Home Security Defense Strategy: How to Prepare for an Intruder

Jump To:

• What is the property crime rate in the U.S?
• When do property crimes tend to happen?
• Remember this before making a home security defense plan.
• How to prevent house burglary and harden your home.
• How to create an effective home security defense plan.

Your home is your safe space. You make memories and spend time with family there. It’s where you lay your head down at night to rest. You should be able to associate your home with safety and comfort. The last thing you want to think about is someone invading your home. 

If you’re looking for ways to be prepared in case of a break-in, a great place to start is a home security defense strategy, also known as “hardening” your home.

Looking at the Data for Crimes Against Property in the U.S.

Fortunately, crimes against property are down in America. According to the Pew Research Center, property crime rates fell 55% between 1993 and 2019. We could point to potential reasons for falling property crime rates, like increased home security and more advanced law enforcement technology. However, there aren’t any exact causes of these lower rates.

However, theft of personal property still happens. In 2019 there were an estimated 6.9 million reports of property victimization in the United States. While there isn’t a sure way to stop an intruder, there are a few tactics you can use to protect your home better and defend your family. Keep reading to learn more about how to develop your home defense strategy and avoid theft of your personal property.

When do Property Crimes Occur?

You and your family’s presence is the most significant deterrent to intruders Burglars and thieves generally go for homes that appear to be unoccupied, which is why most home burglaries occur between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. This is when people are at work or school, making their homes vulnerable to intruders. 

While these statistics may ease your worry of harm, it’s understandable to want to have some form or plan to keep yourself and your family safe. 

Considerations Before making a Home Security Defense Plan

When creating a home defense plan, you need a strong understanding of your priorities: getting yourself and your family to safety. It isn’t your job to take down the bad guy or defend your turf. Your responsibility is to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

If you have a firearm that you use for home defense, it should be your last line of defense once all other efforts have failed. Even if you are a licensed concealed firearm carrier or have additional personal defense training, your first goal should be to get your family to a safe area.

Preventing House Burglary and Hardening Your Home against Intruders

The best place to start with a home defense strategy is the barrier around your home. Here are five ways you can develop an early warning system and make your home less desirable for trespassers: 

Develop an Early Warning System

1. Get to know your neighbors.

Thankfully, asking your neighbor to keep an eye on your home while you’re away is always free. Most likely, your neighbor will want the area you both live in to be as safe as possible too.

You may live in a space that participates in a neighborhood watch program, which is an organized volunteer base that reports suspicious activity. Remember, if you ask your neighbors to look after your home, you need to be ready to return the favor.

2. Add motion detector lights to your front and back porch. 

Motion sensor flood lights can add a layer of security to a home that can give the illusion that you’ve turned on the lights. While they don’t physically stop intruders, they can take away the cover of darkness, which may be enough to make them look elsewhere.

Purchasing motion sensor flood lights for the front of your home is an easy and affordable first step to take as you develop an early warning system for your home defense setup.

Enhanced Early Warning System Options

3. Install a steel security door and keypad lock.

A decorative steel security door with a keypad door lock can add a layer of security to your home by making it harder to break in through your front door.

Having both a keypad door lock and a steel door could impede the speed by which future intruders are able to break in or completely deter them altogether, thus enhancing your early warning system’s effectiveness and helping you and your family stay safe.

4. Install a wireless security system in your home.

Smart wireless security technology makes it easier than ever to get an affordable security system that can help you be more alert of intruders. Many of these systems include getting set up with home security cameras or night vision cameras and connect directly to your smartphone, giving you access to what is happening in your house. 

5. Use a traditional alarm system.

Alarms can help deter burglars as well, such as simple and easy-to-install window security film. This type of alarm system can help provide security against home burglary if you have concerns about window accessibility and security.

In one survey of individuals convicted of burglary, 60 percent of respondents said they would look for an alarm and move on if one was present.

How to Create Your Home Security Defense Plan

A home security defense plan is vital once the external security measures have failed and someone is in the house. An essential part of creating a plan is communication between family members. Everyone needs to know their role when a bad guy is in the house. Explain the plan just like you would a natural disaster plan. Here are some keys to establishing your safety plan:

• Create established paths for everyone to take out of the house and to a safe room.
  Having set paths for everyone to take in case of an emergency is a smart first step to creating a defense plan. You want to either get everyone out of the house or to a safe room. Create a map of the house and draw routes or do a walkthrough of the routes if that helps.
  
  
• Establish everyone’s roles.
  Make sure everyone knows what they need to do and what their responsibilities are in a break-in.
  
  
• Contact emergency services. It’s essential to call 911 or use an emergency text service as soon as possible to alert authorities of the situation.
  
  
• Be able to secure your safe room door.
  While an interior door isn’t as sturdy as your exterior door, securing your safe room door can give you some breathing room and emergency services as much time as possible to stop the intruder. Use bookshelves, chests, boxes or anything else that can slow down an intruder.
  
  
• Decentralize your gun storage with secure methods and prepare your firearm to stop the intruder.
  Once all other lines of defense have fallen. You have to be ready to stop the intruder from harming yourself or your family. A decentralized firearm storage method will help make sure you have a firearm in your safe room and will make it more difficult for the intruder to locate guns in your home.

Once you have a plan in place, practice it. Even if you practice once or twice a year, it will give everyone some hands-on learning.

If you need a storage option to have your firearm ready at a moment’s notice, check out our selection of concealment wall art and concealment flags. Have a question about our products? Fill out a contact form to get in touch with a team member today.

For more information on what type of gun you should use for home defense, check out our blog on the best firearms for home defense.