Home Safety

If you're locked out of your home, can you still get in through an unlocked window in the back, or using an extra key hidden under a flowerpot or up on a ledge?

If you can break in, so can a burglar! A small investment of time and money can make your home more secure and can reduce your chances of being a victim of burglary, assault, or vandalism.

Get to know your neighbors. Watchful neighbors who look out for you, as well as themselves, are a front-line defense against crime. In almost half of all residential burglaries, thieves enter through an unlocked door or unlocked window.

Check The Locks
  • Make sure every external door has a sturdy, well-installed deadbolt lock with a minimum of 1-1/2" bolt. Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks or with a broomstick or wooden dowel in the track to jam the door, in case someone tries to pry it open. Insert a pin in a hole drilled in the sliding door frame that goes through to the fixed frame to prevent anyone from lifting the door off its track.
  • Secure double-hung windows by using keylocks or by sliding a bolt or nail through a hole drilled at a downward angle in top corners of the inside sash and partway through the outside sash. Secure basement windows too. The hole should be large enough that the nail or bolt slides in and out freely, in case you have to open the window fast in an emergency.
  • Don't hide keys in mailboxes, planters, or under doormats. Give an extra key to a neighbor you trust.
  • If you've just moved into a new house, have the locks changed.
Check The Locks
  • Make sure every external door has a sturdy, well-installed deadbolt lock with a minimum of 1-1/2" bolt. Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks or with a broomstick or wooden dowel in the track to jam the door, in case someone tries to pry it open. Insert a pin in a hole drilled in the sliding door frame that goes through to the fixed frame to prevent anyone from lifting the door off its track.
  • Secure double-hung windows by using keylocks or by sliding a bolt or nail through a hole drilled at a downward angle in top corners of the inside sash and partway through the outside sash. Secure basement windows too. The hole should be large enough that the nail or bolt slides in and out freely, in case you have to open the window fast in an emergency.
  • Don't hide keys in mailboxes, planters, or under doormats. Give an extra key to a neighbor you trust.
  • If you've just moved into a new house, have the locks changed.