Most people feel safe in their home.  After a hard day at the office or school, your home is the place you go for relaxation.  When an unwelcome intruder enters our home, our sanctuary has been violanted and we just can't believe that it has happened yo us. But the truth is, it can happen to any one of you!

Since we always take a proactive approach to being safe, rather than a reactive approach, it is hoped that some of the information contained in this section will help you avoid being a victim.

• Keep your door and window areas open and clear of shrubbery.  Eliminate anything that could block your view, or the view of a neighbor, of your home.
  
• This will make it more difficult for someone to try and break into your home or facilitate a place to hide.
  
• Consider planting bushes and shurbbery under your windows, such as roses or plants with sharp thorns to try to detract someone from coming in or near a window.
  
• Make certain your windows are locked and cannot be opened from the outside by someone trying to break in.
  
• Keep all ladders, scaffolding or anything someone could use to climb on to reach a window safely under lock and key.  Burgulars will seize these opportunities when they are available.
  
• Use deadbolt locks when possible and be sure any glass in or next to the doors is substituted with nonbreakable acrylic.  It does very little good to have a good thick door on your house and the best lock you can buy, if all an intruder has to do is kick a window in next to your door.
  
• Consider using steel security doors.  Never allow a child to answer the door.  Always verify who is on the other side of the door before it is opened. Opening the door should always be handled by an adult.  Also, install a chain lock on the upper portion of your door so that even if a child should be able to open the door, they won't be able to open it up enough to let some intruder in.
  
• Home security systems can be a deterrent also. There are many different kinds available. Some are attached via modem to your local police department, others go to a central area where alarms are monitored most frequently by a security company. Wireless versions that emit a high pitched siren are available for apartments and run primarily on batteries.