Your Guide to Home Safety & Security

Burglars are opportunists. They're happy to break into or vandalize any home, in any neighborhood, at any time. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 7.9 million U.S. households experienced property crime in 2020.

Learning how to prevent a burglary, and following the advice of a home-security expert, matters more than ever. Dominic Schwebs, with 15+ years in the field, has spent his career at Safe and Vault Store helping homeowners do exactly that.

Robbery vs Burglary: What's the Difference?

Robbery is taking something from a person by using force, fear, or intimidation.

Burglary is entering a building or other structure with the intent to commit a felony or theft inside.

What We Know About Home Burglary

• Millions of burglaries happen in the U.S. every year, and home burglaries make up the majority.
• Warmer months typically see the highest volume, when open windows and vacation travel create more opportunity.
• A large share happen during daytime hours, when homes are more likely to be empty.
• Many burglars live near their victims. Some have even been inside the target home before, as repair or service workers.
• Most burglars are in and out in a matter of minutes, not hours. They're not there to admire the artwork.

Glen Bhimani of BPS Security suggests homeowners give burglars less opportunity by becoming less predictable targets:

"Most often, burglars will scope out the place before committing their crime and want to be sure that you aren't home during the time frame they have selected. If you are regularly gone from 8 AM to 7 PM like clockwork, they know they have that timeframe to get in and out. However, if you make random trips home during the middle of the day or change up your working hours (or even change up when you're working from home vs. the office) you're far less likely to be a target." Glen Bhimani, BPS Security

Dominic's Top Home Security Tips

Below is the same checklist Dominic walks customers through when they call in for home-security advice. Nothing exotic. Just the changes that actually move the needle.

Prevent a Burglary Before It Happens

One of the best deterrents is motion lighting paired with a security camera. Motion or sound triggers the camera, which captures the incident and pushes an alert to your phone. Burglars don't want to be filmed. Seeing a visible multi-camera system is often enough to send them looking for an easier target.

Deadbolts and electronic door locks add the physical layer: they either stop entry outright or slow it down enough that the burglar moves on. Both matter.

Add a Grade 1 Deadbolt

How much abuse a deadbolt can take is directly tied to its ANSI grade. Grade 1 is strongest, Grade 3 is weakest.

Make Your Entryway Hard to Breach

Slowing down entry frustrates the burglar. Make the front door work harder:

• Replace hollow-core doors with solid-core.
• Install a heavy-duty deadbolt strike plate.
• Use 2-to-4 inch screws when mounting the deadbolt and strike plate. The screws that ship with most deadbolts are under an inch, meaning the strike anchors into the decorative wood trim rather than the framing stud.
• Secure the door hinges with matching long screws.
• Reinforce the door frame and jamb.

Basic hygiene: lock the door and windows when you leave, and even when you're home. A meaningful share of burglars simply walk in through an unlocked door or window.

Pro tip: For the items you can't afford to lose, use a safe with a burglary rating and bolt it to the floor. Start with Safe Burglar Ratings Explained to understand what the ratings actually mean.

Install a Security Alarm System

Time is a burglar's enemy. They have limited minutes to find something worth taking, grab it, and get out undetected.

Cut the time available and you cut the damage. A monitored alarm that sirens the moment a door or window is breached forces the burglar to make a snap decision: leave now with whatever's within reach, or risk being caught. Most choose to leave.

That's why the most valuable items belong in a safe that's hidden from view. Time is what protects them.

"Keep trees and bushes well-manicured to eliminate potential hiding places for thieves on the premises. It's also wise to avoid storing any tools outside unless you have a locking shed, since thieves could use them to break into your home." Christen Costa, Gadget Review

Invest in a Safe That Fits Your Needs

From biometric fingerprint safes to jewelry safes, wall safes, floor safes, data-media safes, and high-security burglar-fire safes, there's a safe for every use case and budget.

Pro tip: The safe should be hidden and bolted to the wall or floor. A safe a burglar can carry out to open at their leisure isn't much of a safe.

Three burglar-fire safes we'd start most homeowners on:

AMSEC CSC1913 Burglar & Fire Rated Safe

Compact entry point to AMSEC's burglar-fire line. UL RSC burglary rating plus a 2-hour, 350°F fire rating. Two 1-1/2" solid steel locking bolts plus two matching deadbolts, ESL10 digital lock, heat-expandable intumescent door seal.

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AMSEC CSC3018 Burglar & Fire Rated Safe

The larger sibling of the CSC1913. Same UL RSC + 2-hour fire construction, more interior room for documents, cash, jewelry, and small firearms. Step up when you know you're going to grow into it.

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Mesa MBF3820C Burglar & Fire Safe

Different vendor, similar promise: burglary protection plus fire rating in a home-office footprint. UL Group II dial combination lock, drill-resistant hard plate, adjustable interior shelves for organization.

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Now is the time to consult with an expert. Implementing a plan of action alongside the right physical products is one of the smartest things you can do to prevent a burglary.

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