GeoArm's Do-It-Yourself Alarm Tips for Business & Home Security.

GeoArm's security tips are quick, easy to implement and if followed can help keep your home or business protected! Crime is an unfortunate fact of life in our world today. It is very important that you take preventative measures to reduce your chances of becoming a victim of crime. In 2009, there were nearly 2 million burglaries in the United States alone. The FBI reports a residential home is burglarized once every 15 seconds. As frightening as these statistics may be, there are some very simple home security measures that will dramatically reduce the risk of your home being burglarized.


Locking All Perimeter Doors & Windows
Always close and lock all exit doors and windows to your home even when you are home. Do not rely on a simple doorknob lock. Invest in a quality dead bolt and a steel plate that will prevent this from prying open your door.

Securing Sliding Doors
If your sliding doors don't already have a pin-type lock, have one installed. You can also put a rod or wooden stick in the bottom door or window channel.

Closing Your Drapes
Try and keep your drapes closed at all times. If the burglar does not know of a definite reward, chances are they will not take the risk of breaking in without that knowledge.

Turning Down the Telephone Volume
Turn down the volume on your telephone and answering machine. Telephone numbers can be found easily, so safeguard your property by lowering the volume to a level that can not be heard from outside.

Lighting the Outside is Important
Always leave outdoor lights, and at least one indoor light, on when you are not home so that it looks like the house is occupied.

Eliminating any Natural Cover
Keep your landscaping trimmed so that they do not provide natural cover for a burglar. Plants and trees that block the would be criminal from being seen from the road increases the likelihood that your property will be burglarized.

Planting Bushes With Thorns Near Windows
By planting bushes with thorns near windows, as it makes it more difficult for the burglar to pick the window locks. Likewise, it makes it more difficult to escape with your valuables.

Checking Your Door Before Opening for Strangers
Install peepholes or video intercom systems to identify visitors before opening your door.

Hiding Keys Wisely
Try not to hide spare keys outside of your home or business and if you must, make sure they are very well hidden.

Leaving a Car in the Driveway
Park a car at all times in your driveway, especially when you are not at your house. Criminals target houses with empty driveways knowing there is a better chance no one is home.

Protecting Your Alarm Communication Line
Phone lines are exposed on the outside of most houses which leaves them vulnerable to being cut. Criminals understand that most security systems send their signal over the phone line. Avoid this problem by investing in backup communication paths. (Cellular GSM Alarm Communicator)

Keeping Valuables in a Safe Place
Jewelry, money, and other valuables should always be stored in a security safe. If criminals can't find anything to take they are less likely to stick around. Browse GeoArm's line of home security safes.

Checking Battery Operated Smoke Detectors
Battery operated smoke detectors should be tested often to make sure they are functioning properly. Also, these detectors do not last forever. Every 4-5 years they should be replaced because they lose sensitivity. Make sure to never paint over or hang anything from these devices as it will affect how they function.

Being Discrete When on Vacation.
If you are going away for an extended time, have a neighbor or friend collect newspapers daily and keep an eye on your house. This is a better solution than having your mail stopped. The fewer the people that know you are going away the safer your home will be. Also if needed, have someone tend to your lawn. You should also route your phone calls to a cell phone or alternative line because burglars often call a home first as a method to see if someone is there.

Selecting GeoArm for Your Alarm Monitoring Needs
Not all alarm companies are alike! GeoArm is North America's Preferred DIY Security Systems and Alarm Monitoring Services Company.

US Rank	City	State	Population	Total Burglaries	Average Burglaries/1,000 Inhabitants
#1	Dallas	Texas	1,290,266	19,428	15.1
#2	San Antonio	Texas	1,373,936	18,164	13.2
#3	Houston	Texas	2,273,771	29,279	12.9
#4	Phoenix	Arizona	1,597,397	16,281	10.2
#5	Las Vegas	Nevada	1,377,282	13,512	9.8
#6	Chicago	Illinois	2,848,431	26,494	9.3
#7	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,547,605	10,969	7.1
#8	San Diego	California	1,314,773	6,693	5.1
#9	Los Angeles	California	3,848,776	18,435	4.8
#10	New York City	New York	8,400,907	18,780	2.2

 

US Rank	City	State	Population	Total Burglaries	Average Burglaries/1,000 Inhabitants
#1	Memphis	Tennessee	667,421	13,943	20.9
#2	Detroit	Michigan	908,441	18,993	20.9
#3	Columbus	Ohio	759,391	14,583	19.2
#4	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	556,939	10,594	19
#5	Indianapolis	Indiana	813,471	15,217	18.7
#6	Atlanta	Georgia	552,901	9,112	16.5
#7	Fort Worth	Texas	723,456	10,188	14.1
#8	Jacksonville	Florida	810,064	11,306	14
#9	Baltimore	Maryland	638,755	7,798	12.2
#10	Albuquerque	New Mexico	530,636	6,376	12
#11	Austin	Texas	768,970	8,753	11.4
#12	Louisville	Kentucky	631,260	7,085	11.2
#13	Seattle	Washington	602,531	6,709	11.1
#14	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	604,673	6,534	10.8
#15	Nashville	Tennessee	610,176	6,318	10.4
#16	Tucson	Arizona	547,981	5,062	9.2
#17	Denver	Colorado	604,680	4,763	7.9
#18	Honolulu	Hawaii	907,124	5,999	6.6
#19	Portland	Oregon	560,908	3,696	6.6
#20	San Francisco	California	809,755	5,197	6.4
#21	Washington	DC	599,657	3,696	6.2
#22	Boston	Massachusetts	624,222	2,955	4.7
#23	San Jose	California	954,009	3,741	3.9
#24	El Paso	Texas	618,812	1,991	3.2

 

US Rank	City	State	Population	Total Burglaries	Avg. Burglaries Per 1,000 Inhabitants
#1	Toledo	Ohio	291,066	8,064	27.7
#2	Cleveland	Ohio	429,238	9,226	21.5
#3	Greensboro	North Carolina	253,191	4,789	18.9
#4	Cincinnati	Ohio	333,568	6,287	18.8
#5	Tulsa	Oklahoma	384,851	6,626	17.2
#6	Kansas City	Missouri	484,684	7,231	14.9
#7	Buffalo	New York	268,655	3,954	14.7
#8	Stockton	California	292,212	3,980	13.6
#9	Arlington	Texas	379,104	4,891	12.9
#10	Minneapolis	Minnesota	382,618	4,741	12.4
#11	Oakland	California	404,553	4,798	11.9
#12	Bakersfield	California	330,897	3,888	11.7
#13	Miami	Florida	419,205	4,856	11.6
#14	New Orleans	Louisiana	336,425	3,821	11.4
#15	Wichita	Kansas	367,635	4,045	11
#16	Sacramento	California	470,308	5,135	10.9
#17	Corpus Christi	Texas	287,507	2,976	10.4
#18	Tampa	Florida	345,233	3,501	10.1
#19	Glendale	Arizona	255,080	2,551	10
#20	Fresno	California	481,370	4,423	9.2
#21	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	312,232	2,811	9
#22	Fort Wayne	Indiana	251,584	2,269	9
#23	Lexington	Kentucky	296,406	2,427	8.2
#24	Colorado Springs	Colorado	401,626	3,305	8.2
#25	Raleigh	North Carolina	406,005	3,187	7.8
#26	Omaha	Nebraska	443,037	3,228	7.3
#27	Newark	New Jersey	279,203	1,947	7
#28	Riverside	California	299,871	2,020	6.7
#29	Long Beach	California	463,969	3,116	6.7
#30	Mesa	Arizona	470,833	3,076	6.5
#31	Lincoln	Nebraska	254,438	1,618	6.4
#32	Aurora	Colorado	324,014	2,051	6.3
#33	Anchorage	Alaska	283,300	1,613	5.7
#34	Chandler	Arizona	256,091	1,376	5.4
#35	Henderson	Nevada	261,883	1,411	5.4
#36	Plano	Texas	272,747	1,477	5.4
#37	Virginia Beach	Virginia	436,175	2,043	4.7
#38	Anaheim	California	335,970	1,457	4.3
#39	Santa Ana	California	339,196	1,160	3.4

 

US Rank	City	State	Population	Total Burglaries	Avg. Burglaries/1,000 Inhabitants
#1	Flint	Michigan	111,657	3,057	27.4
#2	Jackson	Mississippi	172,799	4,569	26.4
#3	Fayetteville	North Carolina	173,995	4,289	24.7
#4	Little Rock	Arkansas	190,205	4,412	23.2
#5	Birmingham	Alabama	227,373	5,019	22.1
#6	Dayton	Ohio	152,965	3,244	21.2
#7	Vallejo	California	114,443	2,358	20.6
#8	Columbus	Georgia	186,224	3,792	20.4
#9	South Bend	Indiana	103,326	2,086	20.2
#10	Winston-Salem	North Carolina	230,978	4,532	19.6
#11	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	223,187	4,268	19.1
#12	Akron	Ohio	206,497	3,759	18.2
#13	Tallahassee	Florida	174,183	3,125	17.9
#14	St. Petersburg	Florida	244,933	4,366	17.8
#15	Chattanooga	Tennessee	172,536	2,987	17.3
#16	Lubbock	Texas	222,884	3,730	16.7
#17	Athens	Georgia	114,540	1,917	16.7
#18	Orlando	Florida	235,109	3,770	16
#19	Wilmington	North Carolina	101,438	1,626	16
#20	Durham	North Carolina	227,492	3,643	16
#21	Fort Lauderdale	Florida	182,942	2,907	15.9
#22	Rockford	Illinois	157,943	2,459	15.6
#23	Waco	Texas	125,098	1,897	15.2
#24	Montgomery	Alabama	202,818	3,092	15.2
#25	Beaumont	Texas	110,237	1,665	15.1
#26	Miami Gardens	Florida	110,346	1,663	15.1
#27	Mobile	Alabama	246,171	3,716	15.1
#28	Springfield	Missouri	156,659	2,314	14.8
#29	Tacoma	Washington	197,557	2,905	14.7
#30	Springfield	Illinois	117,973	1,711	14.5
#31	Richmond	California	102,566	1,486	14.5
#32	Killeen	Texas	120,670	1,735	14.4
#33	Syracuse	New York	137,208	1,946	14.2
#34	Peoria	Illinois	114,241	1,606	14.1
#35	Rochester	New York	205,537	2,899	14.1
#36	High Point	North Carolina	103,675	1,463	14.1
#37	Huntsville	Alabama	178,601	2,520	14.1
#38	Knoxville	Tennessee	185,850	2,589	13.9
#39	Shreveport	Louisiana	199,629	2,730	13.7
#40	Amarillo	Texas	188,767	2,561	13.6
#41	Springfield	Massachusetts	153,533	2,068	13.5
#42	Topeka	Kansas	123,449	1,663	13.5
#43	Kansas City	Kansas	142,102	1,918	13.5
#44	Allentown	Pennsylvania	107,326	1,414	13.2
#45	Columbia	South Carolina	127,884	1,678	13.1
#46	Gainesville	Florida	115,265	1,487	12.9
#47	Clarksville	Tennessee	121,661	1,569	12.9
#48	West Palm Beach	Florida	100,763	1,291	12.8
#49	Wichita Falls	Texas	100,884	1,277	12.7
#50	Grand Rapids	Michigan	192,901	2,454	12.7
#51	Murfreesboro	Tennessee	105,910	1,346	12.7
#52	Spokane	Washington	202,932	2,565	12.6
#53	Grand Prairie	Texas	164,766	2,082	12.6
#54	Pueblo	Colorado	105,271	1,311	12.5
#55	Savannah	Georgia	212,711	2,652	12.5
#56	Lafayette	Louisiana	113,868	1,407	12.4
#57	Eugene	Oregon	151,383	1,868	12.3
#58	Salt Lake City	Utah	180,724	2,173	12
#59	Hollywood	Florida	141,597	1,687	11.9
#60	Lansing	Michigan	113,392	1,340	11.8
#61	San Bernardino	California	199,683	2,349	11.8
#62	Portsmouth	Virginia	100,970	1,184	11.7
#63	New Haven	Connecticut	123,659	1,430	11.6
#64	Modesto	California	204,474	2,291	11.2
#65	Abilene	Texas	116,557	1,301	11.2
#66	Independence	Missouri	122,174	1,328	10.9
#67	Davenport	Iowa	101,116	1,097	10.8
#68	Berkeley	California	101,190	1,079	10.7
#69	Victorville	California	117,150	1,253	10.7
#70	Providence	Rhode Island	171,664	1,825	10.6
#71	Mesquite	Texas	132,941	1,390	10.5
#72	Moreno Valley	California	197,114	2,020	10.2
#73	Garland	Texas	218,872	2,206	10.1
#74	Visalia	California	124,263	1,261	10.1
#75	Cedar Rapids	Iowa	128,779	1,279	9.9
#76	Erie	Pennsylvania	103,837	1,013	9.8
#77	Salinas	California	143,660	1,382	9.6
#78	Evansville	Indiana	115,770	1,110	9.6
#79	Pompano Beach	Florida	101,840	971	9.5
#80	Laredo	Texas	226,944	2,164	9.5
#81	Bridgeport	Connecticut	136,049	1,276	9.4
#82	Irving	Texas	202,447	1,913	9.4
#83	Miramar	Florida	108,375	1,020	9.4
#84	Des Moines	Iowa	196,794	1,830	9.3
#85	Hartford	Connecticut	124,049	1,135	9.1
#86	Richardson	Texas	102,675	919	9
#87	Brownsville	Texas	179,491	1,576	8.8
#88	Norfolk	Virginia	235,097	2,078	8.8
#89	West Valley	Utah	124,472	1,068	8.6
#90	Paterson	New Jersey	144,943	1,241	8.6
#91	Carrollton	Texas	127,432	1,085	8.5
#92	Midland	Texas	107,933	909	8.4
#93	Reno	Nevada	221,010	1,848	8.4
#94	Pasadena	Texas	146,963	1,213	8.3
#95	Worcester	Massachusetts	178,474	1,485	8.3
#96	Tempe	Arizona	177,486	1,478	8.3
#97	North Las Vegas	Nevada	232,631	1,913	8.2
#98	Antioch	California	101,243	824	8.1
#99	Lancaster	California	148,742	1,206	8.1
#100	Elizabeth	New Jersey	124,910	1,002	8
#101	Cape Coral	Florida	164,344	1,267	7.7
#102	Richmond	Virginia	203,233	1,555	7.7
#103	Clearwater	Florida	105,383	802	7.6
#104	Pembroke Pines	Florida	145,514	1,091	7.5
#105	Fairfield	California	104,478	779	7.5
#106	Palmdale	California	146,377	1,080	7.4
#107	Norman	Oklahoma	108,152	765	7.1
#108	Billings	Montana	105,427	752	7.1
#109	Waterbury	Connecticut	107,007	749	7
#110	Manchester	New Hampshire	108,671	760	7
#111	Hayward	California	142,227	979	6.9
#112	Peoria	Arizona	164,366	1,120	6.8
#113	Columbia	Missouri	102,588	692	6.7
#114	Port St. Lucie	Florida	164,069	1,102	6.7
#115	Concord	California	121,042	808	6.7
#116	Warren	Michigan	133,485	887	6.6
#117	Madison	Wisconsin	234,461	1,523	6.5
#118	Palm Bay	Florida	103,475	664	6.4
#119	Lakewood	Colorado	140,618	901	6.4
#120	Lewisville	Texas	104,601	657	6.3
#121	Green Bay	Wisconsin	100,836	637	6.3
#122	Salem	Oregon	155,329	967	6.2
#123	Elk Grove	California	140,576	859	6.1
#124	Inglewood	California	112,712	685	6.1
#125	McAllen	Texas	132,598	796	6
#126	Fullerton	California	132,478	779	5.9
#127	Chesapeake	Virginia	223,261	1,317	5.9
#128	Ventura	California	103,997	615	5.9
#129	Joliet	Illinois	151,103	899	5.9
#130	Fremont	California	202,714	1,190	5.9
#131	Thornton	Colorado	117,415	683	5.8
#132	Jersey City	New Jersey	240,858	1,400	5.8
#133	Pasadena	California	144,063	824	5.7
#134	Escondido	California	137,432	779	5.7
#135	Hampton	Virginia	145,932	835	5.7
#136	Ontario	California	173,212	986	5.7
#137	Temecula	California	100,922	576	5.7
#138	Boulder	Colorado	100,035	564	5.6
#139	Pomona	California	153,217	854	5.6
#140	Scottsdale	Arizona	239,115	1,337	5.6
#141	Fontana	California	190,303	1,060	5.6
#142	Gresham	Oregon	102,463	572	5.6
#143	Denton	Texas	124,308	681	5.5
#144	Fort Collins	Colorado	138,487	752	5.4
#145	Vancouver	Washington	165,147	886	5.4
#146	McKinney	Texas	132,146	711	5.4
#147	El Monte	California	122,428	644	5.3
#148	Ann Arbor	Michigan	114,367	609	5.3
#149	Hialeah	Florida	208,874	1,093	5.2
#150	Boise	Idaho	206,437	1,046	5.1
#151	Surprise	Arizona	104,692	532	5.1
#152	Bellevue	Washington	125,054	621	5
#153	Charleston	South Carolina	113,681	566	5
#154	West Jordan	Utah	107,113	532	5
#155	Rancho Cucamonga	California	176,676	860	4.9
#156	Downey	California	107,598	524	4.9
#157	Burbank	California	103,248	499	4.8
#158	Costa Mesa	California	110,150	516	4.7
#159	Sioux Falls	South Dakota	158,672	748	4.7
#160	Santa Rosa	California	156,541	710	4.5
#161	Oceanside	California	170,579	768	4.5
#162	Westminster	Colorado	107,705	481	4.5
#163	Murrieta	California	105,238	471	4.5
#164	Roseville	California	116,846	525	4.5
#165	Gilbert	Arizona	231,799	1,010	4.4
#166	West Covina	California	105,846	470	4.4
#167	Aurora	Illinois	175,135	755	4.3
#168	Coral Springs	Florida	125,656	541	4.3
#169	Cambridge	Massachusetts	102,866	434	4.2
#170	Garden Grove	California	165,837	687	4.1
#171	Elgin	Illinois	107,686	445	4.1
#172	Chula Vista	California	224,841	912	4.1
#173	Santa Clarita	California	171,112	705	4.1
#174	Corona	California	152,438	612	4
#175	Norwalk	California	102,807	396	3.9
#176	Santa Clara	California	111,106	428	3.9
#177	Rochester	Minnesota	101,884	398	3.9
#178	Oxnard	California	187,357	704	3.8
#179	Arvada	Colorado	107,943	402	3.7
#180	Round Rock	Texas	110,531	412	3.7
#181	Huntington Beach	California	192,911	704	3.6
#182	Cary	North Carolina	133,757	469	3.5
#183	Provo	Utah	119,472	407	3.4
#184	Frisco	Texas	108,244	357	3.3
#185	Sunnyvale	California	132,144	431	3.3
#186	Glendale	California	197,384	635	3.2
#187	Torrance	California	141,109	442	3.1
#188	Stamford	Connecticut	119,507	370	3.1
#189	Overland Park	Kansas	173,688	534	3.1
#190	Simi Valley	California	121,538	375	3.1
#191	Daly City	California	101,284	317	3.1
#192	Yonkers	New York	202,192	620	3.1
#193	Orange	California	137,132	431	3.1
#194	Sterling Heights	Michigan	127,440	365	2.9
#195	Thousand Oaks	California	123,735	323	2.6
#196	Olathe	Kansas	123,321	321	2.6
#197	Alexandria	Virginia	146,145	347	2.4
#198	Amherst	New York	110,399	238	2.2
#199	Irvine	California	215,673	481	2.2
#200	Naperville	Illinois	144,731	296	2

*Based on 2009 FBI Crime Statistics

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