One of the biggest investments we as expats have here in Mexico is our home and our homes contain most of our valuables.

It therefore makes sense then that we should do whatever we can to protect our homes and their valuable contents. Your home, as the saying goes is your castle, and to protect your home and its contents, you need to take a lesson from the castles of old.  In the time of knights and castles the optimum word in protection was layered security.

Layered Security - Outer
Here in Mexico we are lucky in one regard. A lot of homes are located either inside a gated community or else have high walls surrounding them. Either of these conditions is a good start to protecting your valuable property.  There is also another good practice that is in wide use here and that is the installation of metal bars on windows and doors.

If your home is within a gated community or has high walls surrounding the property, then having metal bars on your windows and doors is an excellent second layer of security.

If you do not already have metal bars on your windows and doors then it is a very good idea to consider having them installed, and don’t forget to make sure that you also protect your sky lights, upper windows and vents. Thieves have been known to get onto a homes roof and enter through unprotected sky lights, upper windows and vents.

Layer Security - Inner
With your outer security layer in place in the form of guarded community gates or high walls and the first inner layer of security taken care of by metal bars on windows and doors; the next thing you need to consider is the locks on the outer doors of your home.

It only makes sense to ensure that the locks on your doors are of good quality. There are any number of good quality high security locks on the market, such as those from Quik Set and Schlage to name just two I am familiar with.  

One of the best in my opinion, are the barrel locks that are available locally and are usually installed on the metal doors of your home. These locks are the ones with a long, round four sided key. The can be installed by any reputable locksmith lakeside and are usually inexpensive. I have found that this type of lock cannot be punched out or defeated as easily as standard locks, many of which can be punched out. This is exactly how thieves in this area have gotten into many homes.

Another thing that you might consider as an added layer of security, in addition to what we have already discussed, is the addition of razor wire, sharp spikes or electrical fencing at the top of your wall if your house has a wall surrounding it.

Electrical fencing is particularly effective, but remember none of these is fool proof.

Also remember, if you are going to be away for an extended period then consider hiring a reputable house sitter. Having your home occupied is one of the best deterrents to burglary, and most house sitters I am familiar with only cost about $150 to $200 pesos a day. It’s a small price to pay for piece of mind. (Note: I personally wouldn’t use a maid or gardener for this. Even though I believe most Mexicans are honest hard working people, there have been cases of maids or gardeners who were asked by the home owner to watch their homes, only to discover on their return that the maid or gardener had moved their entire family in and were now claiming squatter’s rights. In one case I heard of it took the owner almost three years to evict the people they thought they could trust.)

Now for the cold hard truth! A determined thief given enough time and effort will get in no matter how well you prepare. It is sad to say but all you can really hope to do in the end is make your home so unattractive or difficult to enter that the thieves will go on to an easier target.

Be aware of your surroundings!  One of the very best things anyone can do to protect their property is to make sure that you are aware of what is going on around their home.

Talk to your neighbors, and get to know them.

Get to know the cars that are authorized to be in and around your area.

Find out who the authorized maids and gardeners are and what they drive if they have cars.

Form a neighborhood watch and post signs in front of your property (these signs printed in both English and Spanish are available from the Chapala Police for free).

Look out for your neighbor’s home when they are away, and ask them to watch out for yours.

It is also very important to call the police if you are suspicious of something or someone you don’t recognize. It is much better to apologize to someone for having the police detain them at your request than to come home and find your home ransacked and your valuables missing. Burglars by their very nature are thieves of opportunity; they prowl around looking for an easy targets and a quick score. 

Police statistics show that the average burglar will spend less than 5 minutes inside a home, so the chances of a roving police patrol stumbling onto a thief in the act of robbing you is marginal at best. While a home safe is a good idea, forget the notion of hiding your valuables, most thieves know exactly where to look or they will simply tear up the inside of your house until they locate your stuff, it might be easier to just leave your valuables in plain sight, at least then the thief or thieves may not trash the inside of your home looking for the things they want, which are the small, valuable and easily transportable items that are easy to sell.

Remember it is not the responsibility of the police to guard your home.  That is YOUR responsibility. If you take precautions and remain alert you can prevent a lot of crime from occurring.

As a final thought I want to mention something that should be obvious to any reasonably intelligent person but apparently is not. Each of us is by our very nature is a trusting soul and we want to believe the others are honest and have our best interests at heart. The truth is much different I’m afraid.

There are those who because of circumstance or design resort to crime. These people tend to be ruthless and lack any concern for the well being of the average person. These thugs care only for themselves and obtaining what they want in the easiest way possible. You should therefore be very wary of strangers who come to your door. Do not open your door or gate to anyone you do not know. Speak to them through the door or gate and refuse to open up for anyone who makes you the least bit nervous. Better to be thought of as rude than to end up a victim: Enough said.

James Jensen is a retired Law Enforcement officer with over 30 years of experience working at the city, county, state and federal level. He was licensed by the State of Michigan as a professional Security Agent and Private Investigator and is a certified Work Violence Prevention Specialist who has taught and lectured on Workplace Violence Prevention for many years. He has also authored dozens of articles on Personal and Business Security.