DiAnne Crown wrote an article for the Northwest Senior (The Herald, (Tuesday, January 2, 2007) on home security, that included a number of practical tips from Security Experts.
There are two categories of home security – those that give you peace of mind and those that reduce the risk of burglary. The most obvious and least expensive suggestion offered is to keep your bushes and trees trimmed. Overgrowth can prevent streetlights from illuminating your house. Privacy is all well and good, but a patrolling police car or your neighbors for that matter, will not be able to see what is going on at your place. So, the first step is to trim back your trees and hedges so that your house is visible from the streets.
The second suggestion is a motion detector/light on the back door, driveway leading to the garage, back and upstairs windows, or any other dark spots.
The third suggestion is to inspect your house for accessibility, particularly access to upper floors. Tall trees, porch roofs, decks, or even ladders that have been left out can make it easy to get into your house.
Sturdy locks and solid doors are important security features, as most burglaries are by forced entry. A high quality metal lock and strike plate, a 1 inch dead bold, 3 inch screws, and even remembering to re-key the locks when you move into a new house can be important. The door itself should be solid, with no glass or hollow core. If you like glass it should be on the side of the door opposite the handle and lock so that people can not reach in to unlock your door after breaking the glass.
Join or organize a “Neighborhood Watch” group. These groups are the eyes and ears of the local police department. “Neighborhood Watch” encourages neighbors to get to know each other, and help each other watch for unusual activity in the neighborhood.
What about an electronic security system? A basic system includes sensors on the perimeter doors and any doors to an attached garage, as well as interior motion detectors and 24 hour monitoring. When an alarm goes off, and the owner cannot be reached, the police are notified. The best protection is to use reliable equipment and have it professional installed. For a less sophisticated set-up that you can do yourself, you can find a do-it-yourself kit called Plug’n Power Wireless Home Security System. The basic kit includes a motion detector, two window and door alarms, the main control panel and a key-chain remote operating control. The system provides an audible alarm and will dial up to 10 phone numbers with an alert message when the alarm is activated.
The key is common sense. If someone really wants to get into your home they can do it even if you have a sophisticated set up. What a security system can do for you is to make it more difficult for them to get into your home than someone else’s.
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