Don’t Forget to Lock Your Doors! 7 Ways a Burglar Can Break Into Your Home

Every year, there are more than 2.5 million home burglaries reported all across the country. And unfortunately, police are only able to solve about 13 percent of these crimes due to a lack of evidence.

If you want to reduce the chances of your home being burglarized, you can do it by installing a home security system and putting up security cameras both inside and outside of your home. By doing these things, you’ll deter a burglar from trying to break into your home in the first place.

You should also learn more about how burglars can go about breaking into your home. By educating yourself on the ways in which they can break in, you can take steps to keep them out.

Here are 7 ways a burglar can break into your home.

1. Opening an Unlocked Front Door

Once upon a time, you could leave your front door unlocked at just about any time of the day or night and not worry about anyone breaking in. But those days are, unfortunately, long gone.

There are still some people out there who don’t lock their front doors. But they’re few and far between because more and more burglars are now gaining entry to homes by simply walking right through an unlocked front door.

You should get into the habit of locking your front door each and every time that you close it. Whether you’re at home or not, you should lock your front door to prevent anyone from coming inside and stealing from you or trying to do you harm.

2. Opening an Unlocked Window

Locking the front door is common sense for most people. But locking windows is another story.

It’s easy to forget to lock a window when you’re constantly opening and closing it to control the climate in your home. And when you do, you’re leaving your home susceptible to a break-in.

If you live in a city in which a lot of home break-ins occur, you should read more here about how closing and locking doors and windows can help protect you. The simple act of locking a door or window will make your home infinitely safer than it is today.

3. Picking a Lock on a Front Door

Picking a lock on a front door used to be something that only experts could do. It wasn’t easy to find much information on how to do it.

But these days, just about anyone can pick a lock if they take the time to learn how to do it. There are hundreds of articles online about the art of picking locks.

The lock on your front door should be of the dead-bolt variety. You should also consider installing several locks on both the inside and outside of your front door to make it extra secure.

There aren’t many burglars bold enough to try to pick a lock on a front door in broad daylight. But if someone is desperate enough, they might attempt to do it, and it could end up leading to your home being burglarized.

4. Breaking the Glass on a Window

While a locked window will turn most burglars away and send them looking for an easier target, an ambitious burglar might not be deterred by a window that’s closed tight.

There are some burglars that will go as far as to break the glass on a window in your home to get in. They won’t think twice about doing it if they can see valuables in your home that they want to take.

There are some kinds of security glass that you can place on your home’s windows to prevent them from being broken easily. This glass won’t shatter, which will make it much harder for a would-be burglar to get into your home without making a huge scene.

5. Lifting Up an Unlocked Garage Door

So, you’ve installed a top-of-the-line lock on your front door, outfitted your entire home with security glass in your windows, and even put in a state-of-the-art security system. You’re all set as far as home security goes, right?

Almost.

While taking those steps will make your home significantly more secure, there is still another easy way for a burglar to break into your home. They can simply lift up your garage door if it isn’t locked.

If they’re able to do this, it might set off your home’s alarm. But not before the burglar makes off with stuff that you keep in your garage. You should make sure your garage door is locked at all times.

6. Entering Through a Basement Door or Window

If you have a basement in your home, you likely have a basement door leading down to it from the outside. You also probably have at least one or two windows.

Keep the door locked at all times to prevent a burglar from breaking in. Consider putting bars over the windows as well to make it difficult for someone to break them.

7. Knocking on a Front Door and Forcing Their Way Inside

There are some burglars who are bold and determined to get into your home at any cost. They’ll knock on the front door and then force their way inside when you answer.

This can be a terrifying experience. It can also be avoided if you take the time to install a camera that allows you to communicate with those on your front porch.

You can ask someone what they want and let them know that they’re being recorded if you feel threatened in the slightest. This camera could stop a potentially scary incident from happening.

Stop a Burglar From Gaining Entry Into Your Home

There are lots of ways in which a burglar can break into your home if you’re not careful.

By doing simple things like locking doors and windows and upgrading your locks every now and then, you can keep burglars out. You can also sleep better at night knowing that your home is likely not going to be targeted by anyone.

Do you want to find out other ways to make your home safer? Read our blog to see how adding new exterior lighting could help.