I thought this would be about staying safe in your home, you know, if something does happen. Tips like to always having a phone on hand to dial 911, know and memorize the best ways of getting out of your house safely, and being on good terms with your neighbors, who can let you know if they spot anything unusual.

Get a dog.

One of the simplest ways to do home security is to think about how you would break into your own home if you forgot your keys (e.g., the unlocked window, the loose door handle, the hide-a-key you bought through the Skymall catalog). Take that list, and fix everything on it.

PI - An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Live across the street from a retiree who smokes (outside, he's not allowed to smoke inside). Bob sees all. Bob knows all. Bob is also very helpful when the cat gets out.

Or don't worry about. Seriously, statistically you're in great shape. The news just drums stuff up to get you to watch.

One of the best things you can do to prevent someone coming in through windows and sliding doors is to place stoppers in the base of the frames. It's as simple as a broomstick cut to the length of the space so that unless you lift it out, it stops the window or door from being slid open. It's a form of 'target-hardening', or adding to the difficulty/risk and making it less worth somebody's time to try and get into your home.
Also, definitely what @HHRI said, dogs are the best.

Oh, and if you're staying alone and concerned, a tip someone a first responder passed along to me was to keep your car's alarm key fob beside the bed. If needed, press the "Panic" button. The result should bring unwanted attention to whomever is trying to get in, alert your neighbours and help first responders find your home.

What are people's thoughts about leaving windows open during the day while at work? I live on the second story of a building in (what I consider) a safe neighborhood near a large city. There are always work crews and maintenance staff milling around the complex, so I've never thought twice about leaving my windows open for days. I wouldn't do it if I lived on the first floor, but I figure climbing up the side of a building during the day would be risky.

@meecee - I have one of those too! Best security system ever, and round the clock (poor guy.)

I actually heard a radio piece about how alarm systems constantly send out false alarms, waste police time (and taxpayer money), introduce a 'boy who cries wolf' component to responses, add additional stress to your own life (in new ways) and, above all, are expensive. There is no onus put on the makers to make their systems any better because when they send out false alarms, they aren't held accountable in any way whatsoever. Physically securing your own space is much more effective - Medeco locks, pins in windows, thorny bushes under windows, etc. - and a dog, if your lifestyle allows for it.

My neighbor's place was broken into twice. Was sure they passed by my condo because of the dog. I bought two motion detector cameras that take a pair of still pictures of movement. They are very visible just inside my bay window and back window. I was surprised at the sketchy folks coming up our stair- a very secluded side of the building. Every single person was staring at the camera in one of the pictures. It was pretty funny. I get very few sketchy people coming up the stairs now. Plus, the landscape people figured out that I could now prove they were dumping landscape waste into my woods. About $160 for two cameras that send pictures wirelessly to a dedicated gmail account the second they are taken. They will not physically stop a burglar, but they seem to be deterring them. No more break ins since installation! And UPS/Fedex boxes are carefully placed by the door!

@DCEM second floor windows are not a big deterrent. I locked myself out and a painter at the house next door helped me out by climbing a tree. He got on my second floor deck and in the open door in about 3 seconds.

Also, the police in my neighborhood warned us that some workers will 'case the joint' when doing work. They look around for the best way to break in, or even leave a back door or window unlocked. Later they come back or send an accomplice to rob the house.

We leave a radio on every time we leave the house. On a talk radio station. It totally sounds like someone is home.

The picture with the article has me thinking of the robber in The Sims.

FYI: if you are ever set upon by the robber from The Sims, simply call the police, shout a lot and wait for the officer to get into a cartoon dustscuffle.

We have a retired nosy guy next door who serves as neighborhood watch for the entire street. He once came over to tell me my ex-husband had been poking around the house one day while I was at work. Weird and scary. =/ The neighbors on the other side have two hunting dogs that live in an outdoor kennel, so being sandwiched between these two homes is the best security system I could hope for. ;)

Granted, it means nosy neighbor coming over to tell us we're mowing the lawn wrong from time-to-time, or hunting neighbors doing target practice in the back yard (yikes?)...but still....excellent security. ;)

The stock image of the burglar made my morning. I've never seen such a clean-cut home invader!

I have a goose on sentry duty. He likes to bite.

i wouldn't mind if my burglar looked like that

hahaha! love the burglar!

Anybody remember the show It Takes a Thief? It was on Discovery for a while - great show, lots of information like this. The scariest thing about it was how FAST the guy was - under two minutes, in and out. Oh, and he got mad when he couldn't take stuff - I seem to remember one of those big orbital gym thingys ending up in someone's pool because it wouldn't fit on the truck...

I live in a really sketchy neighborhood but, luckily, haven't experience any break-ins. I credit my (large) dogs.

I do have a security alarm, though. It came with a smoke communicator that automatically reports a fire emergency through the alarm system. It's peace of mind, especially when my pups are home alone.

@DCEM, I leave mine open, but I'm on the third floor. I think I'd feel uncomfortable doing that on any lower of a floor because any schmoe with a ladder could get right in. And if you saw a guy in work clothes with some tools during the day acting like he was supposed to be there with a ladder, you wouldn't look twice -- you'd think he was just up there fixing the window or something. We think this happened to my brother once. They found a slightly loose screen, but all the doors were locked, so they think the guy came in the window and walked out the back door with some small electronics and jewelry, collected his ladder, and went on his way.

@gttim,
where can i find such a camera?
thanks!

My neighbors' homes were burgled on the same day, but mine was not (even though no one was home). They have cats and I have dogs.

Go dogs!

Magpiec: I don't know, it might depend on your neighborhood. Where I am, there are so many car alarms, no one would pay any attention. Could work in a suburb though.

But if you're really worried, I agree -- a dog is best.

Upgrading your locks is very hit or miss. I pick locks as a hobby, and as an example, I can pick my parents upper end "security" lock on their front door like it was nothing. I got locked out one day, and decided to sit my paint covered, tattooed self on their porch, in a higher security neighborhood, to pick the locks.

The funny part was the cheap crappy lock that came with the back door was the hardest of their locks to pick. Sometimes, all you are doing when you buy security locks is paying for a name.

Oh, and for the record, nobody called the cops, or stopped me.

As someone who works in an in-home service industry, I can say that the people who need alarm systems usually don't have them, and the people who seem to have little worth targeting are the most likely to have complicated alarm systems.

I had someone try to steal our bikes (in a fenced in backyard), right next to my sliding patio door...that is open at night while I sleep, while my upstairs neighbors were up and moving around. My husband heard a clinking as they maneuvered the cut lock from between the spokes of the wheels and scared them off. Bikes were moved inside, alas, but we still had 5 more attempts. Yes. Five. Even after we had moved the bikes inside and gotten a hard to cut lock for the back gate.

Finally we put up carpet tack strips on the inside top of the fence. One scream later and our problem was solved. At least for now.

It really makes you feel unsafe and violated in your own home. We debated moving, but finding an apartment that allows rabbits (we have 5), in a “good” area for what we can afford to pay is a hard task. We stayed and fortified our house, modified our patterns, and keep everything locked up. Ever vigilant is now my motto. Not my ideal situation but doable for now.

@Jess L. Love the carpet tack strips. Ingenious! HaHa.

Having your house lit is NOT a good idea, not the way to go, look at statistics, most robberies are done during day light, thieves need to see what they are doing, they can't steal much if they have to hold a flash light in their hand.

In fact, having your house poorly lit will make it more evident when someone is robbing it, because they will have to give themselves away when they break in.

My home security is iron bars and gates. Some people might think it's like choosing to live in a jail cell, but I like it and it gives me a real feeling of security. I can leave my windows and doors open and not feel like I'm asking for trouble from local miscreants.

Where I live, most break-ins are opportunistic crimes based on the easiest looking target. It's not the work of master criminals given to a lot of long term planning. The harder a place looks to break into, the less likely anyone will try.

My "if all else fails" plan is renter's insurance, so if anyone grabs my laptop and PS3, I'm covered, since I also back up my computer files. I keep a list of all of my valuables (of which there are few), serial numbers etc. to make it easier to file a claim, but that's a one-time chore. I've been thinking about investing in software to track and lock my laptop in case it gets stolen, but I'm still in the research phase on that.

I also keep some of my more valuable, identify-related stuff somewhat hidden in plain sight. Things like my passport and other important documents don't get stashed away in drawers or files; I will keep them tucked away on open bookshelves that don't have anything remotely valuable looking on them. My hope is that the thief won't take the time to carefully examine/smash ALL of my stuff, just the most likely places, so my hope is that if I keep stuff in weird spots, they will miss them. If not, it was probably gonna get stolen anyway, so whatever.

Also, I have a bird who squawks when people enter my apartment. I like to think this would scare off any thief rather than prompt them to snap Bird's neck, but hopefully I never have to find out.

Has anyone used a motion or sound detector app that sends an alert to one's mobile phone? I'm wondering if they are effective Thanks!