These 7 Products Helped Cut Home Burglaries to Record Lows—Here’s What Works

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According to the FBI’s latest crime data, burglaries in the United States have dropped to a historic low, with approximately 779,542 reported in 2024—a rate of 229.2 per 100,000 people. That’s an 8.6% decrease from 2023 and 38% lower than 2019. Why the dramatic decline? It’s likely thanks to the rising popularity of video doorbells, motion-sensing lights, and other surveillance technology.

If you’ve not yet caught on to the obsessive trend of staking out your own home via smartphone, we’ll introduce you to some of the best ways to keep an eye on the homestead. We’re also here to remind you that some of the best home security measures are old-school classics, like deadbolts and door bars.

This video camera’s body feels sturdy and well-built, and its 2K video quality is impressive; if you upgrade to a monthly subscription, you can get up to 4K quality. Rated as the Best Overall pick in our tested guide to the best outdoor security cameras, this camera integrates seamlessly with Apple Home products.

A top performer in our tested guide to the best video doorbells, the Eufy Security S220 Video Doorbell doesn’t require a subscription fee or cloud storage, as most other video doorbells do. The Eufy app guides installation with a helpful video; our tester was also impressed by the 2K HD video quality. Best of all, we like that the doorbell’s video footage is stored on Eufy’s 16 GB of encrypted local storage, rather than in the cloud.

This sturdy metal security bar from Master Lock fits snugly under a doorknob and keeps intruders from opening a door from the outside. It’s a smart buy for travelers or for renters who cannot make permanent modifications to their doors. When it’s not in use, the security bar folds down easily into a compact size of about 16.5 inches long. 

Read More: Master Lock Folding Door Security Bar Hands-on Review

Ideal Security’s sliding door security bar mounts to the door frame with screws to the middle of the door rather than the bottom, so there’s no need to bend over to remove the device. A childproof lock keeps little ones safe; the bar swings in and up when it’s not in use, and telescopes to fit any size door between its minimum and maximum lengths.

This deadbolt from Schlage, a top pick in our tested guide to the best door locks, offers top-notch security and is worth a few extra bucks. With its Grade 1 ANSI rating, the Schlage is one of the most secure locks you can put on your exterior doors. It features a 1-inch deadbolt, anti-drill plates, and anti-pick pins that make it well-equipped to defend against a variety of attempts to defeat it.

The Aootek solar lights automatically click up to bright any time they detect motion within 26 feet. In our review of the Aootek Solar Security Lights, we found that the IP65-rated lights stood up to extreme weather. Place them by the driveway entry, on the deck, hang them over outbuildings, or in any dark corner of your property that needs a little more light.

Want to be the first to know when friend, foe, or animal sets foot across your property line? The eMACROS solar-powered driveway alarm, the top pick in our guide to the best driveway alarms, is weatherproof and has a detection range of 30 feet.

 

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