As an addendum to Kevin’s post, I’d like to add that owning a gun, especially after being a robbery victim, will add to a sense of security whether it is ever used or not. So, go buy a cheap gun that shoots sideways for all you care, as long as it’s in the nightstand.
Anyway, that’s the potential-victim based half of the story. It’s about what you do to feel secure, and what really makes you safe. A gun is a fairly expensive means to achieve the former and is seldom the latter, since as mentioned, you usually get your shit ganked when you’re away.
Someone mentioned how you get robbed by someone you know - well, to clarify that a little bit, it’s usually not someone you know, like the single mom across the street or whatever, but someone you don’t know who has taken a look inside your house. Man, I hate it when the cable company or whoever sends one of these dirtbag independent contractor fuckos out to my pad. No man, climb up this ladder to get to my office. Yes, it’s completely empty, I own nothing. Just get the digital TV and modem running, I’ll borrow something from the neighbor. They have all kinds of stuff! Repairmen, delivery men, maid services, all of these are or staff people who probably make a Hell of a lot less than you do and know someone who knows someone who has no qualms about busting your loot. My new house drives me crazy, because all you gotta do is open the front door and any Tom’s Hairy Dick can see my entertainment niche. Fortunately, I’ve thus been too strapped to by the 60’ Sony and whatnot, but once it’s there, it’s in plain view.
Oh yeah, speaking of which, and maybe this sounds a little tinfoil hat-esque, but break down the boxes of all your electronics purchases (unless you keep them, like I used to, for whatever reason) flat, and then shitcan them in a dumpster somewhere else. Like, not in front of your house. If nobody knows what’s going down in your crib, then you won’t need a grip of high-tech anticrime devices (like my stupid security system that my girlfriend never bothers to arm anyway, so essentially it’s a $2,700 thermostat) or a moat with boiling oil to keep away the crooks. Then, it’s just whatever steps you can take to make yourself less a target of the first-glance type of petty thieves, like living upstairs, having walls around your property with padlocked gates, a length of wood or the like for your screen door, blinds on all your windows, deadbolts on not just your front door but also your garage doors (including the one between your house and the garage), etc.
As for a security sticker. Whatta you, invalid? Take a digital pic of one wherever, make a duplicate, print it on a mailing label and stick it to your front window.