Why would you want home security? Well, that may seem like a silly question to some. After all, we all have locks on the door. But what else do you really need, and what is overkill? The amount of home security you use will be based on your perceived risk to crime and your exposure to loss. If someone is in a low crime area and has no accessible valuables, then he would be less interested in home security. If someone had items of high value in a high crime area, that person would be very interested in an extensive security system. Most people fall somewhere between these extremes. However, from experience, we can tell you that having your home or business burglarized is a traumatic experience. After the shock of feeling victimized, the anger, and despair from the loss of treasured possessions, you will want to do everything possible to prevent it from ever happening again. So take it from us, now is the time to plan ahead with due diligence. Force yourself to think about your home security, before someone else forces you to.

Home security should be treated with a "layered" approach. There are several layers of defense that are used to deter and prevent crime. By adding layers of protection, we make the your premises a harder target. By becoming a hard target, you will be less likely become a victim of crime. Our layers of security are based on studies conducted with former career burglars, and what they look for when deciding to break into a house. The burglar looks for a high value home (or a location that has valuables), that's easy to break into, with a low risk of getting caught. Oftentimes he will have thought out an plausible story for being on your property in the event he is confronted. He may scout out locations during the daytime and then return later. It's unlikely the professional burglar will randomly break into your house. He will scout out an area, pick a house, and then watch the house for a period of time. Sometimes this scouting process may take several weeks. He will monitor how many people come and go, what times is the house unoccupied, how many cars are in the driveway. Are there pets in the house? What costume does he need to work unnoticed? For instance one burglar dressed as a landscaper, even going as far as to carry a leaf blower to cover the noise of breaking glass. He broke in after the regular landscaper left. The neighbors didn't notice anything amiss because everything looked normal, and they didn't hear anything because of the leaf blower. The burglar carried jewelry and silverware out in a plastic garbage can used for grass clippings. The First Layer of Security is premised on the basis that the burglar will attempt to enter your house when you are not home. We will cover the scenario in which you confront a burglar in your home later on.

The appearance of your home is the first layer of security. This is the most basic component of an effective home security system. As they say, the first impression is the most important. Although there is no guarantee against breakins, there are a few simple steps residents can take to reduce their chances of victimization. The first step is to take a security survey of your home to identify those areas that could be made more secure. You need to harden you house against break-in commensurate with your exposure and the level of risk you can accept. If a burglar needs more than one or two minutes to break into a home, chances are he will leave for fear of being seen or of making too much noise.

Lighting.

Good outside lighting can be a deterrent to burglars. Criminals do not want to be seen, and they want to work undisturbed. Light those areas that are accessible to prowlers and visible to your neighbors. These include all doors and windows. Spot lights connected to motion detectors are very effective and help detect persons or movement on your property. Install photoelectric timers on your outside lights so they will go on and off with the rising and setting of the sun. The ensures you won't forget to turn them on and off.

Do not leave porch lights on during the day to burglars it's a sure sign that no one's home.

Connect timers to inside lighting and a loud radio or TV to give the house a lived-in appearance.

Landscaping.

Expose your house to the neighborhood.

Make sure bushes do not hide your door from view, making it possible for burglars to spend more time breaking in.

Bushes should be trimmed to below window level so that burglars can't have a secluded place to break into. Also, your visibility to your neighbors houses will be improved.

For larger shrubs, trim up from the ground three feet to increase exposure of anyone hiding behind them.

Hedges should be trimmed no higher than three feet.

Shrubbery provides not only cover for burglars, but hiding places for tools and stolen property.

Doors, Windows, and Locks.

Exterior doors should be solid, not hollow core. They should fit snugly in the frame and the hinges should not be exposed.

Sliding glass doors should have a dowel in the track to prevent opening. Place screws in the upper track so that they do not touch the door as it slides but prevents someone from lifting the door out of the track.

Double doors should have one side locked at all times by a heavy duty flush or surface bolts that go into metal strike plates. Deadbolts should also be used. Lock strikes should be securely fastened to the to the wood house framing with long screws. Strikes attached only to a wood door frame are insufficient to prevent the door from being forced open.

If a door has a window, or if there are windows adjacent to the door, a double cylinder deadbolt should be used. A double cylinder lock is one that needs a key on both sides to open the lock. A single cylinder lock uses a key on one side, and a knob on the other side. A person attempting to gain entry only needs to break a window and reach the knob to unlock the door with a single cylinder lock. When using a double cylinder lock, be sure to leave a spare key in a known and convenient location near the door so you or family members can quickly exit the house in the event of a fire.

Windows should be secure in the frames and capable of being securely locked. Window bars should be considered in high crime areas. Curtains should be drawn when your not home to keep the contents of your house and occupancy status unknown to persons outside.

Vacations. Make arrangements to suspend newspaper delivery and have a friend pick up your mail when away from home for an extended period.

Address Signs.

Make sure that your address is visible on our house and can be read from the street, especially at night. This helps to speed response by police and emergency personnel.

Do not leave ladders or tools accessible that will facilitate unauthorized access to the house.

Pets: A barking dog can be used as a deterrent to crime. Certainly anything that attracts attention to an intruder and alerts you is helpful. However, if your not home, burglars know that most pets will become tame and friendly when offered a treat. Professional K-9 police dogs are continually trained to accept food only from their master. Unless your dog has such training, don't count on him to provide a defense after the initial warning.

Security Warning Signs.

Have warning signs by windows, doors, and on the lawn indicating your house is protected by a security system. This lets criminals know that a break in will provoke an immediate response. Phony "Warning: These Premises Protected by the Acme Alarm Company" signs are usually not effective; a serious burglar need only look in the telephone directory to see whether an alarm company exists. Most companies won't let non customers display their emblem, and the burglars know that, too. Centrally Monitored alarm systems offer increased protection since they don't rely on your neighbors to call the police to respond.

The Second Layer of Security is electronic detection of break-in. Let's assume we've implemented the steps outlined previously, but we did not succeed in deterring the burglar from breaking into your house. We now fall back in our defenses to our second level of protection.

Electronic Security Systems consist of a control panel connected to various sensors that are designed to detect the presence of an intruder. The upon detection of an intruder, the control panel, using it's digital dialer, sends a signal to the central station over your phone line. The Central station then calls the premises to verify the alarm. If the premises cannot supply the proper password, the operator dispatches the police and notifies the specified parties on the contact list. You can specify whether you wish the police to be contacted first, or last (after calling the call notification list.)