Protecting Your Family and Home from Home Invasion

Home invasion is on the rise. Many criminals know that traditional commercial targets, like convenience stores, have taken action to protect themselves with alarms and surveillance in addition to having reduced the availability of cash. However, homeowners who view their home as an unlikely place for a robbery may inadvertently leave their home and family easy targets for a potentially violent home invasion.

Facts about home invasion
A home invasion occurs when criminals force their way into an occupied residence to commit a robbery or other crime.

A home invasion is unlike a burglary. Burglars traditionally strike during the day when a home is unoccupied and are likely to be deterred by alarm systems, strong locks and doors, and barred windows. They often flee when confronted. However, home invaders typically strike at night or on weekends when residents are at home. They attack when alarm systems are likely to be deactivated, and their strategy is dependent upon taking control of a home.

Home invaders often target residents to find more lavish homes to invade. They may select a victim by the car he or she drives or the jewelry he or she wears and follow that person home. Many home invaders will first attempt to enter a home as a repair person or gain a glimpse into a home by delivering a package. These robbers typically work in groups and they rely on their ability to overcome their victims when the opportunity is right.

The most common point of attack is the front door or garage. Sometimes home invaders kick down the front door to enter a home. More often, home invaders impersonate delivery persons to get residents to open the door. Either way, home invaders will inevitably use extreme force to take control of the home and intimidate the occupants. This initial confrontation is often the most violent part of the home invasion and is the point in which a family's safety is most at risk. After taking control—often subduing residents with duct tape, rope or handcuffs—home invaders bent on robbery will typically begin to search their victim's home for valuables. They will sometimes force victims to locate hidden items, open safes, and provide PIN numbers to ATM cards.

How to help prevent a home invasion
A home invasion occurs when criminals force their way into an occupied residence to commit a robbery or other crime.

• Fortify your home with solid core doors, strong locks and security devices on windows. To strengthen locks, secure heavy-duty strike plates with at least four three-inch screws.
• Keep all doors and windows in the home and garage locked at all times.
• Install a peephole and use it before opening your door. Make sure your porch light is in a position to help you see persons at your front door clearly.
• Never open your door to strangers or solicitors and never rely on a chain-latch. If a solicitor acts suspicious, call the police.
• Keep window shades closed at night. Windows can give a criminal a lot of information about your home's vulnerability. If a home invader can't see into your home, he may not feel confident about storming in.
• Never make it obvious that you're home alone. The fewer the occupants, the easier a home invader's job becomes. A single occupant may be the opportunity a home invader is looking for. Keep extra lights on. Use a television or radio to create the illusion that more people are in the house.
• Hold a meeting with your family to discuss home security practices. Too often, the weakest part of a home security system is the habits of occupants. If your family is educated about the risks and certain home security practices are followed, this will greatly reduce the risk of a home invasion.

How to protect yourself should your home be invaded
If an intruder is able to get inside your home, here are some things you can do to help protect yourself and your family.

• Cooperate with the invader(s). This may help calm the criminals and reduce the likelihood of violence. No matter how discomforting it is to lose your valuables, do not risk your life.
• Avoid looking the intruder(s) in the eye. If a criminal feels you can identify him, he may react violently.
• If you own a firearm, you may want to keep it hidden in your master bathroom. Victims of home invasion are most often contained in the master bathroom.
• Establish a code word or phrase with a friend who regularly calls you on the telephone. Should this person call during a home invasion, you could claim that you're expecting an important phone call and that not answering would arouse suspicion. If the home invader lets you answer, you could use this code word or phrase to alert your friend to call 911.