Low cost ways to help prevent home burglaries

SOUTH BEND, Ind.--- As we all know, crime can be costly.

A break-in at your home could cost you thousands of dollars, but, believe it or not, it really doesn't cost much to protect your valuables.

Yes, surveillance and alarms systems can be really effective, but not everyone can afford them.

However, there are plenty of low-tech, low cost methods to make your home a harder target for burglars, and you shouldn't have a hard time affording it.

If you can't afford a home security system, that doesn't mean you can't afford a secure home.

There are inexpensive locks you can put on your windows, they make them for all types whether they're casement or double hung or whatever type of window, they're very inexpensive, said Barbara Brownell, a Real Services Crime Victim Advocate. Even cheaper yet is window pins or nails. I like window pins because they're easier to remove in a fire or something like that.

As an elderly crime victim advocate for Real Services, Barbara Brownell has been advising seniors for years on how to make their homes more secure without breaking the bank.

She has some pretty "bright" ideas.

Lighting is very inexpensive, light bulbs don't cost but a penny a month to run, said Brownell. They even have built-in motion sensors, daylight sensors. That's a cheap way to improve, to make it look like your home (is occupied).

Brownell says one South Bend neighborhood had seen a rash of burglaries and said a common thread was a lack of proper lighting.

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Low cost ways to help prevent home burglaries