Burglar-proof home

Summer may be the time for fun in the sun - but it's also time to make sure homes are secure before hitting the vacation trail.

Police and a home alarm system specialist both suggested a few tips that can be done so that people don't end up coming back home from a vacation to find their house burglarized.

Police Cpl. Sherrie Carruth suggested the best way to plan how to secure the home is to put yourself in the mind of a burglar and see how you can break into your own home. If you can find an easy way in, you should fix that problem right away.

She also said one of the most common mistakes people make is that they simply don't lock their doors and windows.

"Interestingly enough our officers... find no forced entry because there didn't need to be one," she said. "They're leaving their windows unlocked, their doors unlocked, sometimes even up... It does not take a burglar all day. With two minutes they can have what they want out of there."

Brad Holcomb said about 95 percent of burglars go through a door, and usually the back door if there is one.

The 1st Alarm general manager said any basic alarm system would monitor all the entry doors along with the windows. He also suggests a keyed deadbolt for the doors and if you have sliding windows, something as simple as a steel rod in an interior window track can stop many burglars from going in that way.

Carruth said timers for the lights can come in handy as well to make the house seem occupied. Holcomb suggested also using motion-activated lighting. Even having a family member or friend coming by the house can work.

A sign saying you have a security system can scare some burglars off, Holcomb said. Basic home alarm systems can go for about $30 a month.

Carruth said you can request a "house watch" so that that an officer periodically check the home while you're on vacation, as long as you leave a way for the police to reach you.

Still, she said, "one thing people need to understand is there's no 100 percent foolproof way to keep people from breaking into their home."

Even for the stay-cationers out there, Holcomb said no one should drop their guard on short errands or forget to activate their alarm systems.

"Having an alarm that is not armed is ridiculous. Why bother paying for it," he said. "A lot of times burglaries are from somebody who lives in the neighborhood. Someone who knows your routine."