How to secure your home against burglars

Burglars like easy targets, so here's how to make sure your home is a difficult proposition for an opportunistic criminal.

• Fit visible locks to all your windows. Most burglars will think better of it straight away if they will have to break a window to get inside; they want access that's swift and silent.
• Have a five-lever (or more) mortise deadlock fitted to your front door.
• Garage doors are often easier to force open than house doors. Fit additional locks or a barrier to prevent a garage door opening.
• Always lock any connecting door with the house and bolt it from the inside.
• If a burglar gets into the garage, they can work unseen at the inside door.

• A burglar alarm is an effective deterrent.
• Some can be linked directly to the police or to your cell phone.
• Be sure not to choose an easy-to-guess deactivation code, like "0000".

• Consider getting timers that turn some lights on for a few hours each evening, or even automated curtain closers.
• You can fit outside security lights that come on as anyone approaches your house.

• If there's a side entrance or a pathway to the back of the house, make sure it has a lockable gate so that nobody can get into your backyard.

• Trim high hedges and remove bushes that grow close to your windows and provide cover.
• This will not give potential thieves the opportunity to scope out your property unnoticed.

• Never hide a spare door key under a mat or pot plant: any burglar will know where to look.

• Create the impression that your home is occupied even when it isn't.
• Cancel any deliveries when you're away and get a trusted neighbour to gather up your mail.