Don't help criminals by unlocking your door!
Home and garage doors should always be locked. Almost 50 percent of burglars enter homes and property through unlocked doors and windows. Use your locks.
Never leave keys outdoors. Burglars know where to find "secret" hiding places.
All doors that lead outside should be solid-core wood or metal. Each door should fit its frame tightly with no more than a 1/8 inch clearance between the door and frame.
Locks on doors should be placed at least 40 inches away from windows, glass panels, and other openings such as mail slots and pet doors. Make it hard for a burglar to reach in and unlock your door.
Deadbolt locks provide good protection. When you turn the key, the lock mechanism slides a strong metal bolt from the door into the frame. Don't rely on chain locks, even ones with a key. An average sized person pushing against a door can easily break most chain locks. Don't forget to have locks installed on screen doors and storm doors, as well as garage doors, cellar doors, patio doors, and any other doors that lead outside.
Install a peephole in every entry door of your home.
Burglars look for sliding glass doors because they are easy to open. Bolster any existing locks by placing a solid strip of wood in the track of the closed door. Thieves may also try to knock the door off its tracks. Adjust the rollers so the door cannot be lifted off and consider installing screws along the upper track of the door. Leave enough room for the door to slide, but not enough to lift the door off its tracks.
Overgrown limbs, bushes, or landscaping could block a neighbor or passerby from observing a break in. Keep in mind that when you install a high wooden fence you are allowing criminals who slip into your property to work unobserved.
Criminals avoid the spotlight. Porches, yards, and all entrances to your home and garage should be well lighted.
Most standard windows have a thumbturn lock in the center. Don't rely on these locks; they can be easily pried open. Install key locks for windows, and keep the keys in a separate area. For especially vulnerable windows, consider installing grates or grilles. Make sure grates are equipped with a quick release feature for emergency exits.
As with doors, screen and storm windows should lock from the inside.
Any second floor windows that are accessible from porches, trellises, garage doors, or roofs of adjoining buildings should be as secure as ground floor windows. Just because the window is not on ground level doesn't make it inaccessible.