Home is supposed to be the safest place. It is the place where we feel secured and protected. But every now and then, we hear incidents of gangs barging into homes and taking away the belongings after hurting the family members. Every now and then we see flashes of news on happenings in the safety of the walls of our home. Are we safe enough? Are our children safe when we are away working hard for making their life easy.  No amount of precautions can guarantee the safety of your family and possessions in an area known for ongoing criminal activity. You must be aware yourself about home security at the first place, like the information about the area or is you are buying a new home, you could do little survey by asking certain  questions in the neighbourhood or obtain information from the local police station. A personal inspection of the surroundings will also provide a lot of information. Ensure that the actual location of the property you intend to buy or rent is adequately lit with streetlights, and that there is regular police patrolling available.

THINGS TO DO TO SECURE YOUR HOME
1. Get the house individual fencing or compound wall and the gate. Most housing societies are equipped with these, so buying or renting a flat in one of them automatically ensures a basic safeguard against intrusion.
2. Give close attention to locks and latches. Any lock can be forced or sawed open, but such a process takes a lot longer with a good quality lock.
3. Keep track of the keys. It is a bad security move to entrust copies of keys to non residents.
4. All windows should be fitted with security bars or grills.
5. Burglar alarms are very useful and they present a major obstacle to the would-be burglar. The very knowledge that a property is equipped with a hidden burglar alarm can be a major deterrent against burglary, and signs to that effect can be posted on the fence or compound wall. However, avoid buying a home alarm from an unknown or unregistered outlet.
6. Never inform unconcerned parties including the newspaper seller or milkman of your exact schedule for the day, or of the exact length of any family vacations. If there are any repairs or modifications talking place in the residence, do not leave workmen unattended at any time.
7. If you live in the flat, you can talk to other people and hire a security guard.
8. You can also hire somebody from the reputed cell to keep a constant watch on children and elderly or disabled family members.
9. Remember the emergency numbers by heart like of the Police Station or Fire Brigade.
10. Never leave the electrical appliances on when you are away from your home.

Stay prepared and be realistic. Things could happen to any one of us. Stay calm and fight the situation.