Better inexpensive home security

Security is anything that safegaurd your existance. Often we get fooled into believing that security is only the things supplied by buisiness.

As the old saying goes locks are for honest people. You have to take intrest in your own security. Think through and plan, set up something that would suit your own situation.

Assess your risk factor - something we never think about. Think about where you stay and what really happens in your area.

Plan accordingly layering your security. To quote something I found on http://www.CovertPro.info/voorbeeld/index.php Security should be set up like an onion, layered. Layer after layer would slow down the intruder (if not stopped). The more time he spends on the premises, the better the chance to chatch him.

These are things wich can rarely be done for you. You have to think it through, collect your own data and plan your own safety.

Remember, light and time is two of the enemys when you are an intruder.

Start with the alarm system you have in at the moment. Before worrying about extewnding ar changing, considder the following:
Do you test it regularly?
Do you know what all of the buttons are for?
Test your system at least once every three months. Be sure it works when you need it. Rather apollogise for using for a false alarm than end up dead because it did not work. That includes things like medical situations. Choking to death on a chiken bone while you could have had assistance by pushing a button is not funny. Specially when your last thought is that your obituary will read, ' he did not know wich button on the keypad were for medical assistance".

Point is : know your system.

Knowing its limitations also means you can make small changes in the enviorment. Little things like cuting away shrubs or moving furniture that blocks the view of the alarms eye will go a long way.

We once had an intruder crawling around on the floor of a shop causing damage for two whole hours before the alarm picked him up. The secutity cameras saw him, the alarm did not. Till he got careless anyway.

Give it some thought. Extend the capability of your existing system to the maximum. Think about little things like movimg in a mirror to change the censors field or angle of vision.

I can spen an etirnity on these things, but I will try to stick to what I saw happen.

It still is the little things that can bring you down. Something small like leaving your keys hanging inside a door once you locked up, or leaving them within reach of an open window can end up being very expensive.

A little while ago I had to help a client who locked himself out of his house by accident (shortminded like me). He had fabulous burglar bars. Nothing short of a grinder would open them. We didn't have to go to that lenth though. He left a window open for the cat. A broomhandle and two feet of wire got the spare keys from the bookshelf where he kept them agains the side wall.

Think about it. Go around your home and take a carefull look at where you keep keys or leave valubles. Many a laptop dissapeared through an open window while its owner turned his back. Yes, some of them even try to do it while you are watching.

Go around an take a carefull look at door locks and window latches. Tightening loose latches and and making sure bolts fit propperly may be the only deterrent the opportunist needs. Fitting deadbolts are standard in some places, Are you going to be sorry you did not fit any (or use the ones you have)?

Doors and locks is quite another story. Do you know that the weakest point in the door. Beats me why someone would cut a hole into a solid post and then think it is still solid. That is what we all do though. Cut a hole and put a lock inside. That weakens the structure of the door. Have you seen the guy in the movies kiking in the door. I saw a couple of those in real life. Amazing ...

The guy I helped with his keys in the previous module had the most beautifull garden, nothing out of place. No garden tools in the yard (your garden tools can kill you you know). The wire came from the fence an the broom someone left outside. This guy never even had dry branches in his tree we could use.

Point is, a garden shed that is left unlocked supplies the most interesting array of tools to break through your security.

Its not onley unlocked shed doors that creates a problem. An outside toilet tucked away on some corner of your house not onley provides a great hiding place. Once inside you can break your way through the ceiling unobserved. Once in the roof getting into the house is not a problem.

The garden itself also has a lot of potential to keep you safe. First off though, keep it tidy, it sends a message. When it looks sloppy, the intruder expect sloppy security, it becomes an easy choice.

It is small things that makes the intruder think twice, like that outsize doghouse with only its backside visible. Ad a very large bowl with something like savage written on it (name visible over the fence) and they all think twice. Even if they dont see the dog. Even the armed response officer thinks twice when your alarm goes off.