The best way to turn your home into a fortress is to carefully and strategically consider all your options. First you need to make a layout of your property and look at an aerial diagram of your home. Then you will need an aerial of the neighborhood, you can go to Google maps for this. Aerials pictures can provide you with possible escape routes of burglars. Drainage ditches, side roads, school playgrounds and wooded areas. You can also get an idea of every possible way the burglars might try to park a moving van without being seen or without being noticed. Often burglars look for areas where they can park a van or pick-up undetected for hours while they load up your prize possessions.

Some people believe they are safer when there is more shrubbery and such, but in fact it could make things much worse. Having a wall or a gate is great but not if the bad guys have the gate code and know when you are away. A simple slip of the tongue to landscaper to an employee who tells a friend at the all-night bar and pool hall could mean disaster to your personal belongings. For instance the landscape owner tells his employees to skip the Johnson's Residence for the next two-weeks so come in later on Wednesday this week and next week. Then the employee talking to friends on Tuesday night at the pool hall tells his friends he can stay out all night because he doesn't work early on Wednesday. The Johnson's are away and then he goes on to tell his buddies what an incredible house, yard and garage you have? He mentions the back gate, perhaps gives the code perhaps not? Then his buddies or acquaintance gets with some friends and has two-weeks to plan the break in and take all your stuff, load it up, undetected. You see the problem.

So how can you make your home into a fortress to protect your family while you are home and to protect your stuff when you are away? First you need a top-notch alarm system covering all obvious entries and a motion alarm for inside the house, which goes to an alarm company. Watch out some burglaries are inside jobs from the security company itself. Sometimes it is best to have two sets of alarms, think of triple redundancy? Resetting the gate codes when you are away is also smart. If your houses catches on fire the fire department will ram the gate, but no one will have free access to your property.

Big guns are nice too. We are not talking anything illegal but you should have a very powerful set of weapons to kill encroachers who might also be armed. Figure out where in advance the bad guys might seek refuge once they get close to the house and try to enter. Be sure to shoot to kill with each shot. Gun safety is using two-hands. Think on this.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs