Before we can discuss ways to prevent a home burglary, it's important to have an understanding of when the burglaries occur, who commits the crimes, and what is usually taken. Almost all home burglaries happen during the day, when people are at work. The summer months see a lot of burglaries, especially in July and August. February actually has the fewest number of burglaries compared to the other months.

Home burglaries are usually committed by males under 25 years old. g17 parts These guys are usually trying to grab small things that are easy to carry away and sell for quick cash that is needed for living expenses an most often, drugs. The favorite items of theft are cash, guns, jewelry and watches, computers and DVD players, and CDs. These things are easily concealed in a duffel bag as the thief exits the home, and are easy to convert to cash.

Thieves never like to do any extra work if they don't have to, so they first look for an open door or window. And, unlike most movies where the bad guy carries a fancy lock pick kit, burglars prefer to use common household tools like screwdrivers, pliers, pry bars and hammers. Although it may seem like burglaries are random and happen on a whim, this is rarely the case. Burglars will always go for the easiest target. This is the house with the easiest access, good places to hide, and a good escape route.

Burglars always go for the easy target! Most burglars will skip your house if it seems too difficult to enter. So the best way to help prevent a home burglary is to make it difficult for a thief to get in. Most burglars pick a point of entry that has the most cover, and usually has the weakest lock. This is typically the garage door, followed by the back door, and then the front door.

Now let's take a look at some pointers for the types of locks you should consider:

- Use a high quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt lock that has a one-inch throw bolt (The part that goes into the door when locked)

- If you have to use a "knob-in-lock", make sure you get one that's high quality, heavy duty, and has a "dead-latch" feature.

- A "dead-latch" mechanism prevents a credit card or shim from being used to pop open the lock

- A high quality deadbolt will have what's called a beveled casing. This usually stops the use of channel lock pliers to break off the lock pins and gain access.

- Always spend the extra money and get Grade One or Grade Two locks for exterior doors, as these resist prying, hammering, and lock picking.

Expert (But completely obvious) Tip:

Most people leave an extra set of keys in the car. Burglars are wise to this and first look inside your car for house keys and valuables. Make sure you lock your car, even if it's in the garage.

Now let's talk about Doors. Follow these tips below when considering doors in your home.

- Always spend the extra money and buy solid core or metal doors for all exterior entrance points. Many cheap exterior doors have hollow cores, and can easily be kicked through with not much effort by a determined burglar.

- If the door doesn't come with one, install a peephole that is a wide-angle 160°, mounted no higher than 58 inches from the floor.

- Make sure the door comes with a heavy-duty, four-screw, strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate deep into a wooden door frame. The strike plate is almost always the weakest part of the door, as it is where the deadbolt secures the door in place with the door jamb. Cheap doors come with very soft wooden moldings that are usually tacked onto the door frame. It just takes a strong kick or shove with a shoulder to tear the lightweight molding away and burst the door open.

- Also make sure that the screws that hold the door hinges in place have at least two 3 inch screws per hinge plate.

- Make sure that the screws holding the knob lock strike plate are longer ones as well.

To Conclude

We always recommend spending the extra money to get good solid core or metal exterior doors, and strong, heavy duty locks. Remember that an experienced burglar can identify good doors and good locks. It is very likely that the mere presence of these upgrades will cause the burglar to think twice and move onto an easier target.