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A STEP BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL ALARM SYSTEM
Most people when
considering their home or business security automatically think
"Alarm System".
In reality though the
alarm system, as sophisticated as it may be, is what the burglars are
trained to deal with. It is part of their bag of skills to be able to
neutralize most of the alarm systems commonly installed on residential
and commercial properties.
Furthermore a high level
of education doesn't guarantee that the individual will not use that
knowledge illegally. Unfortunately there are burglars who have
engineering degrees in electronic. Some of them are the very ones who
design the alarm systems we use.
OK, they are a small
percentage of the big bulk of the thief category, but they are out there
and the more value is on your property, the higher the probability that
a very skillful thief will notice you.
A better security
approach is what I call the "war camp security".
Hopefully you never had
to experience in first person how to secure an overnight camp in a war
zone, but you have certainly watched a few war movies where this type of
situation is more or less accurately described.
The crucial points are
the following:
1. CREATE A PERIMETER WHICH WOULD ALERT YOU OF INCOMING INTRUDERS
Possibly without alerting
the intruders of the fact that you are aware of their "visit".
On your property this can be accomplished with motion detectors and
"hidden" peripheral security cameras with online remote
monitoring, which by the way, nowadays have become quite affordable.
When activated the motion
detector will trigger a telephone call to your cell-phone. You don't
want the system to alert the authorities, not yet.
The trespasser may not be
a burglar, it could be the mailman, your gardener, or it could simply be
someone you know who is not aware of your absence and is coming for a
surprise visit. As you receive the warning call you can grab your laptop
or get online with any computer, go to the security company website,
usually the same company which installed your remote monitoring security
system, enter your username and password and "see" what is
happening on your property.
If it looks like a
burglar you can call the police. You will have the video recording to
prove the suspect was behaving as a burglar. Additionally the images
recorded may help identify the person.
By the way, none of your
flood lights should be facing your hidden cameras. They should
"look" , more or less, in the same direction. If the lights
shine into the cameras the subject in the image will result having the
dark side exposed to the camera, possibly compromising any attempt of
identification.
2. ESTABLISH A FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE
In war times this would
be a various number of lethal traps but of course it is not legal during
peace times. In our case the first line of defense is a passive one and
it is comprised of very robust doors and windows. Don't forget to place
the alarm company stickers on your doors and windows. You should also
have a security camera in plain site right outside your front door. Many
unsophisticated thieves would simply turn around and go look for an
easier loot.
All your doors and
windows, even the upstairs ones, need to be locked and connected to the
alarm system. At this point, when the burglar has broken into your
house, or business, it is time to alert the authorities, but not the
intruder. Having the alarm activate a siren at this time is a very
common mistake.
When the siren goes off
the burglar knows that he has a few minutes before the police arrive. He
may know where your precious things are. He might have been on your
property before. If it is your house he could have been someone doing
some work at the house. If it is your business it's even easier to snoop
around just pretending to be a customer and survey the ground before
hand.
The experienced burglar
will know if he has enough time to get the loot and get away before the
police arrives.
3. ESTABLISH YOUR SECOND LINK OF DEFENSE
Your remote monitoring
security cameras are in every room but here is a trick. Use sets of two
cameras at every observation point, one as it would be normally
installed and the second one as a hidden camera. Nowadays wireless
cameras can be very small and easy to conceal exactly because of the
absence of wires.
4. ATTACK!
If your finances allow
you to install some Home Automation you can actually engage the intruder
with some psychological warfare.
Through your web
interface you can turn on and off various appliances, lights, a tape
recorder with a prerecorded message. You can let your imagination run
wild and have fun inventing ways to surprise the intruder.
Here is something to
remember though; you can not try to trap the intruder in your house and
you can not cause any injury, not even put him to sleep releasing
sleeping gas. There have been similar cases where the burglar has sued
the property owner for putting his life in danger, and won the case.
A simple, and definitely
way to to distract the thief is by calling your home phone and when the
answering machine picks up try to initiate a conversation, let the
burglar know that you are watching and intend to propose a deal. The
point of course is not to get to know him, and not even to scare him
away, but simply to distract him and make him slow down so to give more
time to the police, or the alarm company security guards, to reach the
site.
You can also play with
his intention to steal something of value and leave a misleading
message.
Here is pretty good
diversion; call pretending to be a friend of yours who has borrowed your
Jaguar and leave a message saying that you are ten minutes away from the
house, on your way to returning the car. Then ad that if you don't find
anybody home you will leave the car keys under the door mat. What thief
wouldn't be tempted to wait a few minutes and add a luxury car to his
loot?
On the market there are
several different type of devices with wireless transmitter which may be
strategically placed so that when a certain item is moved the alarm will
emit a very loud sound, so loud to impair the cognitive functioning of
the offender brain. His first reaction will probably be to try to
destroy the device, but if you have been careful to place it somehow out
of reach, the intruder may be forced to abandon the room.
This type of devices can
be connected to closet or cabinets doors, drawers or even directly to
items like precious art pieces, jewellery boxes, big screen TV, safes.
By the way, having a safe not secured to the wall or the floor is quite
pointless. Unless the safe weights a ton the thief will simply carry it
away and open it in the comfort of his own "workshop".
In conclusion, the
traditional alarm system that sounds a siren when the burglar brakes in
does not save you from being burglarized.
Think about it, how many
times after hearing a home alarm going off in the neighborhood you have
actually gone to check if the house was being burglarized? You might
have looked out the window, or you might have stepped outside and looked
down the street, but let's be honest, very few of us would actually go
to the house and knock at the door.
The professional burglar
knows that, and counts on it.
From the technological
point of view that type of security system is a thing of the past.
Nowadays with very little additional investment you can have motion
detectors triggering several telephone calls and security cameras with
online remote monitoring to check your property any time you want and
record any unusual event.
This is the least
security you need to have if you are serious about protecting your home
or business.
On a less pressing note
security cameras with online remote monitoring gives you the opportunity
to make sure everything is all right any time you whish to do so, giving
you peace of mind if you have kids, pets, cleaning service, baby sitter,
gardener... you name it. It really is an investment which increase
exponentially the eventuality of a much safer future for you and your
family, and that is much more precious than any material possession.
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