Home invasion is on the rise. Sometimes it’s a random event but more and more often it’s an organized hit by gangs of thugs.

In the worst cases, the hoods murder everyone in the house (like the commando-style raid at the home of Byrd and Melanie Billings in Florida). Sometimes, there are no injuries but a lot of emotional trauma and loss of personal property.

Recently, in Harris County, Texas, a family was tied up and robbed at gunpoint by five masked men who burst into the home and took everyone hostage. Here’s how it happened: Three of the masked men ambushed the homeowner near his doorway as he arrived from work. The homeowner’s brother, hearing a scuffle outside, opened the front door, and the attackers forced their way inside wielding guns.

They took everyone hostage and started methodically ransacking the house. What the thugs didn’t know … was that a teenage daughter was upstairs hiding, calling 9-1-1.

Burglary usually is different. Most burglaries are committed by thugs who don’t want to be seen or heard. They tend to operate under the cover of darkness or during the day when they’re sure nobody is home.

To ensure success, they often case the target house beforehand, trying to figure out the best time and the approach that offers the most concealment.

Watch for people going door-to-door because this is a favored method for burglars to determine if someone is home.

Call 9-1-1 and report suspicious activity in your neighborhood, including unfamiliar vehicles prowling the neighborhood. Burglars look for a residence with easy access and low visibility to keep them from being seen when entering through a window or when kicking in the door.

There are steps you can take to make your house less attractive to a burglar:

• Examine your home to identify vulnerabilities. Stand across the street and think to yourself, “How could I break in?” Look for structural or landscaping designs that block visibility to entrances to your home.

• Trim trees, shrubs or bushes near where a burglar could hide.

• Solid fences provide privacy for everyone, including the person breaking into your house. Consider styles such as wrought iron, chain link or separated boards that allow visibility to your property.

• If you are away from home for an evening, leave a light on inside the house or use automatic timers to switch on lights.

• Use motion sensor exterior lights for porches, sidewalks and other access routes.

• Alarm systems that switch on lights and make loud noises often will frighten away intruders.

Police departments rely on private citizens to act as eyes and ears, so you should call if you see suspicious or criminal activity. Get to know your neighbors and start a Block Watch program in your neighborhood.

The overall goal is for the entire neighborhood to become unattractive to burglars.

Got questions?

Have a question for survival expert Richard Johnson? Send it his way at rhj@olypen.com and it may end up in the next “Guide to Staying Alive.”

Sequim resident Rich Johnson is a former Special Forces survival expert and author of several books, including “The Ultimate Survival Manual” and “Rich Johnson’s Guide To Wilderness Survival.” These and other books of his are available at Amazon. Reach him via e-mail at rhj@olypen.com.