5 Reasons the Garage Is Often the Weakest Home Security
If you were to look at home security as a chain, you would likely find at least a couple of weak links. The garage is often said to be the weakest link in most homes. Why is that? It is not just one thing. There are five things to account for.
1. Leaving the Garage Door Open
Unfortunately, far too many people leave the overhead garage door open indiscriminately. You have probably seen this yourself just driving through the neighborhood. Maybe leaving the garage door open is something even you are guilty of.
The problem is that your garage is a microcosm of the rest of your house. Burglars take every opportunity to choose their targets, often looking through open garage doors to see what is inside.
Incidentally, Vivint Smart Home recommends always keeping the garage door closed. Open it only when you need to move things in or out. Vivint even offers a garage door sensor that can be integrated with a home automation system to close the garage door automatically when necessary.
2. Closed Doors Aren’t Always Secure
Although overhead garage doors should be closed, a closed door is not always secure. Consider the overhead door not connected to an automatic opener. Its owner manually opens it. It could be down but not locked. Also, consider that side garage doors are often left unlocked unintentionally. Their owners unlock them but do not lock them again after the fact.
3. Unlocked Doors into the House
Keeping with the theme of locked and unlocked doors, there is a tendency among homeowners not to close the door that connects the garage with the main portion of the house. Homeowners don’t think about it because they do not expect anyone to break into the garage.
Smart burglars know this. They know that if they can get into the garage without drawing attention to themselves, they also stand a good shot at finding the door leading into the house unlocked. Even if locked, it can be breached with a swift kick without anyone in the neighborhood knowing.
4. Garages House Valuable Items
Garages can be the weakest link in the home security chain because they house many valuable items. Let’s be honest: how many homeowners use their garages to store their cars? Many do not. Many use their garages primarily as storage lockers for stuff that will not fit in the house.
Other valuable things can be stored even when a car is parked in the garage. Anything a burglar can take quickly and pawn easily is a target.
5. Garages Don’t Get Much Thought
The fifth reason is that homeowners do not give their garages much thought. Garages are almost an afterthought when it comes to home security. As a result, most homeowners don’t take proactive steps to make the garage more secure. It remains the weakest link by default.
Once again, criminals are aware of all of this. If nothing else, the most experienced criminals are keen observers of human nature. They pay attention to what property owners do. They look closely for weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
If you have a garage, do everything possible to protect it against crime. Do not let the garage be the weakest link in your home security chain. If you can remove the garage from a burglar, you reduce your chances of being victimized.
