Although the entering of propertys by intruders/burglars does occur it is still far less likely to occur than the entering of empty houses.
You are absolutely spot on with what you say Susie, there is no substitute for thinking about making your property as secure as possible.
Installing basic crime prevention measures can be compared to a hurdle race, if you put enough hurdles in the way of the potential burglar then they are far less likely to even attempt to run the race.
Leaving lights on does work, on timer switches is even better & if you do this consider putting a radio on the timer as well as the combination of light and sound from a property acts as an even greater deterant.
Dogs of course are a superb deterant, but don't restrict them to one room when you go out, give them the run of the house so no matter what window anyone looks through they are faced with a barking, growling dog.
It also goes without saying that you should instal good quality window and door locks, not only on the house but also on your garage & any other outbuildings etc..
One thing to keep in mind is to always take those few minutes to check that your home is secure before leaving to go out and just as importantly before retiring to bed at night, many a burglary has occured because doors or windows were left unsecured. Even if you are upstairs or out in the back garden in the the daytime, pop the lock on the front door and downstairs windows, it only takes a minute or two to do this, roughly about the same time it would take an intruder to enter and grab car keys purses etc.. that are quite often just left on tables, work tops or hanging on hooks behind doors
!!
I dont wish to alarm anyone this is just a little food for thought.
