Summer is winding down and families are gearing up to send their children back to school. With more unoccupied homes during the daylight hours, the chance of a home break-in rises.

As we move along in regular routines and busy lifestyles, home safety and protection is often overlooked, yet the importance of protecting your family, property and investments cannot be understated, says the Ventura County Contractor's Association. With kids heading back to school homes are vacant for the day, making them more vulnerable to break-ins. Security systems today are manufactured to meet the need and budget of the consumer, providing a number of options for homes and businesses in an effort to improve security and peace of mind.

"Security for your home and business is important and is often overlooked in our daily mode," says Richard Perini, owner of Absolute Security & Technologies in Simi Valley (call {866} 753-3772 or visit www.866sleepsafe.com). "We not only protect homes and businesses from burglary, we can also notify proper authorities or service vendors and home or business owners in 45 seconds."

The firm's Smart Home Audio-Video-Security systems are so technologically advanced, clients can receive picture e-mails to show who rang the doorbell or when the kids get home from school. "With controlled home access, kids don't have to carry house keys in their backpacks. Touch pads with access codes are installed, which makes for a much safer environment."

Offering alarms and security services for more than 30 years, Dial Security and Communications in Camarillo specializes in the installation and maintenance of a variety of home and business burglar and fire alarms. Call 485-0528 or see www.dialcomm.com.

"With Dial, your security system he only company-operated Central Station in Ventura County," says Melissa Dundas, sales manager at Dial Security. "It does matter that we all share the same community because we have a vested interest in keeping your family and the community safe."

Licensed general contractors belonging to the VCCA also can help in upgrading features of your home to help deter potential burglaries. Go to www.vccainc.com for a complete listing of licensed general contractors and specialists in your area.

Six tips for a safer home

In an ongoing effort to keep kids, families and property safe, the Ventura County Contractor's Association and National Crime Prevention Council offer the following helpful tips:

1. Check your locks: Door and window locks in most homes today might keep out someone who just rattles the knob, but they won't stop a determined or professional burglar. In more than 40 percent of residential burglaries, thieves came in an unlocked door or window.

Every exterior door should have a dead-bolt lock with a one-inch throw. If you have a key-in-the-knob lock, install an auxiliary lock — a vertical bolt, cylinder dead-bolt, or horizontal-bolt model. And if you just moved into a new house or apartment, re-key the locks. You never know who may still have old keys. Do not hide your keys in mailboxes, planters, or under doormats. Give a duplicate key to a trusted neighbor instead.

Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks, with a rigid wooden dowel in the track or with a nail inserted through a hole drilled in the sliding door frame and projecting into the fixed frame. Lock double-hung windows with window key locks or by sliding a bolt or nail through a hole drilled at a downward angle in each top corner or the inside sash and part way through the outside sash. Consider grilles for basement or street-level windows if you live in a high-crime area.

2. Check your doors: Locks lose their effectiveness if they are installed in flimsy or weak doors. Make sure outside doors are solid, at least 1 inch metal or hard wood. Doors should fit tightly in their frames and hinges should be on the inside. Double check the door between your house and the garage since that is a common entry spot for thieves.

Install a peephole or wide-angle viewer in all entry doors so you can see who is outside without opening the door. A short chain between the doors and the jamb is not a good substitute because it can be broken easily.

3. Look at your home from the outside: To discourage burglars from selecting your home, make sure that any shrubbery around doors and windows is pruned so they will not hide anyone tampering with the entry points. Cut back tree limbs that could help a thief climb into second-story windows.

Keep your yard well-maintained and store ladders and tools inside your garage or basement when you're not using them. All entrances and porches should be well lit.

4. Consider an alarm system: The simplest in-house alarm system sets up a small electrical circuit across door locks and from window to frame. When this current is interrupted by someone opening the door or window, the alarm sounds. More sophisticated systems include sensing devices that set off a siren when an intruder disturbs a field of continually moving sound or radar waves. Advanced alarm systems can be monitored by a central station which alerts the police if a thief breaks in. These systems can include smoke/fire alarms and "help" or "panic" buttons to signal a medical or other emergency as well.

5. Have a family plan: Remember that your goal is to avoid any confrontations with a burglar since there is a good chance he or she is armed. If you find a door ajar, a screen slit, or a window broken when you come home — do not go inside. Call the police from a neighbor's house.

6. Prepare when you leave town: Notify a trusted neighbor that has a view of your house of your vacation schedule and ask him or her to pick up your mail, deliveries and newspapers. Put lights and a radio on timers to create the illusion that someone is home. Leave shades, blinds and curtains in normal positions and arrange to have your lawn and garden maintained if you will be gone a long time.

Established in 1946, the Ventura County Contractors Association represents construction America at its best in our local community. Committed to dedication, education and specialization, the VCCA has become a powerful tool not only for the local construction industry but for the community as well.

It is a non-profit membership association of qualified general contractors, subcontractors, building material suppliers and many other leading construction industry businesses with more than 600 members.

Offices are at 1830 Lockwood St., Suite 110, Oxnard, CA 93036. For a list of certified professional contractors, visit the VCCA Web site at www.vccainc.com.