Homeowners have an average of $200,000 invested in their home and an average of another $100,000 in furnishings and goodies to make the place look like a castle that it is. That makes them great targets for burglars looking for an easy score. They are looking for cash and merchandise that can be easily fenced for cash to feed their drug habits.
FBI statistics from 2004 show the value of goods stolen in burglaries to be on average about $1600. For the 2.143 million burglaries that is $34,288,000. That doesn't take into account any damage done in the process.
Property crimes are slowly declining according to the FBI stats but burglaries are up .6% from 2004 to 2006. A home burglary happens every 15 seconds mostly because homeowners make it so darn easy.
The process begins with the crooks picking out a home that looks like an easy score. They case neighborhoods looking for affluent homes with plenty of cover to hide themselves and the most important thing they look for is
SIGNAGE.
Signage is a cheap trick to protect your home without spending a fortune to do so. It should be the first step in fortifying your castle from invaders. It should not be the only thing you do either.
Signage is high on the bad guys' checklist because it gives them an indication of any trouble they may be getting themselves into. It may indicate if there's a dog on the property. It can indicate if the premises are guarded by a security company or not. Signage may give a clue on alarms in the house.
You get the idea and so does the bad guy who is looking for an easy target. He'll look for these signs before he picks a target. Why would he knowingly pick a house that is protected in some way making it more difficult over a home that is not? He won't!
Signage can come in many flavors. Pick yours and pick many the more the merrier.
Advertising works, even in the criminal world. Let the bad guys know they are in for a hard time and chances are they will stay away and pick another target. Let them play in somebody else's house.
Jack Krohn is the #1 author of Home Security Articles in the country. He owns SECURITY SOLUTIONS a one stop resource that provides solutions and answers for all your self defense and home security problems.
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