You lock every door and window in your house. But they know every trick in the book. Two expert thieves size up, break into and rip off real homes. And unless you know how they get in, you don't have a chance of keeping them out.

According to the FBI, in 2003 there were more than 2.1 million reported burglaries in the United States — that's 740 burglaries per 100,000 inhabitants. The majority of those offenses — 66 percent — were residential, with the thief taking away an average $1,600 in goods and cash from a home like yours.

So how safe is your house?

Enter It Takes a Thief, a unique new Discovery Channel series that offers viewers something they've never seen before: a home burglary performed by convicted former thieves that is taped as it happens, followed by a lesson in what steps to take to prevent such a violation from occurring again.

Hosted by reformed ex-cons Matt Johnston and Jon Douglas Rainey, It Takes a Thief exposes home-security flaws by unleashing these two uniquely qualified experts onto the properties of people interested in learning just how vulnerable their houses are, if at all. Watch along with the homeowners themselves as the burglars size up, break in, and ransack the home in search of valuables. And in so doing, discover what items are attractive — and why — to a burglar.

Then, sit back as our experts give the property a full home-security makeover, reworking everything from locks to landscaping. How foolproof will these new measures be? Homeowners and viewers alike will find out when Matt and Jon pay an unannounced visit some weeks later to test them. Will they get in this time?

Find out on It Takes a Thief on Discovery Channel, weekdays at 6 p.m. ET/PT. Because sometimes you have to rob a person blind in order to open their eyes.