This past Saturday afternoon my family and I were enjoying the great weather with our friends and neighbors while doing some much needed yard work. The kids were playing, our dogs were out and about. I noticed two police vehicles driving slowly up the road towards us. When they saw us outside they asked “Everything OK?” They went on to explain that there has been a string of Home invasion burglaries in our community recently. As a result, they were stepping up patrols in hopes of catching these guys.
Later that night on the local news the main story was about the recent home invasions. In less than a week 4 different home invasions took place between 2pm and 8pm only miles from my home. In all cases the criminals made their move as the victims were coming home from work. They approached the vehicle, forced the victim out at gunpoint and into the home. Once inside they tied up the homeowners took their cash, gold, diamonds and other valuables.
Needless to say this was extremely eye opening to myself and neighbors. So what can we do to protect ourselves from home invasions?
- Keep your doors and windows locked at all times.
- If you have a alarm system, keep it armed day and night. If you don’t own an alarm system, consider investing in one.
- Never automatically open your front door. Make sure you know your caller’s identity before letting him in.
- If the person at your door is a stranger, ask for identification to be passed under the door. Then call their business to verify who they are and what they are there for. If he is unable to provide identification do not admit him and call 911 immediately.
- It is advisable to have a wide angle viewer (peep-hole) in the door so that you can check a person’s identity without unlocking your door.
- All doors in your home leading to the outside should have dead-bolt locks. A must for robbery prevention.
- When away at night, leave a light burning.
- Do not leave a key over a door or under a mat.
- The single lock on a garage door is inadequate to keep home invaders from prying up the opposite side and crawling in. Use a padlock. But never leave it unlocked. This is an invitation to have the padlock removed so that a key can be made, and the lock returned to its position. Later, the burglar returns when no one is home and enters at his leisure, using “his” key.
- Mark your valuables and keep an accurate record of all your most valuable possessions.
- When leaving on a trip: A. Stop all deliveries. B. Connect a light to a timer. C. Notify the police and have a neighbor check your home periodically. D. Have someone maintain your lawn.
- Be a concerned neighbor. If you see a suspicious person, car or situation, contact the police.
- If you live in an apartment building with an intercom system to the front door, make sure the landlord keeps it in operating order.
- Never admit anyone unless you are expecting him or know him.
- Never admit anyone to the building who is there to see another tenant or to deliver something to another apartment.
- Anyone asking admission so that he can do some work for another tenant should not be admitted, but should be referred to the building’s manager.
- If you see someone in your building who looks out of place or is acting suspiciously, contact the police.
God forbid, What if it happens to you?
If you are a victim of a home invasion robbery remember the following:
- First and foremost try to stay calm.
- Cooperate, No amount of cash or property is worth getting hurt over.
- DON’T fight back unless you determine that you are in danger of being killed. Instead, concentrate on getting information so you can be an effective witness.
- LOOK carefully at the intruders, even if they are masked. Is there something unique about them such as scars, tattoos, large nose? What are they wearing? Listen to everything they say, and how they say it. Catch any distinguishing odors such as tobacco, alcohol, or aftershave.
Start planning today, start with your home and family. Branch out and try to organize a neighborhood watch or call a neighborhood meeting to discuss your safety concerns. Contact your local sheriffs office and ask if they would be willing to come and talk to the group. Most law enforcement agencies are happy to do so. It is our job to take charge of our personal security both within our homes and communities. Remember the old saying, “There is power in numbers.” This is absolutely true when dealing with criminals. Believe me if they see signs of a united community or neighborhood, they are likely to go elsewhere.
Bryan J Buckner
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-security-articles/home-invasions-are-on-the-rise-755211.html
Home invasions are on the rise, are dogs better than security alarms?
I have a couple guns, however being alert is half the battle, dog or alarm, or both?
Studies have shown that most thieves are scared off by a barking dog, no matter how big the dog is. It depends on how much you want to spend and how concerned you are about home safety, I guess. Of course, if someone really wants in, they’re getting in, no matter what you do.
References :
absolutely.
This is what a criminal knows about a security alarm.
#1 it is easy to determine the type then take steps to get around it.
#2 if the alarm is activated, you can threaten the residents to put in the disarm code or say the right things to the alarm company.
#3 if both #1 and #2 fail, the alarm company will send out an UNARMED person to LOOK and see if anything is going on. Even if this person would see your children raped by a single person, that security guard…no, not security guard…’alarm scout’ cannot intervein or he looses his job, so no way he is going to lift a finger to help you beyond calling 911.
Now, what does the criminal know about the dog.
#1 Higher chance of getting the owner to notice exactly what is exciting the dog. (with some alarm systems, hard to tell the difference between a bug and a specific point being activated)
#2 unlikely that the dog can be ‘deactivated’ without killing it, which would be a noisy and long tactic.
#3 unknown if the dog is small or big…or, if hearing an obvious small dog bark, unknown if it has a less bark inclined larger dog with it. Unknown how agressive the dog is. Obviously no home invader wants to catch a pitbull or rotty jumping for his face teeth barred, but a pointer, german shepard, colly, black lab, golden retriever, etc, can do a heck of a lot of damage too.
I’d take a small dog over just an alarm. Heck, I’d take 2 large dogs over 1 large dog PLUS an alarm. I think 2 large dogs plus alarm is probably the best you can get, but I think dogs are the best thing to turn too…especially if you are a dog person.
I’d go 2 dogs. 1 large and 1 small is fine, as the small one will often be the one who is more barky and more likely to alert you, and dogs instinctively work well together, the small dog can often give just enough distraction to a human to give the large dog a real juicy opening…and often small dogs are dumb enough and unaware of their size enough that they are overly bold on the attack.
Also, when you get dogs, please consider the pound as a source for them. Also, please take some note of what breeds you are getting, especially in small dogs. Realize if you get a Terrier or a Terrier cross, those guys have it imprinted on their genes to DIG DIG DIG DIG DIG and then DIG SOME MORE!
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If you’re home a lot, a dog is wonderful. For the times you ( and dog? ) have to be away, alarms are better than nothing.
Any dog is territorial, and will alert you to visitors. Now you need the guns….
For home invasion, you have 5 seconds or less to respond.
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A recent study indicated that a dog was a better deterrent, but a dog and a security system sign even better and good lighting, plus a dog and a sign better still. The typical burglar looks for homes that have no outside lighting, have a lot of privacy measures (high fences, shrubbery, etc), have no sign of security alarms, and where there is no sign of a dog. Even a smaller dog can be a great security system in and of itself, because most burglars would rather find a place where they have no chance of being bitten.
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Get 2 rottweilers,that way when 1 sleeps the other one will be active.You will be covered that way.I have never seen a security alarm bite off an intruders face.Forget the alarm,get 2 big viscous dogs and have them trained properly.Then sleep in peace.
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Well, you need to train a dog. I once has a Rhodesian Ridgeback who would accept food from no one but me, and her friend was an Anatolian Shepherd who was capable of destroying an intruder on his own, and would, to protect the Ridgeback.
He might have been fed drugged meat by a determined intruder, but she would not eat it and would raise such a ruckus that the Shepherd would be on attack.
I needed them only once, and I had to amplify my voice to prevent a couple of intruders from losing their southbound ends as they headed north. The pups strutted around with clothing in their mouths for a while.
A really determined intruder would have scoped the house and used cyanide guns, but not before there was enough noise for me to unlimber my other defenses. I have this 416 Rigby I use to keep locomotives out of my back yard.
If an alarm system is bypassed, there is no ruckus.
But the chance of amateur intruders gassing dogs or bypassing alarms is about nil. It is only the professional crooks you would need to worry about… And you need to worry about them with any sort of alarm system. Keep your insurance paid up, and make a safe room for yourself and your family.
But if you need to choose00dogs are an active deterrent, and alarm systems –well they discover them when the home is breached. Usually a few barks from a thunderous Anatolian or Kuvasz or Pyrenees will send invaders elsewhere in a hurry.
Of course the flip side of that is that dogs require care. Care includes being a firm but loving master to a social climber.
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Statistically speaking, you’d be safer without the guns.
What kind of dog, and what kind of security alarm?
I have read that the police recommend that a little, yappy dog is a greater deterrent to home invasions than bigger "guard dogs". The principle in action here, I guess, is that people engaged in illicit acts do not wish to draw attention to their acts. And an effective deterrent is the best security. (I’ve heard about "guard dogs" pulling off some pretty amazing manoeuvres, but "… don’t try this at home, folks!")
I have also read that one of the most effective mechanical security alarms is a motion-activated light. I appreciate mine at the doors when I’m coming in with a load of groceries. An invader doesn’t like to be put under the floodlights.
"Mustang Sally", my little mutt, can sense alien critters (2 or 4 legs) long before any person or machine around here. It’s a good thing we have very few strangers, or she might be a real nuisance.
In my own case, I’m much more concerned by bears that come to my garden in the fall. Rather missing a ‘clean kill’ – a wounded bear is not a good thing to contribute to the community! – I use Air Bombs. They’re sort of like firecrackers, with flashes and loud noises.
Now, if you’re talking about home security systems intended to bring the local constabulary to your home, that has a lot to do with how effective your local constabulary would be.
Where I live, the Mounties, even with "pedal to the metal" couldn’t get here in less than half an hour. And there are two of them to cover an area about as big as France. (I’m not exaggerating.)
And I was reading that in Beverly Hills a year or so, poor police response was criticized after some major thefts.
The most effective security system I ever had was a boyfriend who was known as a very loving and protective person, when sober. When he wasn’t – utterly fearless. Twelve feet tall and bulletproof. Only one homicide, but that was accidental.
Sometimes, I almost miss him.
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Many factors to consider in the trade-offs.
1. A security alarm does not provide any physical protection; it is up to the responding personnel to take action.
2. A security alarm does nothing to deter an intruder until AFTER the alarm has been triggered, assuming that the intruder fears some physical person to respond to the alarm.
3. A dog can deter an intruder before the intrusion.
4. A dog can stop an intruder during an invasion.
5. You don’t have to feed or walk an alarm system.
6. You can get an insurance deduction for an alarm system.
7. An alarm system won’t keep your feet warm in the winter.
Fences, motion-sensor lighting, window bars, secondary door locks, etc are all physical barriers that may be sufficient to deter intrusion. An armed guard, or armed citizen, is difficult to properly train, unpredictable under duress, raise liability insurance costs, and of questionable use during a surprise attack. Security cameras may provide some deterrence, but are more useful for awareness of threats and for identification of suspects after the fact.
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executive protection