Rule #1: Don’t be a member of an immigrant community known for harboring gangs and smuggling in cash and expensive jewelry past customs and IRS agents, and then keep that undeclared property in your home so it can’t be taxed or counted against you when you apply for welfare benefits.
My wife, having lived with the joy of the Crown Height Pogrom (where rioting blacks invaded Jewish homes), makes me put this or the equivalent on all our doors:
DJ Jamb Armour Combo Kit
https://securitysnobs.com/DJArmor-Jamb-Armor-Combo-Kit-for-Standard-Doors.html
Very difficult to kick down.
We utilize a Medeco locks (one a traditional double-key and one an electronic)
The Medeco DOUBLE cyclinders cannot be “bumped.”
A visible camera (in a shield) is on the door for show. The real camera cannot be seen.
Home Security Systems aren’t just for vacations!
Use them every time you leave the home empty!
Few intruders will persist with an alarm blaring.
Depending on your circumstances, you may want to set the alarm before tucking yourself in at night.
If you’re armed, your weapon should be accessible to you, but not a stranger or a child.
Its location should allow you to be in a defensible position within seconds.
The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarters Expenses?
Just some random thoughts:
Good lighting makes you a lot less attractive as a target at night. For example, the house I live at is by far the best lit in the neighborhood. Plenty of poorly lit ones all around. Guess who is less likely to get “hit”?
Another thing is good deadbolts. Sure, thugs can just go through a window, but that takes time, makes noise, and can cut the thugs up pretty good if they aren’t careful.
Make sure a weapon is easily accessible at all times. If kids are around your home, one of those gun safes with keypad entry is a good investment. They can be openned in seconds, and most of them will “lock up” if a kid tries some random combos more than a few times.
Finally, a beware of dog sign — even if you don’t have a dog — can be a “discourager.”
Every adult in the house needs to be armed.
Every juvenile that you feel responsible enough to train to shoot, should be taught.
Many, many people are shot after answering the door. The doorway is a fatal funnel that invaders have to navigate. Don’t get caught in it.
I have a rule amongst my family and friends.
If you didn’t call ahead, then you are uninvited and I am not answering the door unless you do call.
This goes double for strangers.
Most burglaries on residences happen on a side that is not visible to police patrol. Strangers, particularly juveniles walking down your street, make note and watch them. Talk with you neighbors and agree to watch them as a community. Crooks hate attention.
ping read later
later
One of the novel ideas from it include the use of surplus military cargo nets strung across the back of doors and windows. cheap, strong and easy to put up and take down.
ping for later
Here in NC, we don’t filter our news through the United Kingdom. It gets here faster.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2826625/posts
I live in a rural area and in a location that people just don’t happen by, so what I do won’t work in some places. Anyone that comes on the property gets met with a shotgun if I don’t think they belong here. That includes contract crews working on R/Ws and tree companies.
That usually results in the crew’s foreman or boss back at the office calling the sheriff who then calls me and explains what’s going on. If I find a vehicle that doesn’t belong here, I call the law and it gets towed.
I generally leave well tenders alone unless they get on a parcel where their company has no rights. The last one I caught, I got his attention with a rifle. His boss called me later to express his unhappiness.
A few times a month, I’ll go out at night and just fire the shotgun. Maybe once. Maybe twice. I like to do that between 1:00 and 3:00 am. Occasionally I’ll use a rifle. More frequently I’ll shoot something with a .22 at night.
Several years ago the gas company had to shut down the gas line through here. They knocked on the door around 2:00 am to let us know. When they saw the shotgun their eyes looked like dinner plates. What surprises them is when you catch them from behind.
During hunting season, I’ve been known to be in the woods around 3:00 am waiting to catch any folks that get on the property.
Others that were someplace close and actually fired a gun, hit the ground when I went through twenty one rounds of .308 in response. The neighbor across the way saw them by looking through her son’s scope. She didn’t know the two men could run that fast.
Needless to say, the word has gotten out.
I live in the ‘hood’, so I can tell you what I have done.
1. I have security bars on all windows, and security doors on all doors. Even the sliding glass door is secure.
2. Big spot light in the front yard, with motion detector that when activated will stay on 15 minutes.
3. No tress or bushes to hide behind in the front yard, except for overgrown sticker bush which actually goes up against the house and covers the bedroom window. No way anyone can get behind it.
4. 6 foot wooden fence around the entire backyard. Backyard that has 3 large Labrador retrievers that bark and head for the fence at any sound. They may not be trained killers, but who really wants to jump in the backyard with a pack of large dogs.
5. Develop a reputation of a “crazy” person that no one wants to deal with. I live between two schools on the corner and I do not have a shortcut path through my yard. It takes some time to develop the reputation, but it pays off with far fewer issues from the locals. Being “the crazy white Guy” of the neighborhood has eliminated no telling how many potential issues.
PFL
Some random thoughts...
A dog; motion sensor lighting; dead bolts; alarm warning sign
(no actual alarm which I see as after-the-fact worthless).
Important: Be careful as to who knows I have anything of value.
If someone gets in when no one is home they might steal my TV and VCR...
...but they won’t find anything else of any value.
If someone “tries” to get in while family are here...
they are all armed and trained as to what to do...
...(dialing 911 is the last item on the list).
I have a specific technical question that I know Freepers can answer.
I have a large window on the attached garage to our house. When you walk or drive down the street, you are able to look in this window into the garage and see if there are any cars inside. In other words, if you see no cars, it might be safe to assume no one is home.
I do not want to put giant curtains over this window and I need and appreciate the light that comes in.
Can someone tell me the specific brand and store or supplier where you can get a reflective film coating for windows that allows light in, but does not allow people to see in? A mirror type film or the like. One way glass so to speak.
I’ve looked online but am not sure what really works and is cost effective.
Thanks in advance for the help.
I like the baby monitor idea, and we have about a dozen of them.
Ping
ping
An easy and highly effective way of diverting a criminal's attention to your neighbor