Being Safe at Home: Security tips on how to reduce the risk of your house being robbed Updated

Neighborhood Alliance of Security Alert

Breaking into a house is so common these days and is so easy. A person can easily get a bump key (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpH_t0u5Ybg) and use it to break into the house from the front door.They are keys that are cut in a certain way to pick pin tumbler locks  (which are the most popular locks) and literally knock the pins in a lock and release it in a matter of seconds and get into your house before you had a chance to even know what is going on. What you can do to minimize these types of break-ins is to get a high security key (http://www.generallockcorp.com/high-security-locks/). They are a lock, cylinder and a special key that cannot be duplicated. The lock and cylinder are design to make it very hard to bump the lock and release the pins to unlock the door and will most likely discourage the criminal from further attempts to gain assess through that door.

Although many doors appear to be strong, criminals have been able to gain entry by kicking or using heavy force to break the door frame down.  The quick and easy solution is to get a security bar and place it against the door knob and plant it firmly on the ground. These are readily available at many retail stores including Target. However, reinforcing the door frame with something like a  strike master may be quite helpful and even more effective.

Many burglaries I have heard about and researched about have been the result of doors being unlocked, garage doors being left opened or side gate doors and sliding doors left unlocked.

Popular entry into the house is through the backyard. One of the best investments you can make is installing cameras around your perimeter and within your house. Popular ones include:

  1. Nest Cameras (hard wired connections), high resolution cameras and has hearing and speaking capabilities.
  2. Arlo Cameras (Wi-Fi) high resolution cameras, rechargeable batteries and has hearing and speaking capabilities.
  3. Ring (it has front door ring and camera, side door or backyard camera, siren, flood light and motion detectors and is Wi-Fi). They have high resolution cameras and for a small fee you can pay to have great storage for recording feature activated by movement. The Ring has hearing and speaking capabilities.

If you feel a need for further protection or security, you may want to consider getting an alarm system for your residence. However, avoid getting a system from a company that offers security monitoring services as one of the many services they offer. Many do not do direct security monitoring but contract with a security company. Services and response time to any activation of the alarm or emergency may be delayed or non-existent. It is best to get a company that specializes only in security services. ADT security has been in the industry for 140 years and is the oldest security systems around. 

If you get a security company, installation of an audible siren is imperative. Many of the default or cheapest sirens are not loud enough to deter a robbery. Upgrade to the highest decibel siren possible to make it piercing to the ears and hopefully shorten the length of the robbery. Having motion detectors strategically placed around the house is very important. Having an external siren is very important in alerting a neighbor of the crime in progress.

Besides the above, having door and window sensors are usually standard for alarm systems. In addition, adding an impact sensor in the room with a sliding door can be helpful in activating the alarm immediately.  Recent burglary in our neighborhood bypassed the door sensors by breaking the glass next to the sliding door and entering the house without activating the alarm. In order to fully protect this type of entry, a security screen from Arrow Window

Window Security Screen may be what you need. It is a combination of beauty and protection and is unbreakable made of stainless steel

I have found that many people either forget to close their garage door or have a malfunction garage door. This happens sometimes with the sensors are knocked out of alignment and the two garage sensors lose communication. Other times, it is the garage door unit that needs to be adjusted. There is the Door Doctor in Pleasanton (https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-door-doctor-pleasanton) that specializes in these problems. ADT has a garage door sensor that detects if it is opened or not. That also have a special sensor that can be added to existing garage door systems and will alert you via text if the garage door is opened and you can close it remotely from an app.

Xfinity offers security services but from my experience they don’t actually monitor and contract with another company to do the security monitoring for them. The response time to a security alert from my experiences has been quite delayed or non-existent. I have switched back to ADT and have been quite happy ever since.

Having a canine companion can be the best deterrent to crime so I highly recommend it. Besides your friend or companion will help you live a happier and longer life. There are also canine motion detector units out there but the reliability has not their strong point. Sometimes posting Warning Dog placards outside the house is enough to have the robber think twice. You can get them at Lowe’s.

Despite all the above, having a network of neighbors that are watchful of strangers in the neighborhood and strange activities is extremely helpful. If we can communicate with one another of anyone or any car that is suspicious then we can be on the alert and call the police department if necessary.

  1. Have someone install window security film on:

a. the small windows besides the front door to avoid easy break in the front door. Once the small window or windows are broken, the criminal can easily reach in the door knob to open the door.

b. the back sliding glass door and the glass adjacent to that since smashing the back glass door is a common method of entry (they can be purchased from Amazon and Home Depot). You can also put it in any other area that you feel might be vulnerable or an easy break in area.

2. Avoid keeping valuables at home and especially in the Master Bedroom. This room is the number one place the criminals will check for valuables. Better to put in a bank safety box or bolted vault placed in the garage. The criminals know the profiles of the neighborhood and know that certain communities will have much jewelries or gold. If we take away their prize or our treasures and store them somewhere safe eventually word will get out that your community doesn’t keep valuables at home and that will discourage them from striking at your neighborhood.  Mice don’t go to places where there is no food. Likewise, criminals only go to areas where there is something to fill their pockets.

3. Form patrol groups in the community to do a patrol through the neighborhood or a regular basis. Communities that have done that have had a drop in crime rate.

4. Install an external alarm so that when an alarm is in progress, the neighborhood would know and will respond appropriately. 

5. Make sure that your home siren has the highest decibel possible. Many sirens are so quiet, it doesn’t even bother the criminal. I had mine switched to the loudest one that ADT had and the sound it piercing and annoying to anyone trying to break in. Test your alarm and see if it bothers you are not. If it is not too annoying then upgrade.

6. Get an inside impact sensor. If any glass in the perimeter of the sensor shatters, it will activate the alarm system or siren. I recommend placing one in the living room, family room and other places that may be a high risk area for break ins.

7. Install external security cameras and place them strategically to capture images of the cars parked out in front. This is very important in helping the police identify and capture the criminals. With no pictures, videos or leads, the police have nothing to go by and crime will continue. If we capture them on photo or video, it gives the police a better chance to catch them. Once news gets out that we are a community with cameras all over, the criminals will begin to go to other communities instead.

8. Do not leave anything valuable in your car that can be seen from the window.  Anything that draws attention or curiosity will increase your likelihood of a break in.

9. Notify your neighborhood watch group and the police department when you go on vacation. The police can do a drive by on the days you are on vacation and check you premise in your absence. This is paid by the city.

10. Contact your police department to do a consult of how to further reduce your risk of a break in. The city offers a free 45 minutes consultation.

11. Always lock all doors and windows when you are not home or upstairs. Make sure to always locks the gate that leads to the side of the house. The number one entry point is going to the backyard and breaking the back sliding glass door. There are security screens you can purchase online which are unbreakable.

12. Contract with a License Reader company. They can set up cameras in your neighborhood and place them in strategic locations to take pictures of all cars coming and going. The pictures have excellent resolution and companies have great success with assisting law enforcement with the arrest of criminals. Once words gets out about the neighborhood under surveillance, criminal activity is expected to drop drastically.

13. When going out alone in the dark, it is important to have some type of protection like pepper spray, mace or a stun gun. Check you city and state ordinance regarding usage and purchase.

14. Everyone should at least learn basic self-defense.

It is unfortunate that we live in a world where home burglary occurs but if we follow the recommendations I have suggested based on my observations, analysis, personal experiences, attendance of police safety meetings, home owner safety meetings and talking to people who have been burglarized as well as consulting with a former neighbor who is a FBI agent, we can reduce our risk and probability with getting our house burglarized and live with more peace of mind.

Warm Regards,

Blake Sinclair, author of Dare to Imagine and Beyond Imagination and Internationally Recognized Blogger.

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