Scared of burglary - how to deter?

[User5512]

So, my neighbours house had an attempted break-in a couple of days ago. It’s making me very anxious. If your house wasn’t “chosen” for burglary, can you tell me what you did to deter?

We can’t get a dog. Any other suggestions !?

After a burglary we had a crime prevention officer come who advised us to do the following:

Lots of outdoor lighting
Gravel - the noise makes it obvious that someone is about which puts burglers off
Prickly bushes near boundary fences
CCTV
Keys not kept in sight of doors / windows etc

You say you can't get a dog, but you can buy a "BEWARE DOG" sign on Amazon for a couple of quid.

Many burglaries are opportunistic, so common sense regarding safety is the best place to start, don't leave valuables in view, ensure doors and windows are locked, including garden gates and sheds. Getting a ring doorbell or some type of CCTV is recommended as well as a burglar alarm

Why I have a dog, doorbell camera also getting window bars. My area is high crime for burglary

A few years back my neighbour was burgled and it really unsettled me. We’ve also had many thefts of cars on our streets.

My advice would be check the locks on your doors. Most are cheap and can be easily snapped by devices that thieves use to gain entry. You can upgrade to anti snap locks which protect against this.
https://www.locksmiths.co.uk/faq/lock-snapping/

Get cameras covering any doors to your house. Ideally ones where a light or siren can come on to scare an intruder before they even try anything. I have mine set over night and when I’m out.

All valuables out of sight. Set light timers in the winter to look like someone is home as soon as it goes dark or if you are out.

If your house has any side access, look at improving by installing a taller gate so it’s not easy to get to the rear of your property. As PP said, prickly bushes on any boundary fences as these are also a deterrent. Basically make your house as difficult as possible, they are much more likely to go for a house that has less protection.

We have a burglar alarm and cctv. A little ott but we have had randoms come to our close and walk back out as they’ve noticed the security. There’s only 5 houses and we all know each other. My cctv covers the entrance of the close, my other neighbour covers round the bend. We all have garden cctv too.

Dogs don't put people off anymore, nowadays you get burgled for the dog.

Visible cctv.

This. The most valuable thing someone can steal from me is my dogs. Which is why they sleep in our bedroom.

We have a burglar alarm but don’t actually use it but it’s obvious we have one on the outside. I think that it helps. I think a Ring doorbell may be a good investment if you’re worried OP. We live in a low crime area but if we weren’t I’d get a ring doorbell.

We use patlocks on our French doors. Patlock | Instant French Door Lock.
Spikey bushes underneath windows and also keep anything they could use to break in, such as tools, garden rakes, ladder, etc locked away. Sensors
on windows - to activate alarm if opened or broken.

Venetian blinds. You can't come through them without making a load of noise.

Ring doorbell

Bit more of a heightened fear here about DD's Dad (seriously mentally ill) turning up plus horrendous kids roaming to the outskirts of the estate where we are, happy to throw bricks through windows on a whim. We've got a bar that's fitted with brackets on the inside of the front and back doors. The living room double outer doors have a bike lock wrapped around the handles plus a sliding lock on the back of the door that leads to the hall. Helps keep the kittens secure anyway.
Might seem OTT but after everything DD and I have experienced at the hands of her Dad, and having received a phone call from a social worker a couple of days ago telling me that he is "involved with the police though I can't disclose why, if he makes any contact call 999 immediately". Almost four years of no contact from him but that phonecall has frightened me. Lone parent, all of 5ft tall. Just me and 11 year old DD living here. I have been diagnosed with CPTSD because of the abuse I suffered from him.

Not a deterrent but if you can fit sash jammers I'd recommend them if someone did attempt to come in they wouldn't get far

We had a break in last year, they took the barrel lock out in seconds. Best advice was to put patlocks on any patio/french doors and upgrade the door locks to anti snap ones. Lock windows, use variable timers when its dark. The police also advised using an old fashioned steering lock on your car - basically anything to slow the bastards down and pick someone elses car & house.

Shotgun.

If they want to get in, they 100% will.

In hindsight make sure you have everything insured adequately and/or have a safe.

Back up everything from computers in case they take them.

All of the above, and definitely get a crime prevention visit. A lot of the things you can do are really quite low-tech - my parents used to have an iron bar in brackets on a back door. Word around here is you only need to make it more time consuming to break into than other houses around. And to make that perfectly obvious of course.

I've heard that lights are the biggest deterrent for burglary. So if you go out, leave a landing light on, or on holiday get a timer. While you are in an external motion detector light might work well.