Home Security Checklist

Do all your exterior doors have a good-quality deadbolt lock with no less than a 1" throw?

Are all latch-strike plates on your exterior doors secured with at least 3" screws?

Do your exterior doors having glass within 3 feet of the lock have double-cylinder deadbolts installed

Do all your exterior doors without glass have a wide-angle door viewer installed for identifying

Are all exterior doors constructed of solid wood?

Have you changed the locks since moving into your home or apartment?

Do you always lock all your doors when you are home for the night or when you leave your

Do all your sliding glass doors have at least one of the following?

Do your auxiliary locks prevent the door from being lifted out of it track?

If your overhead garage door is equipped with an automatic opener, does it use a "rolling code" to foil

If your overhead garage door is not equipped with an automatic opener, does it have good-quality

Do you exterior man-door and the door from the garage into your home have quality deadbolts? Are

Do you always close your overhead garage door, even when you are home?

Are all your windows secured with an auxiliary keyed window lock?

Are the keys readily available in an emergency?

If you do not have keyed locks, are your windows additionally secured by pins or nails?

Have your auxiliary window locks been installed to allow ventilation while maintaining security?

Is your front entrance lit well enough to enable you to identify visitors at night?

Are all other entrances illuminated well?

Do floodlights or some other type of area illumination cover all exterior sections of your home or

Do motion sensors control your exterior lighting?

Are all your bushes, trees and shrubs trimmed to eliminate areas for a person to hide near your doors

Have tree limbs been trimmed to prevent access to upper floor windows or balconies?

Have you planted "prickly" or thorny shrubbery near windows to discourage loitering or hiding?

Is all outdoor foliage trimmed to prevent obstruction of exterior lighting?

Are all your gates locked with a quality, weatherproof padlock?

Are all sheds or outbuildings secured with a quality, weatherproof padlock?

Are all valuables stored outside (bikes, ladders, lawn mowers, motorcycles, etc.) secured to a fixed,

Are all exterior doors leading to your pool area equipped with a specific door alarm that alerts you

If your pool area has a secondary fence, are the gates secured with a gate lock or auxiliary padlock?

Is your pool area or property line surrounded by at least a 6 foot high fence?

Is every member of your household trained in CPR?

Do you have several lights in your home set up on automatic timers?

Do you have a working home alarm system?

Do you always remember to arm the alarm before you leave?

Did you know that your alarm systems should be armed when you will be in your backyard for any

Do you discontinue mail and newspaper service when away from home on vacation or business?

Do you arrange for a friend or neighbor to come by and check on your home when you plan on being

Does your telephone answering machine avoid announcing: "We're not home right now?"

Are all guns safely stored in a locked box, safe, or vault?

Are all guns stored separately from the ammunition?

Are guns that are intended for home protection equipped with a trigger guard lock?

Have all members of your household been trained to treat every gun as though it were loaded?

Do you have a smoke detector in each of the following areas?

Are there carbon monoxide detectors in the same areas as your smoke detectors? Is there an

Are there ABC-type fire extinguishers in your kitchen, garage, and basement?

Do all members of your household know exactly what to do in case of fire or other emergency?

Do you test your smoke detectors once a month?

Do you replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors twice a year?

Are all flammables in stored in original, marked containers away from sources of heat or flame?

Are all your valuable documents and possessions stored in a fire-rated safe?

Perimeter Security - Door

Perimeter - Sliding Glass Doors

Perimeter - Garage Doors

Perimeter - Windows

Perimeter - Exterior Lighting

Perimeter - Landscaping

Perimeter - Exterior Entries and Possessions

Perimeter - Swimming Pool Safety

Interior Security - While You're Away

Interior Security - Gun Safety

Home Safety - Fire and Carbon Monoxide