Doors & Locks

Most residential burglaries start at the front door, a side door, or a sliding patio door. The single biggest improvement most Caldwell County homeowners can make is fitting a real deadbolt with a reinforced strike plate.

• Use a Grade-1 or Grade-2 deadbolt on every exterior door — the kind with a one-inch throw bolt.
• Replace the four short strike-plate screws that come with the lock with 3-inch wood screws that anchor into the wall stud, not just the door frame.
• Use solid-core wood or steel exterior doors. Hollow-core interior doors used as exterior doors can be kicked in with one hit.
• If your door has a window within 36 inches of the lock, replace the standard deadbolt with a double-cylinder (key on both sides) or install a security film over the glass.
• Re-key the locks any time you buy a home, lose a key, or have a contractor with key access leave the job.

Sliding patio doors

Patio doors are one of the most common forced-entry points. Place a wooden dowel or commercial security bar in the bottom track so the door cannot slide open even if the latch is defeated. Add a secondary "loop lock" or pin-style lock at the top of the frame to prevent the door from being lifted off the track.

Garage entry door (the door from the garage into the house)

Most homeowners treat the garage entry door like an interior door. Treat it like an exterior door: deadbolt, reinforced strike plate, solid core. If a thief gets into your garage, this door is the only thing standing between them and your house.

Windows

• Lock every window every time, including upstairs windows. Many burglars use ladders, fences, or rooflines to reach second-story windows because homeowners assume they are out of reach.
• For sliding windows, use a track bar or pin lock — the standard latch is easy to defeat with a thin tool.
• Add shatter-resistant security film to ground-floor windows. Film won't make glass unbreakable, but it holds the broken pane in place long enough that most burglars give up.
• If you use window AC units, screw the frame to the window so the unit cannot be lifted out from outside.

Outdoor & Indoor Lighting

Light is one of the cheapest and most effective deterrents — and modern LED motion lights cost very little to run.

Outside

• Motion-activated LED floodlights at every exterior door, the garage, and any blind spot a person could approach.
• A dusk-to-dawn light at the front porch and rear porch so you can identify visitors before opening the door.
• Solar driveway markers along long rural driveways so a deputy responding to a call can find the house at night.
• Aim lights so they shine outward, not into your own eyes or your neighbor's house.

Inside

• Use plug-in smart timers or smart bulbs to randomize a living-room light and a TV between 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. when no one is home.
• Avoid leaving a single porch light burning 24 hours a day — that is a signal that no one has been home for days.

Landscaping & Sight Lines

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a fancy term for a simple idea: don't give a burglar a place to hide.

• Trim shrubs so the tops are below window sills and trees are limbed up at least seven feet.
• Move trash cans, recycling bins, and ladders inside the garage — they become climbing aids if left out.
• Gravel or pea-stone paths under windows give a clear audible warning when someone is walking up to the house.
• Make sure the house number is large, contrasting, and clearly visible from the road both day and night so emergency responders can find you.

Garage, Sheds & Outbuildings

• Lock the overhead door even when you are home. An open garage door is an invitation. The Sheriff's Office routinely sees thefts of yard tools, bicycles, and coolers from open garages in broad daylight.
• Disable the manual release on the automatic opener — a thief can pop the seal at the top of the door with a coat hanger and pull the release in under ten seconds. Look for a "garage-door shield" that blocks the release lever.
• Never leave the garage-door remote clipped to the visor of a vehicle parked outside. A thief who breaks into the car can press the button and walk straight into your house.
• Pad-lock detached sheds and barns. Use a closed-shackle lock that a bolt-cutter can't get the jaws around.
• Photograph and record serial numbers for tools, generators, and equipment — see Operation ID below.

Alarms & Cameras

You don't need a top-of-the-line system to make a difference. The Sheriff's Office sees most burglars leave the second they realize a property is monitored.

Alarms

• A monitored alarm system with cellular backup is best — burglars often cut phone lines first.
• Place the keypad away from windows so it cannot be photographed.
• Use a unique panic code for each member of the household so dispatchers can identify who triggered it.
• Post the alarm-company sign at the front of the house. Yes, even if you don't have an alarm system yet — a sign alone deters opportunistic burglars.

Cameras

• A doorbell camera plus one camera covering the rear of the house catches more than 90 percent of front- and back-door incidents.
• Make sure the camera records to cloud storage or to a recorder hidden inside the house — burglars steal local DVRs.
• Aim cameras at chest and face height where someone would stand, not from the eaves looking down at the top of a hat.
• Keep license-plate-reading angles in mind for driveway cameras.

Smart-Home Devices

Connected locks, cameras, and thermostats are convenient — but they're only as secure as the network and accounts behind them.

• Change the default password on every Wi-Fi-connected device. The factory password is printed on the device and frequently exists in published lists.
• Turn on multi-factor authentication for every camera, thermostat, and smart-lock account.
• Set up a separate "guest" Wi-Fi network for smart-home devices so a compromised camera can't reach the laptop where you do banking.
• Apply firmware updates as soon as they appear. Older firmware is the most common attack vector.
• If you give a contractor temporary access to your smart lock, generate a one-time code rather than sharing your main code.

Going Out of Town

Burglars look for a house that looks like nobody has been home for a while. Your job is to make the house look lived-in.

• Put the mail and newspaper on hold or have a neighbor pick them up daily.
• Arrange for someone to mow the lawn — overgrown grass is the #1 visual signal of an empty house.
• Use a smart plug or timer to turn a TV and a couple of lights on for a few hours each evening.
• Park a vehicle in the driveway — even just for the first few days — to break up the "no one is here" pattern.
• Adjust the thermostat to a normal temperature (not 85°). The HVAC kicking on at typical times is part of the lived-in signal.
• Lock and double-check every exterior door and every window, including upstairs.
• Give a trusted neighbor your cell phone number and the alarm code in case it trips.
• Do not post the trip in real time on social media — wait until you are home to post photos.

When You Move In

Realtor lockboxes, contractor master keys, previous owners' tenants, and lost copies all mean the locks on a newly purchased home have an unknown number of unaccounted-for keys. Re-keying is the cheapest piece of security you'll ever buy.

1. Re-key or replace every exterior lock the first week you own the property — a locksmith can re-key all locks in about an hour for under $150.
2. Change every garage-door opener code; on most openers this is a small button on the motor head.
3. Reset the codes on any electronic locks or alarm panels, including the wall-mounted thermostat if it is part of a connected platform.
4. Reset Wi-Fi router admin credentials and the network password.
5. Walk the entire perimeter at night with a flashlight — note any blind spot, missing light bulb, or shrub that needs trimming.

Rural-Property Checklist

Long driveways, ranch outbuildings, and equipment storage all add up to a different threat profile than a town home. A handful of rural-specific steps go a long way.

• Install a locking entrance gate at the property line — even a simple cattle gate with a chain and a heavy-duty padlock deters most drive-throughs.
• Post "No Trespassing" signs at the entrance and at every quarter mile along the fence line; the signs both deter trespassers and support criminal trespass charges later.
• Make sure the 911 address sign at your gate is reflective and large enough to read at 35 mph from both directions of approach.
• Photograph livestock with brands and ear-tag identifiers; record VINs/serial numbers for ATVs, tractors, trailers, and side-by-sides. Equipment theft is the most common rural crime in Caldwell County.
• Add a hidden GPS tracker to high-value equipment (tractors, trailers, generators). Trackers under $200 have recovered thousands of dollars in stolen equipment.
• Get to know your neighbors — rural neighborhoods notice unfamiliar vehicles faster than any camera.
• Consider a game-camera or trail-camera at the driveway entrance. It captures every vehicle that turns in, runs on batteries, and uses no Wi-Fi.

Operation ID — Engrave Your Valuables

If your property is stolen and later recovered by police, we can only return it to you if we can prove it is yours. Operation ID is a free program where you record identifying information on valuable items so they can be traced back to you.

Steps

1. Make a written list (or spreadsheet) of every item worth more than $100. Include: brand, model, serial number, color, size, distinguishing marks, and approximate value.
2. Photograph each item — overall photo plus a close-up of the serial number.
3. Engrave high-value items (firearms, tools, electronics) with a unique identifier. The Sheriff's Office recommends using your Texas driver's license number preceded by the letters TX — for example, TX-12345678. Avoid using your Social Security Number.
4. Keep a copy of the list off-site — in a safe deposit box, a cloud service, or with a trusted family member outside your home.

If you would like to borrow an engraving tool from the Sheriff's Office, call the non-emergency line and ask for the Crime Prevention Officer.