Home Security Tips

dogs.

we have three as pets and our "children" not nesacarily as HD, but 200 lbs of various lab mixes will make a good early warning/ scare away tactic.

I have no real illusions about my little ones being ferocious attack beasts.
We have tried to make sure they are well socialized w/ people and other dogs.

though they might lick someone near to death or at least growl at someone (has happened when i walked in the front door w/ strangers untill isaid it was alright, then all tail wags).

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change your locks every year to two at most.

alarm service w/ the most basic monitoring (rarely turned on actually ) but signs in all the windows and yard.

been meaning to hook outside lights to motion sensor just haven't gotten to it.

handguns loaded in touchpad safe next to bed, soon to add a couple shells of 12 ga for the new (1950) remy in the closet. There are also flashlights in the bedroom.

Sometime this year wife and I have to get to some kind of tactical or combat handgun course.

that's more than enough for me.

When we do get around to having kids I will make sure they know how to get away, call 911, and as they get older know how to fight and shoot (as well as cook and drive a manual, basic life skills in my book).

 

Small dogs are great warning systems. Most of them are very loud when there is noise.
Most current alarm systems have a "beeper" that sounds when a zone is open. When my children were young we knew if they opened a door as the alarm system would beep if a door or window was opened. Home alarm systems should have all exterior door and windows with contact switches and glass break detectors. Interior doors that lead to an outside area like a garage should be alarmed as well.

One of my homes had a dedicated laundry room. It was located near the garage and acted as a buffer between a hallway and the garage. It was alarmed at both doors.

with young children and pets motion detectors are pretty much useless.

A panick button is a must, one in the living room and one in the master bedroom.

Doors should have dead bolts that require a key to open. Windows should have locks that are out of reach for the children and require more than just a simple twist of a lever.

 

Great thread.

Recently I've seen simple vibration alarms for windows, small round discs that let out a piercing scream when the window they're stuck to is tampered with. They're obviously marked, adding to the deterrent factor. I don't think I'd put them on every window, but on the weak ones, no doubt.

The most important home security tool you've got is your mind. Think like a burglar, or a child molester, for that matter. In too many of these cases the perpetrator is known to the family. Quit getting your neighbor's 'friend' that just moving in to fix your van. Identify those habits that leave you open to attack. Identify the weak points in your home. Every window is not alike, for example. In my house every window takes two hands from the inside to unlock and raise and they're hurricane-strength glass; every window except for one bedroom, an add-on built 20 years after the house but not refitted with newer windows in the redesign. When I have to break into the house after leaving my keys inside that's exactly where I go, and so would a theif with a half a brain. It pained me, for further example, to realize that all the doors in the rear of the house, the side no one can see from the street, were deadlocked, but the locks are in easy reach for anyone who breaks the door's window immediately above the lock! I felt even stupider for not realizing that simply locking the screen door would improve security at those points exponentially since getting through one of those is possible, but not without some time and effort.

I'm by no means an authority, but I'm thinking a lot about it lately too. With spring in the air I've gone two months without heating or cooling,b ut I'm leaving windows open. Just the other day the backwoods country girlfriend says "Why are you leaving windows open while you sleep in other rooms? Anyone could come right in as you sleep and shoot you dead before you even wake up. They could even use your own gun!'
Obviously, there's the M, but if you're like me you give someone in the house a couple of options (here a bat, there a tire iron, everywhere a blunt object) if you don't get to them first.

I'd concur with all of chef's suggestions, and add one for discussion: wireless cams. In GB they're everywhere, and in the U.S. they're growing rapidly. Why, just the other day I was standing at the window with my lover, naked, wondering aloud at the state of our Union. I had no idea the picture on the wall hid a camera! OK, seriously, beyond Big Brother, the things are cheap and available and could monitor driveways in the dark, etc. Any thoughts anyone?

P.S. I caught a show the other day on Discovery called 'It takes a Theif' that offered a rich family consultation by a pair of ex-burglars. It hit on most of the themes I think we're mentioning and, I hope, convinces peope they're not nearly as safe as they think they are.

 

That's a good show...it's a series. They show "secure" homeowners just how easy it is to break in.

Minister started this thread talking about missing and murdered children. Unfortunately, most of those cases don't start as a break in (even if you do believe the Jon Benet story). The common thread in those cases was the fact that the children were left alone. Today it may not even be safe to leave your kids unattended in your own backyard. There's another situation where a dog (especially one that is well trained) might be your best defense -- short of keeping them under observation at all times. I'm not trying to sound paranoid...I do let my kids play. But I've also checked the registered sex offender data base and made sure that they know what to do if they're approached.

I'm looking forward to some more great suggestions in this thread!

Jim

 

Dogs and Deadbolts are the best "easy fixes".

To Catch a Thied is a great show. I've seen a couple of episodes and it really makes you think about home security.

Matches

 

I too have looked into wireless cams, and I'm almost sure they can be hijacked. Most operate in a range of frequencies that could easily be picked up by anyone with a similar receiver, and the range I've seen quoted is about 100 yards.

My thought would be to put them outside so you can see what's out there, rather than the other way around. Then, if someone jacks your cam all they can see is that they're being watched. I've known a few folks who've done this to monitor driveways and it works pretty well. If you're willing to put in a little more dough, too, you can hook multiples up to the computer and access them online from remote 8)

Then again, I've always thought that if a thief is willing to go to extremes like that you're probably screwed no matter what.

 

If a pro wants to get in he will. The whole idea is to make your security difficult enought that the burglar will go find an easier target. There will always be an easier target somewhere.

Matches

 

I recently viewed some sort of newscast where a personal security expert was able to lure children into a wooded area with the classic "help me look for my lost puppy" ruse.

The security expert said that teaching children to stay away from strangers...NO MATTER WHAT...needs to be drilled into children EVERY DAY .