house and, if you’re lucky, alert a neighbour to trouble. A system that is monitored (at a cost of around $30 a month) will summon the police. The Canadian Security Association’s Normand Fiset recommends having the alarm monitored rather than relying on neighbours to act. “When is the last time you considered calling the cops when you heard a car alarm in a parking lot?” he reasons. He also points out that more and more municipalities are banning outside sirens, and an alarm that blares only inside the house does little good. If your alarm is monitored, its signal travels to the monitoring service, usually through your phone line. Service personnel will call the police when there’s a problem, often phoning your home first to ensure it’s not a false alarm. (If it is, you simply supply your password to cancel it.) In many regions, the homeowner is accountable for a fee if police are called needlessly. The physical components of an alarm system—motion detectors, magnetic door or window contacts, control panel—can be either hard-wired through your home or connected with wireless-radio signals. Be sure to verify that the company installing the alarm is a member of a professional association and has any licences required by your province. Magnetic contact at the doors and windows and glass-break detection will trip the alarm if the perimeter of the house is crossed. The alarm will be set off before the thief has set foot inside your home. Motion detectors inside are triggered if a person moves inside the home while the system is armed. Ensure that the system you select gives the option of arming the perimeter and motion sensors separately. That way, the alarm can alert you to any intrusion even when you are home. If you have a pet or are considering getting one, make sure your system is designed to pick up only the motion of humans. What if a thief cuts your phone line to prevent contact with the monitoring company? Although this doesn’t happen often, some systems now offer wireless-phone backup. The newest technology even uses your Internet connec-tion to send out an intrusion alert.

“An alarm system doesn’t do anything. If a thief really wants to, he’ll break in anyway.”
A home-security system cannot
stop a burglar from hitting your home. But it is a strong deterrent, making him think twice before targeting you. “Criminals have told me during interrogation they had walked by three or four houses that had alarm stickers in their windows and then hit the one that didn’t,” says Const. Jim Caldwell of the Edmonton Police Service. That’s because setting off an alarm could mean a call to police. And if a thief does break in, he is less likely to make a thorough search of the house. “It’s going to be a smash-and-grab,” says Normand Fiset, president of the Quebec chapter of the Canadian Security Association. “Usually they’re in and out quickly.” (For more information on alarm systems, see sidebar below.)
“Lightning never strikes twice. If my house has already been broken into, chances are it won't happen again.”
Research indicates that your house is 12 times more likely to be broken into again within the next month. Susan Hall’s Toronto home was burglarized a few years ago. “The police told us, ‘Don’t be surprised if they come back after you’ve replaced everything,’” she says. In her case they didn’t, but nevertheless she promptly put her most sentimental possessions in a security box. Make it a priority to assess your home security and take steps to enhance it. If you do replace stolen merchandise, don’t put the cartons out on display for curbside pickup.

“If I have a security system and good locks, I don't need to take other security measures.”
“A lock is only as strong as the door and the door frame,” says Const. Donald Jenkins of the Halifax Regional Police. Steel doors are a good idea, too, but look for one with a solid-wood core, not a hollow door. And consider adding a solid-steel strip to the side of the door to prevent thieves from breaking the frame with a crowbar.
Other steps make a difference. Install external lighting and keep bushes trimmed around doors and windows. The more visible a thief will be while breaking into your home, the less likely it is that he’ll try. Beware-of-dog signs and locked gates also discourage criminals. And while it may seem obvious, if you do invest in good security features, make sure you actually use them. Caldwell recently investigated a break-and-enter case in which “the guy had the best of locks, the best of alarm systems—and none of it was engaged.”

"Since I live in a good neighbourhood, I don't need to worry about break-ins."
“Actually, the opposite is true,”
says Ron Noiles, senior vice-president for personal-property insurance with Aviva Canada, a major sponsor of
the Neighbourhood Watch program. “Criminals look for neighbourhoods where the goods are good. And those are typically the ones people believe they’re safe in.” If you take fewer safety precautions, like not locking your door, because you believe it’s unlikely you’ll suffer a break-in, you’re increasing the odds of your home becoming a target.

“My house is safe because someone is always home.”
It’s true that most thieves seek out unoccupied houses. But home invasions, in which criminals strike deliberately while people are home so they can let them in, do sometimes happen. “It is the most effective way of carrying out the theft because you know you won’t get surprised by the owners—you have them captive,” says Fiset. And when home invasions occur, almost half the homeowners end up injured, according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

“If I keep my curtains closed during the day, thieves can't see what’s inside and won't be tempted to break in.”
While closed curtains at night do keep prying eyes out, during the day they may serve as an ideal cover for intruders. Opening curtains in daytime also makes it look as though someone is home.

“There’s little I can do to reduce property crime in my neighbourhood.”
Police experts say that getting to know your neighbours is a huge factor in combatting break-ins. “If someone sees an unfamiliar car in your driveway or people lurking about your property, neighbours will be more inclined to call police,” says Jenkins. Consider getting involved with a local Neighbourhood Watch group, or contact your local police department to set one up.

Illustration: (home page) © Ed Schnurr