If you live in a reasonably safe area you think it could never happen to you-someone braking into you home. Most likely it won't ever happen, but just like with the lottery, you never really know where lightening will strike. If it does happen, there are few things more devastating than a violation of one's home. Our home is our castle and if we can't feel safe and rely on security there, where can we?



Unfortunately, crime happens. There's a burglary somewhere in the United States every 15 seconds and a property crime every three seconds. Add to that a couple of motor vehicle thefts every minute and an appalling number of violent crimes and you see that we're not quite as protected as we think we are, and that applies even to home security in safe neighborhoods.

There is no need to live life in fear, but it does make sense to reduce your odds of becoming the victim of a crime. There are a number of ways to deter burglars and make your home an undesirable target. Keeping a crime from happening is far preferable to dangerous self-defense heroics, or having to deal with the often-devastating consequences of a robbery or crime. But how do you go about making your home safer?

The cardinal rule is making robbing your home as time-consuming and risky as possible. Robbers and criminals like to operate unobserved and in the dark. They like to pick on easy targets where they can quickly hit and run. Make that impossible, and you have just decreased the likelihood of a break-in and increased your and your kids' safety.

Start with the obvious: Always lock your windows and doors. Make sure you have locks that cannot easily be broken. Then move on to proper lighting. Install motion-triggered exterior spotlights and other types of motion-activated alarms. Consider adding security cameras. Those should be obvious enough to make a burglar believe he's being recorded. Even dummy cameras can work as a deterrent! Security and spy cameras come in many shapes and forms, from very obvious to totally hidden.

If you are gone a lot, install automated lighting systems that illuminate the home in a random fashion to make it look lived in. You may also consider random dog barking systems (no burglar likes to encounter an angry Doberman once he gets in). If you keep valuables in your home, consider diversion safes to hide things in (some look like soda cans, spray bottles, etc.).

Some people keep guns in their homes whereas others are opposed to that. Either way, if you are concerned about self-defense, it makes sense to consider things like pepper spray or stun guns. Both are small and handy, and will disable an attacker rather than injure him (which, sadly, can lead to legal issues!). Today's stun guns are very small and inexpensive so they can be stowed away or carried around even in purses. Pepper sprayers also come in a variety of small packages and they cost very little. Though we all hope we never have to use them, both provide a means of self-defense and security.