If there was a time when locking the bolt on the front door was all the sense of security you needed to get a good night’s sleep, that time may have passed.

So says a security expert who offers additional tips to remain safe at home.

Elston Bain, a 16-year veteran of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and founder of Tactical Security and Investigators, suggests eight ways to beef up personal safety during a lockdown and extreme conditions resulting from what he calls the “all-important fight to beat COVID-19.”

“There is no question that the policies implemented in the battle to beat coronavirus or COVID-19 are all-important and require everyone’s full support and compliance,” said Bain.

“But the flip side of that is with so many businesses closed, thousands suddenly find themselves out of work, many of them out of money. There are people walking around with less than one dollar in their pockets.

As hunger increases and the fear of not being able to feed a hungry child increases with it, there will be a spike in break-ins as a result of desperation.”

Bain offers the following tips:

• If you have a security gate, keep it locked at all times except when entering or exiting.

• Always look out a nearby window before opening a door.

• Forego the practice of hiding a spare key unless you can do so in a well-concealed place (not under a potted plant or door mat at the front door, for instance)

• Keep garage door closed at all times as it allows easy access to house.

• Trim overgrown trees that would allow an intruder a place to hide or provide access to an upper floor room or patio. • When securing older style sliding glass doors, place an object that would prevent them from being opened along the bottom track. A broom handle or long paint roller handle will work. • Ensure blinds and drapes are secured, especially at night when lights are on, to prevent potential intruders from seeing expensive equipment within.

• If you have an alarm system, turn it on nightly and make sure that you test it at least once a month.

Bain strongly recommends that communities or neighborhoods join forces and pool resources to hire a security company to provide mobile patrols.

“Tactical Investigators is just one company, there are many out there,” he says. “Your community should interview and see who they feel comfortable with and would have confidence in, but mobile patrols will be the best investment you can make during this time of necessary, but unprecedented financial hardship, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable in our population.”