Page 18 - Verge eMag April 2018

Target Hardening (1 of 12) II

Barnabas

“A man’s home is his castle,” or so
the saying goes. We all want to
protect that which is dearest to us,
our family, our stuff, the family cat,
etc… There is a myriad of ways to
make your home less of a soft target
without building an actual castle with
alligator-filled moats (alligators are
expensive anyway). Over the next
year we will look at some things you can do to target harden your property without
breaking the bank.

This month we will focus on points of entry, doors and windows to be exact. Most

common criminals are going to try to enter your home in the typical fashion. Regarding
exterior doors, metal doors with metal frames are near impossible to kick in. I have
seen plenty of firefighters having to go through the wall around the door frame instead
of being able to defeat the lock or pry the door with all their fancy tools. If you cannot
afford metal doors, as they can be expensive, then invest in some solid core wooden
doors.

Skip on the fancy doors that have window panes built into the doors since glass is very
easy to break. Add a deadbolt to every exterior door since the simple latching
mechanism on the door knobs will not hold up for very long by themselves. Most
deadbolts and door knobs come with less than two-inch screws for the strike plate.
Throw those away and use at least three-inch screws. Longer screws will go through
the doorframe, past the dead space, and into the two-by-four which is a significant
anchor for your strike plate. Keep the doors locked when you are away from the house,
and when at home! If you are one of those people that leave spare keys in the flower
pot in front of the house, then you might as well leave the doors unlocked.

You do not have to open the door to see who is knocking if
you buy the right kind of peephole. Those pencil-sized ones
are worthless and people on the other side of the door can see
if someone is looking through it. Instead opt for the same kind
of peephole that most banks use, a wide-angle viewer. They
are not that expensive and can be found in home construction