Do-it-yourself home security
By Fiona Wagner • Bankrate.com

If you're going away for the weekend, use automatic timers to turn on lights and radios to give your house a lived-in look. If you plan to be away for longer, have a neighbour or friend pick up mail and newspapers and have your lawn cut or snow cleared.

While many people rely on alarm systems, even these aren't infallible."Security systems should be a consideration and be used in addition to, not in place of, good common sense," says O'Reilly. For more information on security systems, check out the Bankrate.ca story "Keep your home safe and sound.

To help "target harden" your home, check with your local police service to see if it offers home security inspections. Officers will evaluate the security of your home and recommend ways to make it safer.

Operation identification
The point of securing your home is to prevent a break-in, but in the event a burglar does get past your defenses, you can make your possessions less appealing. Burglars rarely steal items for their own use -- they take things that are portable and easily pawned. They don't want to handle marked property because it's harder to sell. "Anything that is readily identifiable is not good to take," says Black.

Engrave your driver's licence number on two places -- one obvious, one concealed -- of any major valuable. If a thief with marked property gets stopped by the police, officers can check the number and instantly know who the owner is. Plus, an iPod with your licence number on it is corroborative evidence of their crime.

For the record
The inevitable question after a break-in is, "what's missing?" The most frequently stolen items are electronics, jewelry and cash. Unless you have a written inventory of your possessions, you'll have to work from memory and most people won't know their camcorder's serial number. Detailed information helps the police with their investigation -- plus, if your goods are found, they'll know who to return them to.

According to Neighbourhood Watch London, about 80 percent of stolen property that is recovered by police can't be identified and returned to the owner so it must be sold at public auction. To help make your valuables easier to return, the insurance Bureau of Canada and the Vancouver Police Department provide online property record forms.