How can you catch a criminal? Police officers most often solve crimes by thinking like how a criminal acts. Police officers develop theories of a criminal’s behavior, thought patterns, and attempts to determine what his/her most probable steps will be. You too, can practice the “right-mind-set” when it comes to safeguarding your home from a burglar.

Before you take drastic steps and go “security wild,” take some time to understand what aspects of your home attract criminals. We’ll call that a hazard, and how those hazards can be mitigated, otherwise known as conducting a Risk Assessment. A Risk Assessment is invaluable in the sense it will help you determine what measures of security you should implement.

Most homeowners or homes so to speak, have shrubs or bushes which are too close to a home and sometimes obstructs a window. This is very inviting to a burglar. The burglar can easily use the bush or shrub as concealment while breaking a window to gain entry into your home. Although landscaping is the “curb appeal” of a home, keep in mind to keep the bushes, shrubs, and trees slightly away from your home, so you can easily see someone moving around your home.

Burglars like to use windows (obviously) to see if someone is home before making entry. It’s a good idea to close blinds or curtains when it gets dark and before you have to use an interior light. The interior light, “back-lights” the individuals inside of a home and casts your presence to anyone walking nearby. This keeps a criminal guessing as to where you are in your residence. For example, if it appears that everyone is in the kitchen or dining area, a bold thief may attempt to break in to a back bedroom.

Keeping your valuables like cash and jewelry in plain-sight is an open invitation to a burglar to attack your home. It is a good idea to use Diversion Safes to hide your valuables. Diversion Safes are perfectly disguised as everyday items: books, spray cans, soup cans, house cleaners, etc. Diversion Safes also make perfect hiding devices for your most valuable items, as they may be placed anywhere in your home provided they match the environment. For example, you don’t want to use a “Soup Can” Diversion Safe and place it under your sink, or vice versa, place an “Engine Cleaner” Diversion Safe in your pantry with your other food items. That way, if a burglar does strike, they won’t be able to the treasures you most value.