Prevention is better than cure. Always. It is your FIRST line of defence!
You need to prevent that criminal from even considering an attack on your place. It sounds bad to say it like this, but you should make sure he has other possible targets in your area that are considerably easier to attack.
What would deter YOU if you were Mr Badguy?
In a single word: RISK. He weighs his possible reward against the observable risks of capture, injury or death. If you can increase those risk factors for him, you will be that much safer.
You can improve deterrence by increasing obvious signs of high security like:
- Floodlights
- Heavy gates
- Electric fences
- High walls with spikes
- Cameras -even fake ones! (that are in plain view)
- Outdoor Dogs: Bigger is better. (Will discuss indoor dogs later!)
- Clear Security signs: (“Beware, you are being watched”)
It is, of course, difficult to know how well your efforts in deterrence are working, because, by definition, you will never even know of the possible attacks that were never even considered because of your dog, your cheapskate fake camera or your Chinese security light.
Deterrence is by far the cheapest and most desirable way to increase your safety, but obviously works best when combined with the other 3 Ds of security!