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Home Security


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25 replies to this topic

#1 ScubaSis

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 02:54 PM

HOME SECURITY

What would you suggest in the way of cameras, alarms and lighting??

How does a person go about finding the proper company to install these things for the best results??

Take into consideration that the person can't "DO IT YOURSELF".

Maybe we can all learn something or at least strengthen our awareness....all examples and input are welcome!!
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#2 Guest_PlatypusMan_*

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 04:11 PM

HOME SECURITY

What would you suggest in the way of cameras, alarms and lighting??

How does a person go about finding the proper company to install these things for the best results??

Take into consideration that the person can't "DO IT YOURSELF".

Maybe we can all learn something or at least strengthen our awareness....all examples and input are welcome!!



The first question you need to ask yourself is: "What do I need to protect?"

Frankly, most folks do not have the kinds of items in their homes that require excessive amounts of security to be protected. We do not all live in mansions, nor do we have ostentatious displays of wealth and furnishings that can be easily transported and turned into handy cash.

To answer that question properly, look to what you have insured against loss in your home, determine how easy it would be to take it OUT of the home in your absence, and your answer will become apparent--from a physical goods standpoint. Concern about personal safety should also be factored into the equation.

Second question: "What is the likelihood that my house would be hit?"

This goes to the area crime statistics of where your house is physically located--are there breaches of homes in your vicinity? Neighborhood? Is there a rising trend of break-ins happening in your town that appears headed your way? Law enforcement response time? This gives you an analysis of desirability of certain security features.

Having written the above, let's now take a look a some things to consider in any home security situation.

DOORS

The most common way to enter a house is the door--front back side and garage doors, either by forcing them or someone leaving them unlocked. To minimize this, learn to lock the door (duh) or get self-locking doors that do so automatically when they close after you. If you have a spare door key 'hidden' outside the house in one of those fake 'rocks' or the like (and you feel you must do this), then at least hide the carrier at a doorway/place far away from the door itself so that the connection is not immediately obvious. If you have a garage door opener and you park your vehicle outside, get in the habit of taking the opener control out of the car and into the house with you. It's remarkably quick to break into a vehicle, take the opener and use it to gain entry through a garage and then the house.

Windows

At my home--a single-story affair-- you have to struggle through the nice, sharp-leaved holly bushes in front of each window in order to gain access to the interior. The idea is to make such access attempts too much effort for potential thieves, as well as painfully uncomfortable.

Lighting

Each of my main doors has a motion-sensor that turns on the lights when something draws near it. Guess who hates light when skulking about? Remember to check them periodically for proper function.

Alarm system(s)

There are a variety of alarm systems out there that can vary from simple sirens going off at a perimeter breach to those that have sensors in the building telling you (and a central substation) just what tripped the alarm; fire, breach, smoke or if you triggered a medical alert from inside the home. Some even have backup wireless and power supplies that will keep them functioning even if power has been cut to your home for any reason. Many of these systems also have a perimeter mode that allows you to turn on the alarm while you stay within the confines of your house and go off if there's a breach, allegedly triggering an alert to a central station, who will then alert authorities after calling you to verify that all is or is not well.

Whatever level of coverage you choose, at a bare minimum, the system should cover doors, windows and have motion sensors within the home itself that activate while you are away from the home.

Which alarm company?

The tried-and-true method for recommendation is probably your insurance company. They have a vested interest in keeping your belongings and you safe, and may even have a deal with certain firms that score you a discount on the service you get.

Hope this helps--dashed this all off the top of my head.

#3 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 04:50 PM

I live in a moderate, 1300 sq ft house in suburbia....and my front door was kicked in December 2010, in a smash-and-grab. They only got a 42 inch flat screen TV, but I was PISSED than my sanctuary had been violated.
The door was connected to my alarm system, which is monitored by a 3rd party alarm company. They contacted me right away, but it took the cops 20 minutes to arrive. The pissants were long gone by then.

It's not so much the things I want to protect, although I worked hard to earn them. I'm a female living alone, so I'm mostly trying to protect myself. The alarm will wake me in plenty of time to get my secondary system....and take the safety off!

I have all 3 doors and all the ground floor windows connected to the alarm, and have several motion detectors. I use a cell service alarm system. No outside phone wires to cut and disable the system!

I had to take a harder look at my home's vulnerabilities, and took what action I could after the smash-and-grab. Nobody will ever be able to kick that front door in again, but I can't enter the house through that door at the end of the day, either.. I also put curtains in my garage windows so nobody can see if the vehicle is home or not....and I installed timers set to random settings on several lamps throughout the house. I installed front & back porch lights that come on automatically when the sun goes down. Even if I'm halfway around the world diving somewhere, it will appear as if someone is in the house. Even when I'm at home, it looks like there is more than 1 person in the house with lights going on & off at various times.

If it deters the next pissant, that's a good thing!
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#4 drdiver

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 05:14 PM

HOME SECURITY

What would you suggest in the way of cameras, alarms and lighting??

How does a person go about finding the proper company to install these things for the best results??

Take into consideration that the person can't "DO IT YOURSELF".

Maybe we can all learn something or at least strengthen our awareness....all examples and input are welcome!!


Here's my 2 cents worth.

Do you have a privacy fence around your house (not a chain mail)?

Get a metal front and rear door.

Having the sign that you have a security system is as big a deterrent as having one.

My daughter's house was recently broken into even though she had a security system. Response times in a lot of neighborhoods is tens of minutes for police. You may have a neighborhood watch warden or neighborhood association that can give you insight into this. Many neighborhoods have this available on the web now. At any rate this is plenty of time for a lot to be lifted from your home.

John's comments on lights are spot light on (pun intended). My daughter's house had the one window broken that wasn't lighted. Now her house looks like Midway at the State Fair at night.

Have curtains or hanging so that people can't see inside your house easily. Put wooden dowels snugly in the corners of your window frames so that they can't be opened (this is better than the locks on them and augments their function. When they break your windows, they go for the locks, but don't think of the dowels. They'll push on that window until the cops catch them.

If you have things delivered like furniture take a picture of the delivery men when you are taking pictures of your new goodies. Guaranteed deterrent if they are potential thieves scoping out your house for things like your 60 inch plasma. Take the card out of the camera and keep it somewhere where it isn't easily found.

I'm a firm believer in dogs. Small dogs have better hearing than big dogs so two different size dogs are good. Dogs scare people because they are unpredictable. They might rip your arm off; they might lick your flashlight; you never know. Do you want to take the chance? Some burglars do, some don't. Reduction in the odds of being robbed, again.

Have a good inventory of your house (video record as well) with serial numbers and models of expensive stuff. Keep it somewhere outside your house (this is good for a fire too). Consider a safe deposit box for your expensive jewelry or collectibles if you have them or get a safe mounted into the floor of your closet or garage with dead end bolts. Difficult to remove and time consuming for thieves. If you have guns, get a gun safe.

Home defense controversial topic for many. My own. Again dogs as early warning system. 9mm Sig in bedroom drawer, clip in gun, but no rounds chambered and clip is not set. If you have kids, this is a no-no. Once my grandson is bigger, I'll probably switch to a biometric hand gun safe. Large maglite flashlight next to bed, 20 gauge Winchester Defender with rifled slugs under the dresser. Never go anywhere without a knife. And a few other things I won't mention. But if you have these things mentally prepare yourself to use them. Many people aren't ready to kill another human being and I totally respect that. Don't have a gun then and get bigger dogs.

Always leave lights on and have some kind of music going in your house when you aren't there. If you are gone for more than a day, use timers. They make timers now that change the time they come on every day. Possibly useful. Again, unpredictability is a preventative.

Just my two drachmas worth.

D

Edited by drdiver, 29 February 2012 - 05:16 PM.

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#5 georoc01

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 06:35 PM

Remember to check with your HOA if you have one on some of these. Some have rules on outdoor lighting or even what type of front door you can have installed.

I agree on a dog. Easy to install, can be a pain to maintain, but OTOH, provides benefits that the other options don't.

#6 Bubbles

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 07:19 PM

It's not so much the things I want to protect, although I worked hard to earn them. I'm a female living alone, so I'm mostly trying to protect myself. The alarm will wake me in plenty of time to get my secondary system....and take the safety off!

That's why I have a 90+ pound German Shepherd! He is a great security system.
"If life gives you limes, make margaritas." – Jimmy Buffett

#7 Guest_PlatypusMan_*

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 07:31 PM


It's not so much the things I want to protect, although I worked hard to earn them. I'm a female living alone, so I'm mostly trying to protect myself. The alarm will wake me in plenty of time to get my secondary system....and take the safety off!

That's why I have a 90+ pound German Shepherd! He is a great security system.


I know a little GERMAN as well.

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 08:01 PM

I grew up in a house that was burglarized 6-7 times a year. The cops gave us lots of pointers, not much worked to keep them out but you can minimize what they can get.

1) put dowels on the windows so they cannot open them
2) put drapes or blinds on the windows so they cannot see in. If they don't know whether there is a guy with a shotgun on the other side, then they won't come in that window. They consistently came in the same windows for us and those windows were basically uncovered. They ignored the other windows. Finally replaced them with plexiglass and that stopped that.
3) put double barrel locks on all doors. Those take a key to open on the inside. If they break in and realize they can't open the doors then they sometimes just leave empty handed. We experienced this many times over. This limits them to what they take in their pockets since it becomes a risky logistical challenge to take anything else. I still use double barrel locks today. If they break windows next the the locks they still can't open the doors. That is the primary way of getting in. This is my biggest advice.

Having been burglarized that many times I still won't get a security system. Not once have I ever personally seen a house with a security system recover anything after if it was burglarized and I know of many houses with them that have been burglarized. The cops here won't respond at all unless you paid for a permit and even then its low priority. The burglars know that they have a good 15-20 minutes on average so silent alarms don't stop them.

The one system I have seen that worked was a non-silent alarm that set off a very loud horn when tripped. My neighbor had one of those as a kid. When it went off all the neighbors came out to try to catch the sorry SOB that has been breaking into their houses. I don't think any burglar ever stuck around when that horn went off and she never lost anything to a burglar.

#9 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 08:12 PM

My alarm makes the ungodly noise Scott mentioned....hopefully that's the reason I only lost one TV. If they had just gone upstairs instead of downstairs, they could have gotten my really nice 55 inch plasma, tons of jewelry, or (gasp) all my precious dive gear!
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#10 Sharklover

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Posted 29 February 2012 - 10:07 PM

Ask neighbors and friends for a recommendation of a security company. I have been using the same local small business for many years. Some of the larger companies will try to sell you more than you need. I have been sold what I need, no more, and the monitoring costs, which have been 1/2 what the larger companies charge, have been very reliable and fast to respond.

I too have a secondary security system and am quite talented at the use of it. It lies at the ready not 4 feet from my bed.

Girl has to do what she has to do when she lives in the hood and lives alone.
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#11 georoc01

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Posted 01 March 2012 - 09:07 AM

Of course, maybe adopting a rescue panther may be the way to go..



#12 Jerrymxz

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Posted 01 March 2012 - 03:23 PM

A handgun with a caliber that starts with a 4. Too many stories of 9mm or lesser rounds not being enough gun for a quick resolution. In your house both distance to your target and time to react will be very short. The police will be by in 10 or 15 minutes, if your lucky, to clean up the mess. A sturdy gun safe to keep all the truly valuable things secure.

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#13 ScubaSis

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Posted 01 March 2012 - 07:13 PM

Wow!! You all have such great information! :respect:

I'm afraid I have gotten too comfortable around my home. This was recently brought to my attention!! Thank goodness nothing severe was done here, but it has REALLY made me stop and think!!

Where I live the chances are slim to none of totally securing my house......it's "ME" I want to protect....as LLDN said.

I have guns for protection and I thought I had dogs, but I'm learning they must be getting hard of hearing in their old age! Either that or they are too self involved when they have a bowl of food in front of them! :lmao:

You all have given me some wonderful suggestions and several that I can implement!!

:thankyou: and Keep em coming!!
Handle every stresssful situation like a dog.
If you can't eat it or play with it,
Just pee on it and walk away.

#14 ScubaSis

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Posted 01 March 2012 - 07:32 PM

BTW.....I Love the Rescue panther!! :teeth:
Handle every stresssful situation like a dog.
If you can't eat it or play with it,
Just pee on it and walk away.

#15 TCdamsel

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Posted 01 March 2012 - 07:54 PM

HOME SECURITY

What would you suggest in the way of cameras, alarms and lighting??

How does a person go about finding the proper company to install these things for the best results??

Take into consideration that the person can't "DO IT YOURSELF".

Maybe we can all learn something or at least strengthen our awareness....all examples and input are welcome!!



If you have things delivered like furniture take a picture of the delivery men when you are taking pictures of your new goodies. Guaranteed deterrent if they are potential thieves scoping out your house for things like your 60 inch plasma. Take the card out of the camera and keep it somewhere where it isn't easily found.


D


I've had a zillion people in and out of my house since I purchased it in July, due to construction, redecorating, etc. It has really spooked me and I've had my locks changed twice already. This is such a good idea!!!! Thanks!! And I'll take one those rescue panthers, please, George!

Edited by TCdamsel, 01 March 2012 - 07:55 PM.

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