If someone wanted to break into your home, it may start with a simple knock at the door. No one answers...so they kick the door in. If someone wants to get inside your home badly enough, security experts say they'll find a way. The key is to make your home less of a target, and more importantly to prevent you from walking in on a burglar. The Crime Solutions Task Force looks at ways of securing your home and your family's safety.

WKRG News 5's Rose Ann Haven asked one of Mobile's recent home burglary victims, "If you could say something to the person who did this..what would you say? "I am very angry, and I'm very upset, and I don't appreciate being violated", said Tracy Houze. "This stuff hits home, and you know. It really, really makes you mad when you get burglarized", says Bruce Davis, owner of Alliance Security Corporation. "You can see the shrubbery around the front is rather high..being that it's this way gives a burglar..or would be burglar an area to hide or conceal themselves", says Davis as he shows Haven weak spots of a typical house. Securing homes has been his business for more than twenty years. Davis suggests double key action dead bolts and recessed contacts on your doors and windows. More sophisticated systems include motion sensors, glass break detectors, and keypads that notify police with the touch of a button.

Davis says the latest trend in home security is setting up video cameras outside your home, so you can see who's approaching your front door. If someone decides to approach your house from a different direction, another camera catches their every move. Cameras can also be routed through monitors or televisions in your home. "it's a security thing there, I feel very, very comfortable with having the camera", says Cheryl Ridgeway.

She and her husband, Primus Ridgeway, say being able to watch what's going on outside their home makes them feel much safer inside. Showing Haven a kitchen monitor, Mrs. Ridgeway says, "Most people that are going to come into your home, they're going to ring your doorbell to see if you're home. Well, I just have to come there and I can look..and if it's an emergency I can dial 911 from over here. They will never know that I am home".

What To Do If You Become A Victim.

1. Report the burglary to the police. This doesn't mean calling 911 - unless the burglar is still in the house, you should just call your local police station.
   
2. Many insurers have 24-hour emergency help lines. Use them to report a burglary, ask about emergency repairs and order a claim form.
   
3. When you have repairs made, get a receipt and preferably use someone from a recognized trade body.
   
4. Complete the insurance claim form as soon as possible and send it back with estimates for repair and replacement.
   
5. If credit cards or checkbooks are stolen, notify the companies immediately.
   

Davis says before hiring someone to install security, ask to the see the license of anyone working in your home. Alabama state law requires employees of electronic security companies to undergo criminal background checks But, Davis warns, "Just because somebody in sitting in your house doesn't mean they've had that done. Just because they're working for a company that is licensed doesn't mean that that individual is licensed".

Depending on the security system you choose, prepare to spend 99 dollars to several thousand up front on installation. For the Ridgeways, it's an investment worth making. "If you got a good system it adds peace of mind, protection for your family, all of that...I won't say it outweighs all costs factors. But, it definitely is important enough to consider, says Mr. Ridgeway.
Before hiring a security company, you can also check out their reputation by contacting the Alabama Electronic Security Board of Licensure.

Is there anything you can do to minimize the need for a home security system?

• In addition to installing dead-bolt locks, replace old, cracked, or hollow doors with doors made of metal or solid hard wood.
  
• Don't rely on a slide chain to protect you if you are opening a door to see who's knocking.
  
• Install a wide-angle peephole device in the door.
  
• Make sure your sliding glass doors have keyed locks and cannot be lifted out of their frames from the outside. A pole or rod cut to the proper length and laid in the track of the door can prevent it from being slid open, even if the locks are compromised.
  
• Cut back bushes and trees that surround your house and windows.