Home Security (Inner and Outer Perimeter)
In my last blog entry, I spoke about home security challenges specific to TMI (too much information) being posted on-line announcing when you will be away from home, and how the criminal element is using this information to their advantage. Today’s blog entry is specific to “target hardening” your home, and what you can do to make it look less attractive to a criminal by increasing their chances of being seen, heard, and caught.
When it comes to target hardening your home, I like to take a layered approach or what I like to call protecting the “outer” and “inner” perimeter. Whenever a criminal is looking to commit a break and enter, they will usually always conduct a “pen test” (penetration test) first, to ascertain if the house chosen will be a safe target to hit. This pen test can include:
·Visual observation from the street looking for overt security measures like posted alarm signs.
·Walking up and knocking on the door to see if anyone is home
·Phoning into the home to see if anyone will answer
·Throwing a rock through a window to see if an alarm will sound
Through proper target hardening strategies we can:
·Deter the crime from taking place thus causing the criminal to pick an easier target
·Detect the crime before it takes place via outer and inner perimeter warning systems
·Defuse the Crime before entry is gained, and
·Defend our home via using proper locks, window protection, lighting, and alarms
OUTER PERIMETER:
If we could first deter the crime from taking place that would be most desirable. So to secure your outer perimeter, here are some thoughts for your consideration:
1.Post signage that your home is guarded via a reputable alarm company. If a criminal sees’ that your home is alarmed and the one next door is not, they are more likely to hit the home that is not alarmed.
2.Ensure that the exterior of your home is well illuminated, especially at night. Lighting should illuminate the exterior property and not necessarily the home in isolation.
3.Ensure that possible entry points into your home (doors and windows) are not hidden from view via fencing or shrubbery.
4.Think about installing an early alert system to let you know when someone has driven down your driveway, or is approaching your home from the back yard. A cost effective and reliable system on the market is called “Voice Alert Driveway and Home System” http://www.voicealert.us/
5.Get your neighbors to join a block watch program, and ensure that the police department posts signs advising that your neighborhood subscribes to the block watch program.
INNER PERIMETER:
If the outer perimeter target hardening measures have not worked, we now need to concentrate on the inner perimeter with the primary goal of making the home harder to break into. So to secure the inner perimeter, here are some thoughts for your consideration.
1. Install a good “audible” alarm system, and ensure that it is monitored locally. Some alarm company monitoring stations are located outside of Canada. I want a local company who knows everything about where I live. You want to ensure that every entry door into the home is outfitted with contact alarms, as well as every ground floor window where entry can be gained. You may also want to ensure that you install motion sensors on every floor, but be mindful of pets. Even if you have pets, most modern motion alarm sensors make allowances for animals. In most cases you will want to have two control pads, one by the primary door that you walk in and out of the house from, and a second in the master bedroom. I would also suggest that you consider installing a system that uses a “line cut” option that immediately alerts the monitoring center that your phone line has been cut, as many criminals now cut phone lines knowing that most alarm systems are monitored via the residential phone line, and such action also prevents the homeowner from calling police should they be inside the residence.
2. Given that most break and enters are committed via kicking a door in, ensure that you install quality solid core doors on all exterior entry/exit points (including any that may lead into a garage) and outfit these doors with a quality locking mechanism. One of the best on the market is called the “Ultimate Lock” that can be located at http://www.theultimatelock.com/ The Ultimate lock does the job, and does it well.
3. Given that the second common way that access in gained into a residence is through a ground floor or basement window, you want to ensure that they are protected via proper track locks (not wooden dowling) http://www.buylockbox.com/sliding-track-locks.html .I would also suggest that you look at installing glass break protection film via a product such as the one offered here :http://www.shattergard.com/home.html
4. The last layer of protection inside your home, (if you can’t get out) should be your safe room which can usually be your master bedroom. Here again you want to have a good solid core door, a secondary locking system like the OnGard Door Brace http://www.globalsecurityexperts.com/ , a cell phone to call 911 should the phone line be cut and here in Canada, a big can of bear spray should the intruder actually make it into your safe room.
For those of you who are looking for more detailed information on how to target harden your home, (plus many other personal safety topics) I would suggest purchasing our book "Total Awareness". Just click on the following link, Total Awareness Book
Darren
The Urban Sheepdog
