“Key measures, she said, include making sure outside areas are well-lit, doors and windows are protected with locks or grates, and alarm systems are in place to scare off home invaders or trigger a response by a security firm.
Security is especially important in the summer, when there traditionally is a spike in home break-ins, she said.
Dave Simon, spokesman for Brinks Home Security in Irving, Texas, said many new homes come with alarm systems built in, while families buying existing homes often install them. He said he encouraged his in-laws, Steve and Mary Lyne, to put an alarm system into their Maine retirement home.”