How do I check my own house for security weak points?

A structured walk round the outside and inside that produces a prioritised list, so improvements go in the order that actually changes the risk.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 1 hr 30 min
Read: 5 min

Short answer

Walk the boundary, then each elevation, then inside, writing down every point where someone could approach unseen, reach a door or window, or find something worth taking on display. Sort the list by cost and effect, and do the free items the same day. Most houses find the top three fixes cost under fifty pounds.

Security advice usually arrives as a generic list, which is why people buy an alarm before locking the side gate. A survey turns it into your house: what is actually reachable here, what is actually visible from the road, and what a person could actually do without being noticed. The output is a short ordered list rather than a shopping trip.

What you'll need

Notebook or a phone
A torch, for an after-dark second pass
A tape measure (optional)

Where a house is actually weak, and what closes each point

Step by step

Start at the boundary and work inwards.Walk the whole perimeter. Note every point where someone can get from the street onto the property without passing a window: an unlocked side gate, a low fence, a gap behind a garage, a shared alley.
Note what provides cover.A tall hedge across a front window, a dense shrub beside the door, a high fence at the front, a recessed porch. Cover matters more than locks, because being unobserved is the enabling condition for everything else.
Look for climbing aids.Wheelie bins, a water butt, a log store, garden furniture, a ladder, a trellis strong enough to take weight, or a flat roof. Anything that promotes a first-floor window to a ground-floor one belongs on the list.
Survey each elevation in turn.Front, sides, rear. For each door: lock type, whether it is used, glass within reach, frame condition. For each window: lock present, key available, accessible from ground or a roof. Write it down rather than remembering it.
Check the outbuildings and the boundary hardware.Shed door hinges and hasp, garage door and its connecting door, gate hardware, and whether tools and ladders that could be used on the house are locked away. A ladder left out is a genuine finding.
Do a second pass after dark.Walk the same route at night. Where is completely black? What is visible through lit windows from the pavement? A laptop, keys, a bike in a hallway or an expensive item on a table are all findings.
Go inside and check what is displayed.Car keys near the door or the letterbox, house keys visible, valuables in a front window, packaging for expensive items waiting for recycling. Every one of these is free to fix today.
Check the habits, not just the hardware.Is the door actually locked, with the handle lifted and key turned? Are windows locked when the house is empty? Is the side gate locked or just closed? Habits account for more real risk than equipment.
Sort the list into free, cheap and costly.Free: cutting back a shrub, moving a bin, locking the gate, taking keys away from the door. Cheap: window lock keys, a hasp, a PIR light, long screws in a keep. Costly: a tested cylinder, laminated glass, an alarm.
Do the free items today and diarise the rest.The free list is usually the largest single reduction in risk available, and it is done in an hour. Put a date against the cheap items and review the list once a year.
Ask for a police crime prevention view if you want a second opinion.Many forces offer free crime prevention advice, particularly after an incident or in an area with a local problem. It is impartial and it is not selling anything.

Tips

Photograph each elevation and mark the findings on the photo. It makes the list concrete and it is useful when comparing quotes later.
Do the survey with someone else in the household. People notice completely different things, and the habits half of it needs everyone's agreement anyway.
Repeat it after any change: a new fence, a felled tree, a new extension roof, or a neighbour's building work all move the weak points.

Common mistakes

Buying equipment before surveying — It is how houses end up with a camera and an unlocked side gate. The survey tells you which of the generic recommendations actually apply here.
Only looking at the front — The rear and the side access are where somebody can work unobserved, which is where most entry happens. The front usually needs the least attention.

If it doesn't work

The list has thirty items and feels overwhelming

Cause: No prioritisation — Fix: Split into free, under twenty pounds, and over. Do the free column today. Most of the risk reduction lives there.

Flat with no garden — the survey seems irrelevant

Cause: The survey is written for a house — Fix: Apply it to the communal entrance, the bin store, the door to your flat, any accessible window and any balcony or flat roof route. The propped communal door is usually the top finding.

Everything looks fine but you still feel uneasy

Cause: Often an after-dark or a habits issue rather than hardware — Fix: Do the night walk and the internal display check. Lighting and what is visible through a window account for most of that feeling.

Questions people ask

How often should I redo this?

Once a year, and after anything changes — a new fence, a removed hedge, a new extension with a flat roof, a change of neighbour, or a local spate of break-ins.

Does it help to look at the house from the pavement?

It is the most useful single viewpoint. Almost every judgement about a house is made from there, so seeing what is visible, what is dark and what is reachable from that spot tells you most of what you need.

Should I be worried about being watched while I do this?

No — this is exactly the sort of thing residents do. If you would rather not draw attention, do it while gardening or cleaning windows and it looks like what it is: someone looking after their house.