The Importance of Home Security Assessments

Know what to do in an emergency or how to protect your home? A home security assessment will let you know how best to protect your home and valuables.

Why You Need a Home Security Assessment

The best-laid plans and intentions often go into the decision to use alarms, install deadbolt locks, and use security systems.  Homeowners determine that they would rather be safe than sorry, realize that they have allowed themselves and their loved ones to be too vulnerable for too long, or, in response to a break-in or home invasion in the area, decide simply that their residence will not be next.

While making such determinations is wise, trying to implement them without a solid, well thought out, the as-foolproof-as-possible plan is, well, not. Chances are that you plan and plot out your vacation activities, where your kids will go to school, what doctors to go to, and the roads you take to work.  Just think- if you spend that much time outlining how to manage the mundane, leisurely, and really important parts of your life, doesn’t it make sense that you would invest at least that much time in evaluating the kind of security systems your home really needs? Of course, it does, and that is where home security assessments come in!

What is Home Security Assessment?

In order to identify the most vulnerable areas of your home, and specifically, the ones that make thieves and home invaders take a liking to your property, you need to conduct a thorough home security assessment.  The good folks at Get Locksmith can not only help you complete a security assessment, but provide you with the tips and tools that will keep your home, and all of your property and the people with whom you live, as safe as possible.

Home Security Checklist

In order to properly assess your home, we recommend compiling a checklist of places to look and study. This allows us to meet with you about and investigate every inch of your property, windows, doors, and shrubs alike.

Step One:  Meeting with your home’s occupants

As part of a home security assessment, we will...

• Discuss your security concerns and fears, changes you have seen in your neighborhood, and whether or not there have been any recent burglaries or security incidents.
• Determine if you and your family have an exit plan or strategy in case an intruder gets in while you are home.
• Review your family’s history as victims of theft, items that were stolen in the past, etc.
• Log your valuables and determine how best to keep them safe and secure.

Step Two: Evaluating the Interior of Your Home

In this stage of the assessment, we will explore the inside of your home and help you...

• Review bedrooms, bathrooms and other commonly frequented rooms where items of value are often stored or hidden.
• Evaluate your current “hiding spots” for valuables and determine if they are truly safe.
• If you have a safe, determine if its the best one for your needs and help you upgrade as necessary.
• Choose where it is best to place important documents, such as passports so that they are less obvious to would-be intruders.
• Ensure that your windows, particularly those less frequently used such as those in bathrooms and basements, are locked and sealed.
• Ensure that your door hinges are on the interior of your home.
• Take an inventory of your valuables, determine what kind they are (important papers, jewelry, heirlooms, items that are not expensive but hold sentimental, personal value,etc.)
• Set up a home alarm system that is easy to use, but not so easy that a burglar can bypass it.

Step Three: Evaluating the Exterior of Your Home

Because the sheer breadth and depth of what constitutes “the exterior” of your home can be vast, we are going to try to cover as many bases as possible here.  Though it may seem like overkill at first, the exhaustive list below is listed here all in the name of your safety and security. And honestly, you can never be too cautious!

Here are some of the questions we will present during a home security assessment:

• Do you have cameras that monitor movement around the perimeter of your home, both from a distance and extremely close by?
• Is your backyard well lit?  What about your front door?
• Do you leave outdoor lights on continuously? On a timer?  Only during specific times of the day?
• Do you have a gate or fence around your home? If so, is it in good condition, damaged, weather and storm- proof?
• Is your address (the house number and street name) clear and easy to read? This is particularly helpful when and if you have to call any form of emergency personnel.
• Are tree limbs trimmed or do they block your view of the outside?
• Do bushes and shrubs come above or below the bottom of your window sill?
• Is your property taken care of or does it look unkempt and ignored?
• When you leave on vacation, do you have your mail held by the post office or a neighbor, or is it allowed to collect where others can see it?
• Is your backyard enclosed or open to the public?
• If it is gated, is your backyard fence locked securely and tall enough that it cannot be easily jumped?
• Do you leave items of value outside or in plain view from the outside?
• Do you discard the boxes and packaging of new and expensive purchases? Consider the outer packaging of a 60-inch flat screen on your curb.  That pretty much screams ‘Come and get me!’
• Do you have a garage? Is it attached or detached? Do you keep it locked?
• Is your car alarmed?  Even though we are talking about home security, a particularly clever thief, or at least one who thinks they are, may try for items outside your home, too.  And if your car alarm goes off, what better way to alert that something fishy is going on outside?

Step Four: General Security and Beyond

The inside, outside and everything in between, especially when it comes to the security of your home, needs to be looked at and investigated in order to make sure that you are as protected as possible.  The staff at Get Locksmith will know how to get this done so give us a call today!