Today’s society is proving that at times, just having a home security system isn’t enough to protect your home. It’s necessary to go further a few extra steps to help ensure that nobody messes with you or your family. One or several of these accessories can greatly reduce the chances of having an intruder.
This is one of the simplest yet most effective means of preventing a nighttime intruder. There are two elements that night intruders hate the most: light and noise. Lighting up darkened areas brings unwanted attention to them, and they’ll quickly retreat back to the shadows.
If possible, mount a floodlight on each side of your home. This will create a “barrier of light” and make it very difficult for somebody to approach your home unnoticed. If budget is an issue, focus on lighting the back of the house and the driveway / garage area. Neighborhood homes usually have streetlights and well lighted front lawns, whereas the back and garage areas are usually dark. Trees and bushes make it even darker.
80% of intruders break in through a door. Always make sure that each of your exterior doors is illuminated on the outside. If somebody wants to break into your home that way, make them stand in the light and be seen by your neighbors.
A Beginner’s Guide to Home SecurityA deadbolt is a necessity for every exterior door. Ordinary locking doorknobs can easily be defeated by carding, prying or lock picking, but a deadbolt will add an extra element of security to your home. Each visible (important!) security device will convince more and more intruders to stay away from your home.
As mentioned above, each exterior door needs to have a deadbolt installed. Having a deadbolt only on your front door means that an intruder is going to walk around your home to a less secure side door. Remember that intruders commonly look for the easiest way into homes. If that means entering through an unsecured garage or kitchen door, then that’s the route they’ll most likely take.
Deadbolts that you can lock and unlock from the outside come in two styles – single and double cylinder. A single cylinder deadbolt uses a turnpiece on the inside, but needs a key on the outside. A double cylinder deadbolt requires the use of a key both inside and outside to lock/unlock the door. If you have windows on or next to the door, then do not use a single cylinder deadbolt! It’s too easy for a criminal to break the glass, reach inside and turn the turnpiece to unlock the door.
Some people are afraid of using a double cylinder deadbolt because of the fact that you need to use a key inside the house. If there was a fire or emergency, they don’t want to have to hunt for the key. An easy solution is to hang a spare key on a wall near the door, but well out of arm’s reach from the closest window. If your home has small children, then make sure the key is low enough for them to reach in an emergency. Practice using the key a few times and you’ll see just how easy and much more secure it is than with a single cylinder deadbolt.
A Beginner’s Guide to Home SecurityNOTE – Having an outside accessible deadbolt does not guarantee that burglars cannot break into your home. Like most locks, they can be defeated with a little time and practice. What they do is buy you extra time should an intruder attempt to challenge your security devices. The longer it takes an intruder to defeat your locks, then the less likely it is that they’ll make it into your home without being noticed. Deadbolts also deter some intruders and keep the novice ones away from your home.
Another type of deadbolt is an interior accessible deadbolt. These are “one-sided” deadbolts that you can only access from the inside of your home. That type of lock is excellent for unused side doors, or for your main door once you’re home for the evening. With no part of the lock being outside your door, it’s extremely difficult for an intruder to break in through that door.
Security companies monitor security systems through the telephone lines. Without those lines, the monitoring center will not be able to receive any trouble codes from your alarm. You alarm will still go off and the siren will sound during a break-in, but the monitoring company won’t know about it.
Take a look outside your home and see if your telephone line is exposed. It commonly runs down the side of the building before going underground to the nearest junction box. The problem is that it’s very easy for a criminal to cut that exposed part to disrupt the connection. Many criminals know about that flaw, and those daring enough to rob your home will take advantage of it.
Criminals aren’t the only element that can cut the phone wire. Ice storms, heavy wind and even construction crews can accidentally bring down the wires too. A Beginner’s Guide to Home SecurityWould you still feel protected knowing that it could be a few days before the connection is restored again?
If it’s available through your security company, you may want to invest in a cellular back-up system. This device simultaneously broadcasts your security information to the monitoring center through the cellular frequencies. Should the phone lines go down for any reason, you’ll still be monitored with the cellular back-up unit. As long as you live within range of a cell phone tower then you’ll be monitored.
It’s becoming more common for people to use cell phones instead of land lines in their home. With this advance in technology and convenience, more and more security companies will be offering the cellular broadcasting devices. It’s certainly possible that in the near future all home security systems will be monitored this way.
NOTE – There is a security flaw with the cellular back-up devices. There are hand held cellular blocking devices available online. Through the use of one of those devices it’s conceivable that an intruder can temporarily block the cellular signals around your home, and thus stop the connection between your security system and the monitoring center. The cellular blockers are illegal to sell and possess in the United States, and right now they’re still relatively unknown amongst criminals. The odds of a criminal using it are very low, but it is a very real threat to the system.
A Beginner’s Guide to Home Security