How well do you know your home?

Let's look at some reasons why a effective low cost home security system is beneficial to you and your family. 1.) Family Safety. I am sure we can all agree that we do not want anyone in our family to be hurt in any fashion. Truth is when a home invasion takes place, the bad guys will always go for the protector. And usually men are targeted first. When they over come the men, the rest Is assured to be easier targets. So less effort to overwhelm the females and children can be accomplished with the "Protector" out of the way. 2.) Insurance. This is the most common reason most people don't realize is that insurance companies will reduce your insurance premiums once they know your home is secured with security devices. Reason for this is that the "Bad Guys" are caught on film and even sometimes the make, model and description of the vehicles they used. And the recovery rate is much higher in retrieving the items and catching the culprits. 3.) Peace of Mind. I like the idea of being in complete control of my home. If I can control every camera in my home from 2000 miles away, I know that I can deter bad guys once at the front or back door with my voice. They truly have no idea where I really am but through devices like Ring, it has a survallance camera that is enabled by WIFI, it notifies me when the motion sensor goes off seconds before somebody knocks on my door. And I can answer them through the door bell telling them "I'm not interested, have a nice day." I love the idea how these devices can be the leverage that gives me access and control over my home and who enters. If on a Saturday morning I don't feel like getting out of bed, I can monitor my cameras right from the comfort of my bed.

A FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE FOR YOUR HOME

Here are some tips to help you be more in control of your home. 1.) DONT POST YOUR VACAION PLANS OR PICTURES ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Burglars often use "public" facebook or social media sites to canavass or search for "potential victims" that will be gone from their homes or business. If you decide you must post pictures to your facebook or social media, change the "privacy" settings to only your friends or you can see these pictures and posts. 2.) Install a motion detection light on your front and back doors. The motion will set off the lights. I usually recommend a flood light bulb for your backyard. This way if the would be burglar tries to cover a "Blind" area the lights will scare them off. The last thing they need is a witness to identify them breaking into a home. Buy a cheap, inexpensive timer for your lights and entertainment. So this way when the sun is about to go down, the lights and entertainment will be turned on, so the appearance looks like someone is indeed home. Burglars spend much time "Casing" the homes that they suspect will have lots of items or money laying around. Usually, a family or friend that comes over to visit are usually the ones who tell others about what your home looks like. Most of the time not purposely to set you up but inadvertaly set off a chain of events that lead you to becoming a victim. The best way is to keep your valuables locked away from plain sight when people come to visit. This reduces greatly of someone telling a potential burglar what you have in your home.

3.)DOUBLE CHECK YOUR DOOR AND WINDOWS BEFORE LEAVING.

The most common mistake people make even with all the security features installed is a door or window left open on the first levels, or even on the second level where the burglar has access to gain entry. If all of your windows and doors are locked, professional burglars wont go through the trouble of trying to 'break into' your home. They will ring the doorbell to see if anyone answers. They have a story to tell if someone answers the door. But in cases where no one answers the door, they may very well break in. It was thought or a common misconception was this was only during the cover of night time. Most burglars have found a way to commit even the largest burglaries during daytime, especially when the home owners are away at work. Ground level windows are the preferred method of entry in most burglaries. You can reinforce your windows being locked with a lock bar that is inexpensive. This locks the windows securely enough to prevent burglars from entering your home.

4.) Car keys and House Keys

This has been a widely discussed and disputed subject. My experience has been to leave a second set buried somewhere it would be the least likely place the burglars would even look, or keep a second set in your car. When you are home, I would encourage you to keep your car keys in your night stand. Reason for this is simply this, when a home invasion is taking place, a car siren going off alerts your neighbors that some thing is wrong at your place. Even if the cops were just driving by and sees this, they pay attention. This would suggest to the burglar to leave quickly.

5.) Answering your doors after hours.

This one I am very excited to talk about with you. This has been an Midwest tradition but after sun goes down, as a family we don't answer the door for any reason. If some one is persistant, claiming that their car broke down, or they ran over a cat and they are trying to locate the owner of the said cat. I usually just call the police and let them take the risk of talking to the person. If it is a legitimate concern they are more equipt to deal with these kinds of emergencies. The choice is relatively up to you and your home, but after hours are usually when we are settling down for the night before bed, and we lock up our home or office before relaxing for the night.

6.) DISPLAYING THE 2ND ADMENDMENT

This has been such a big controversy in the United States in the past few years. I will present to you some facts and truths so you can make up your own mind. Just to be clear, these are statistical facts and my own feelings. Im going to present you pro's and con's on this. The Pro; while having displayed a sticker , door mat that says your a proud second Admendment supporter, this will let the potential burglar know that you are armed and ready to shoot to defend your home. Most bad guys think about two things when watching a home. Soft-Target is when the home has zero defensive capabilities. A smash and grab then run. A Hard-Target is when the home is under a defensive capability. Video survallance, armed, or a alarm system in place. hard targets bad guys tend to advoid, because they realize there is a potential to get caught or get killed. And this is not really an option they are willing to risk, unless there is something in your home that they cannot live without. Ok, now the CON's, gun theft is on the rise in our country more than ever since the political landscape has been trying to control beyond the second admendment allows, citizens have been taking up arm to protect themselves. bad guys don't need to search high and low to find a gun to steal. If they know your gone and you have a gun in your home, they will break in and steal it. Then they can flip a gun very easily, making cash or use it in a commission of a crime to gain more money. Often times, it can be advoided. I suggest that you don't display anything to bring attention to yourselves. keep things relatively simple. Over time you can prevent and deter bruglaries from your home or business. I can tell you when I served as a Bank Protection Officer, my neighbors knew my job, and that I always carried a gun. So word got around not to try robbing this man and his family. While this maybe effective in a relative long term solution, it could have a impact in my relations with those who don't like guns. So the choice is yours and how your use this information. Just remember not everyone needs to know you carry. Most cases, the successful defensive shootings came from concealed carry.

7. PLANT THORNY PLANTS NEAR YOUR WINDOWS.

This can be an enjoyable thing to do, and a great prevention tool. Plant a rose bush or cati next to your home under your window. Keep the plants trimmed to just below the window still, and leaving no room between the plant and the wall of the house. The burglars don't like getting pricked, while trying to climb into a house. Same time while they are tying to look into your window to see if anyone is home, they stick out in the open trying to peer into your home. your neighbors will see them much better, and can notify the police in your absence.

I hope this gives you some hope and encouragement to consider putting together some practical uses in place for your home and or business. Just to add, my family and I do fire drills every month. When we became a victim of a home invasion the first day we moved into our new home, we have been practicing home invasion drills. We have open discussions about what to do, and our communication efforts with each other and the police. We have developed a code name the police must call out, and a code word I will call out to allow the police know that I am the armed Homeowner. So this way there is not any confusion as to who is the intruder and who is the home owners. This saves lives and paper work.

I want to thank you for reading our first blog newsletter, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email us at shawnstarry@homesecurityconsultantllc.com.

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