Murray Anderson introduced these steps to make your home’s entrance safe to make it much tougher for burglars to get in:

- Start with your locks. Make sure you have a deadbolt lock in your door. If you still have the locks the builder installed, you probably don’t have a deadbolt lock. If you’re not the first owner
it’s also a good idea to change out any locks the previous owner used (you don’t know where a key may have ended up).

- Installing a deadbolt lock is relatively straightforward. Deadbolt lock kits(including installation instructions)are available at your home store, or a locksmith can install one in less than an hour.

- Check out the strike plate in your doorframe. Most are just a couple of inches in length and held in place with two 1 inch screws. Replace the old strike plate with a new plate 10 or 12 inches long (available at your home store). The longer plate will be much more difficult for someone to just kick out.

- Install the longer strike plate with 3- or 4-inch screws (not just little 1-inch screws). Now the lock side of your door is secured with a deadbolt lock going into a longer, stronger strike plate that is secured with 6 to 8 screws, long enough to attach directly to the solid framing lumber of the door frame (not just to the door casing).

- Replace the existing screws in the door hinges with the same 3- to 4-inch screws. This will secure the hinged side of the door to the actual 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 framing as well.

- Install a motion sensing light fixture that covers your entrance and be sure your outside light fixtures have working bulbs.

- Cut back any trees or shrubs that might provide a hiding place or cover for anyone trying to break in.

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