Burglary protection with Smart Home: How do you protect yourself against burglars?

Burglary protection is certainly not the favorite task in the household, but it should be tackled at least by one resident. As the saying goes: Better safe than sorry!

I speak from experience, because on the very day I moved into my first apartment in Berlin, we had a break-in on the first floor while unpacking our moving boxes! Thank you Berlin for this housewarming gift!

But it seems to me that I am not the only one who has had this experience, because statistics show that every 2 - 4 minutes there is a break-in in Germany. The loss of valuables is certainly more than annoying, but especially the psychological strain on the residents can not only cause permanent fear of further break-ins, but in the worst case it can even lead to permanent trauma.

My former roommate and I were tough at the time and put up with it more or less okay, but the restless feeling when we had to just tilt our windows open or even when leaving the apartment has remained.

It's reason enough to ask yourself how you can protect yourself without building a towering stone wall around your house.

Which tips should you follow? And how useful are smart alarm systems like Livy Protect for burglary protection?

Surely, Germany does not rank world-wide among the countries where one must live in constant fear of burglars. Even though the numbers have risen slightly over a number of years, they are still at an overall low level compared to other European countries.

But who doesn't know that queasy feeling when you go on vacation for a long time and leave the house unattended. This fear is not completely unfounded, because the number of break-in attempts is about one third higher than the actual number of break-ins.

And contrary to what many people expect, most burglaries happen during the day, when the burglars assume that the residents are not at home.

Therefore, here are some simple measures for burglary protection with which you can not only protect your apartment or your house, but above all leave your house carefree.

How to make your house or apartment burglar-proof

First of all, it should be said: there is no such thing as 100% protection against burglars. If someone wants to steal a very specific valuable object, he will probably find a way to do just that - George Clooney demonstrated it to us in his Ocean's film series.

But most break-ins in average private households are spontaneous acts of opportunity, like when I moved to Berlin, where we were an easy prey living on the ground floor with an open window.

Because perpetrators move through a neighborhood in search of poorly secured houses or apartments, they often choose the first available and most promising opportunity. Apart from that, they are less interested in valuable family heirlooms than in high-quality everyday objects such as computers, televisions or bicycles, which can be quickly and unobtrusively turned into cash.

By the way, back then we had a laptop bag with ALL of my roommate's personal valuables (laptop, wallet, watch, passport, and jewelry).

Therefore it is already sufficient in the first step, without any specific technical help, to simply pay attention to your surroundings, particularly to closing windows and doors and equip them with safe locks, thus making it more difficult for burglars to seize upon an easy opportunity.

Here are the most effective measures to make your house or apartment burglar-proof:

1. Avoid tilted windows and patio doors. Not even on the upper floors!
2. Always lock the apartment door. Even if you are only away for a short time!
3. Additional mechanical or electronic safeguards are recommended for doors and windows.
4. Avoid indications of your absence e.g. through social media posts, answering machines, overflowing mailboxes, etc.
5. Never hide your keys outside, but rather leave them with your trusted neighbor.
6. If you ever lose your key, have the lock replaced.

Smart Home Alarm Systems: The sensors make the difference

Motion detectors not only conveniently switch lights on and off at dusk and dawn, but can also detect unwanted visitors and trigger the alarm. Infrared sensors are particularly clever because they compare heat signatures and do not trigger an alarm unnecessarily when a cat is hunting mice. The high-quality sensors work both in daylight and at night.

The 5 best burglary protection tips for a safe home

1. Door security as protection against burglars

First of all, it is a very simple precaution, but a good one:

Never just pull the door into the lock, but always manually lock it several times if you will be away for a long time.

This makes it much more difficult to break the door open, and the chances of neighbors or passers-by disturbing a burglar in the act will also increase. A lock with a high-quality security cylinder prevents a door from being easily opened by an opportunity-seeking burglar. Additional door chains also increase security when you are in the apartment.

If you place particular emphasis on security, you can install a so-called cross-bolt lock, where solid bolts extend across the entire width of the door and provide stable protection for the door from the inside. In general, additional bolt locks that you install on the inside of the door are well suited to make your house burglar-proof. With every lock, the effort for burglars increases - especially if there are different types of locks that have to be opened with different methods.

Please do not forget to install reliable security locks on balcony and basement doors as well. These doors are well-known weak points and are often used by burglars as a way of least resistance.

2. Window security

The second major weakness in your house or apartment are the windows. It goes without saying that you should never tilt the windows or even leave them open when you leave the house.

You should pay particular attention to your burglary habits if you live on the ground floor! 

Yup, I know, we should have had that in mind when we moved in!
Often an improved locking system is enough to prevent the windows from being levered open. With lockable window handles, your security is increased even more. Old basement windows with single glazing can be made safer by attaching a robust window grille.

3. Video surveillance deters burglars

The mere sight of a surveillance camera can deter burglars. In addition, it is an effective remedy for the psychological strain after a break-in.

After all, a modern surveillance system not only records video, but can also transmit the camera images to your smartphone or laptop in real time. In this way, you can always have an eye on your home and not have to worry about a possible break-in even if you are away for a long time.

4. Alarm systems against burglars

In principle, alarm systems can be used in different ways to make your house burglar proof. Depending on the settings, the motion sensors can trigger special lighting, alarm signals, or even an automatic call to a security service. In this way alarm systems are not only an effective burglary protection, but also help give you peace of mind. 

But it doesn't always have to be the cost-intensive around-the-clock around-the-house video monitoring.

With Livy Protect we have developed a system that makes smart home security easy to use and simple to implement. Livy Protect has, among other things, an integrated motion detector and triggers an alarm if there is any suspicious movement in your home. With the Livy App, you will be informed immediately, no matter where you are. Furthermore, Livy Protect mounts to your ceiling and is therefore out of sight in everyday life and does not disturb your familiar living environment.

If you want to learn more about installing Livy Protect, click here.

5. Burglary protection from watchful neighbors

Burglars are only successful as long as they remain undetected. Therefore, attentive neighbors are the best tool against burglars.

Exchange ideas on this topic with your neighbors and help each other with burglary protection. With the Community Function from Livy Protect, you can also digitally involve your neighbors into your secure smart home.

If suspicious movements are detected in your house or apartment while you are not at home, not only will you receive a notification directly to your smartphone, but neighbors will as well. They can then check things out and alert the police or fire department.