It’s a great feeling to pull into your cabin’s lane or driveway, knowing that your sanctuary awaits. But if you’ve ever arrived to find that your cabin has been burglarized, then you’re familiar with just how quickly that great feeling turns to fear, anger and frustration. According to crime prevention authorities, most cabin and cottage owners can make their places more secure by making a few simple changes to their door and window locks.“Burglars want to be in and out of your home within six minutes from the time they arrive,” says Dickie Thomas, a crime prevention deputy in the Collin County Sheriff’s Department in McKinney, Texas. “So what you want to do as a homeowner is buy yourself some time by making it more difficult for a criminal to enter your home.”Striker Plate – A Critical LinkThomas recommends that cabin owners start by inspecting their doors. Most front doors have a deadbolt lock with a striker plate on the opposite side of the deadbolt. The striker plate (or “strike reinforce”) is a critical link to the locking system.    

“If the bolt is just going into the jamb, it won’t take much to kick in the door,” says Mike Holman, Senior Product Manager for Schlage Residential Security Products. pella exterior doors for home“That strike reinforce, however, significantly increases the kick-in resistance.”garage door opener loud noiseStill, it is not enough to have a striker plate installed; french doors interior upvcit needs to be installed using the proper hardware. linear garage door keypad instructionsThomas says that too often, small 5/8-inch screws are used to screw the deadbolt striker plate in place, but they do not reach deep enough into the wood to remain secure. oak fire doors essex

As a result, an intruder can kick in the door with very little effort. sliding screen door 30 x 79Replace Those Screws “Usually the homeowner will find that the little strip of wood where the deadbolt goes into the striker plate has been knocked loose,” says Thomas. wired door chimes for home“So we recommend that homeowners replace those small screws with 3- to 4-inch screws that go down deep into the wood and grip stronger.”Flip LockIf an exterior door has glass near it, a burglar simply has to break the glass, reach in, and unlock the deadbolt. So for glass doors, Thomas recommends installing a flip lock, which is longer than the deadbolt striker plate and can be flipped around to allow the door to open normally. When the plate is flipped back and drops into the slot of the plate, the door will not open.     

“This is an inexpensive device that is easy to install, but it will frustrate the burglar and buy you time,” says Thomas. Protecting DoorsWhen it comes to sliding doors, Detective Lieutenant Tim Cook of the Cheboygan (Mich.) County Sheriff Department suggests that cabin owners use security glass and secure the bottom portion of the door with a pole so that it cannot open.For side or back entry doors on garages, Cook has another suggestion. “If possible, have a metal or wood latch system the size of a 2×4 that goes across the inside of your door,” says Cook. “[This way, if it is] kicked, it will not break.” Pin Those WindowsAs for windows, Cook recommends that cabin owners use dowels or pins in the frame of the window so that it cannot open completely.Back-up LocksAuxiliary window locks are also a great option. If you look at your window, the top half stays fixed in place while the bottom half slides up and down inside a track formed by a little lip of metal, which extends out from the wood or sheetrock around the window frame. 

An auxiliary window lock is a small U-shaped clamp with a tightening screw that slides onto the lip of metal, right above the bottom portion of the window when the window is in the locked down position. The clamp is screwed down until it secures the device, and the window cannot be raised even if the regular window locks are open.“Just be sure that family members know these auxiliary locks are on the windows in case of fire,” says Thomas. All authorities agree that taking a proactive stance is the best defense against burglars.“The more you can do to hinder a criminal’s operations, the less likely he will want to mess with your cabin,” says Cook.Frequent contributor Christy Heitger-Ewing’s cabin was once invaded by ants, to her dismay. Despite their large army and their ability to carry 50 times their body weight, they took nothing. Dickie Thomas, a 25-year veteran of burglary and theft investigation, says that burglars have told him that they have three top fears:• An alarm system.

A criminal feels that his chance of getting caught increases if an alarm system sounds.• Big dogs. Any barking dog will probably make a burglar think twice before entering, but let’s face it: Tiny the Chihuahua is not as intimidating as Brutus the Doberman Pinscher.• Nosy neighbors. If an intruder thinks someone has spotted him or gotten a glimpse of his license plate, he will likely skedaddle.With more than hundreds of home invasions happening every year here in the United States, we’d like to present some tips on what you can do to not only protect yourself and your family, but how  to fortify your home to better resist becoming a victim. There’s a notable difference between a burglary and a home invasion, that being you. If you’re home, it’s a home invasion. If you’re not, it’s a burglary plain and simple. Criminals don’t always know what they’re walking into during the day, but at night its a different story. Most home invasions happen between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays and weekends.

A criminal that breaks into a residence at night is expecting a confrontation of some kind. Hopefully it will be short lived when you shoot them dead, but as we’ve mentioned before in “Dealing with Violent Confrontations” you should always avoid a confrontation if possible.  This is the same in a home invasion scenario, not by using the same methods, but by using some forward thinking to deny criminals the opportunity. Using the tips we’ll share below will help you in avoiding this kind of confrontation and better protect you and your family. It’s important to understand how criminals work during a home invasion and some characteristics of these violent offenders. Primarily they target homes where they’re less likely to face resistance and gain access to important information like pin numbers, jewelry, cash, etc. There’s also the chance that these criminals are just looking for a violent confrontation or sexual assault opportunity. Unlike typical burglars, home invasions require homework, and these criminals will spend the time to properly target a person or residence.

Most good burglars will watch a home to see when the homeowner is gone, but home invaders will go as far as knowing your daily routine. This will include where you work, where you shop, and where you hang out. All this information will be collected to determine not only the value of their target, but also the resistance they might face. These criminals could use deception to approach your residence posing as a delivery man, salesman, or even have a woman accomplice to knock on the door why the agressor waits out of sight. This situation would normally occur during the day, and is a technique employed by the criminal as a scout. Always be suspicious of those that you allow into your home, such as the exterminator, carpet cleaner, repair man, etc. If something doesn’t feel right, ask them to leave and request someone else or go with another company. This is also a good time to mention to use a reputable company that’s been recommended to you by someone you trust. When attempting to enter your residence, home invaders will employ techniques commonly found in CQB (Close Quarters Battle), which are Speed, Surprise and Violence of Action.

Speed and surprise are fairly self explanatory, but Violence of Action relates to the overwhelming control these criminal will use to overwhelm their victims and instill fear. This will occur during the first 60 seconds of their initial contact as they’ll be looking to counter any threat they might face. Working in pairs is to be expected, so remember to always expect that. If you’ve countered one threat there may be more, so always keep your head on a swivel and remember your situational awareness. You have to be prepared to be restrained with duct tape, rope or zip ties if these criminals do get the jump on you. While they shouldn’t if you’re prepared, you need to know how to defeat these restraints when the opportunity presents itself. Home invasion criminals have been known to be incredibly lazy while ransacking a home, sitting down to eat, taking a nap, etc. All while you’re restrained and forced to watch in disbelief. We’ll avoid cliches like “watching in terror,” because if you’re reading this on ITS, you’ve hopefully adopted a sheep dog mentality and should be rationally thinking about your next move instead of playing the part of the victim.

Ironically, drug dealers are prime targets for home invasions. The abundance of cash, drugs and valuables is highly desired by other dopers and criminals. Not that its a bad thing, and we could all give a crap about them anyway.  Whatever is driving the home invader’s motives, this threat is real and one that needs to be taken seriously. This can’t be stressed enough, only you know when something is awry or out of place, like a strange car parked with multiple passengers inside. Always be cautious of change and shifts in the baseline. If you’re leaving for work in the morning and you see a suspicious car parked around the corner, don’t ignore it. Circle the block and see if its still there when you return. Be a few minutes late for work and blame it on the traffic. Walking a dog is a fantastic way to know your neighborhood, learning your neighbors patterns, what cars they drive, how many people are typically around a residence, etc. Even jogging is a good excuse to learn the neighborhood.

While meeting your neighbors is never a bad thing, letting them know too much about you could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Note what construction vehicles and lawn mowing companies frequent your neighborhood. Don’t be afraid to call the police on a strange person/vehicle that looks out of place. You’d rather look like a paranoid idiot, than regret not preventing something from happening. As mentioned earlier, better criminals will stake out neighborhoods, observing patterns of when people come and go and when the best time to hit them is. If something feels wrong in your neighborhood, it is wrong. Trust your gut, because if you can’t you’ve got bigger problems on your hands. While we’ll get into a list of tips further in the article, it’s a good time to bring up the difference between a hard target and a soft target, as this is what criminals are looking for. Think for a minute about businesses and how much security they typically have nowadays.

You don’t typically find that same level of security at a household, which makes them softer targets. Police will often patrol businesses and main thoroughfares more than they will neighborhoods. This also applies to individuals, while looking unsuspecting can often work to your advantage, this may be one instance where it won’t. Appearing non-threatening could make you appear to be a softer target in these situations. If this is what you’re going for, great. Also be aware of how you’re dressed because criminals will look for this. Wearing expensive jewelry, watches or driving flashy cars will attract this kind of criminal scum to you, so be cognizant of this when you’re out and about.  Obviously, single females are a prime target, so if that’s you, this article is particularly important. We’re all big advocates of SDRs or Surveillance Detection Routes, and while we’ll get into the depths of this in another article, the path you take back to your vehicle or to your final destination can reveal a lot about what threats could have latched onto you.

A simple SDR you can run while on foot is to walk right past your intended destination and walk a path that you know anyone would be going out of their way to follow. Using storefront glass and other things to note suspicious characters following you is important. Driving is the same thing, take different paths to and from destinations to ensure you haven’t picked up a tail. Observation is always key anywhere you are, and the primary tool against recognizing threats before they happen. So how do you fortify your home to become a hard target and take steps to protect yourself? Education and planning are key, so use these steps below and get started! Please share this article with your family, friends and loved ones. Warn them of the inherent dangers of home invasions and how to protect against them. Use the resources we’ve created here on ITS Tactical to develop your skill-sets and practice them to stay proficient. We don’t want to hear any stories of how one of our readers became a victim, rather we’d like to see a news report on you gunning down a criminal during a home invasion.