Two good old boys are about to head out on a trip to hunt bear. One wants to stop and buy a pair of good running shoes. His buddy laughs as he reminds the first that he can not outrun a bear. The first guy says, "I do not have to outrun the bear. I have to outrun YOU."
I guess you did not stop me in time.
What does this have to do with physical security? Crime is often a matter of opportunity and the thief or thieves do very little planning. One house is chosen as they drive, bike or walk down the back alley or front street or both. Your house is chosen based on first look. You do not have to make your house harder to break into than Fort Knox. It only has to look harder than those of your neighbours.
Do a quick net search and you find many good ideas. One page I found which is quite good is from the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services named the Home Security Audit Guide from which you can download as a PDF from the same page. (Other pages of ideas work but take any with some caution if they are selling you locks or alarms or other stuff.)
I want to mention some common mistakes homeowners make. Places to hide out of the light are used as location to break into a door or window. This often includes a high fence many people like on the side and back of the house. You will hear people say the fence also helps to keep a thief out but that is not supported by the evidence at all. A window without curtains is preferred too since you can see if somebody arrives and for a basement window what is below to land upon.
Every door must have a deadbolt. Every bolt should have 1 inch or 2.5 cm of throw. The throw is how much bolt projects out of the edge of the door when locked and you can easily see this by locking the deadbolt with the door open. The best quality deadbolts correctly installed also have solid tapered bodies on the outside and shelves of metal to hold onto the hole in the door so a hammer can not easily pound them down to the bottom of the hole. It is not the job of two thin bolts to keep the deadbolt held to the door. The strike should be held on with at least two 2.5 inch or 6 cm wood screws. If you have a window in the door or a side light window, get a grating so nobody can reach in if the glass is broken. Consider wrapping plates under the deadbolts to increase the door strength too. They are a cheap easy installation and done before the door is damaged can look very good.
Alarm signs work well as deterrent if you have a real alarm with real signs. Getting fakes from a dollar store do not. If some punk can seen all the wall next to the main door and not see an alarm panel, there probably is no alarm. If some punk can not see alarm contacts on any windows or glass break sensors, there probably is no alarm. If some punk breaks a window and nothing sounds, their IS no alarm.
Make your home a distributed target. All the valuable stuff should be spread out. If an alarm is used to limit time on site, then the thief can not spend the time to look everywhere.
If you have a safe, learn the difference between a fire safe and a burglary safe and keep the right kind of contents in each. Banks rent safety deposit boxes. Yes, they do!
Do you have insurance?
One last thing. This does not apply in the least to a targeted robbery. I am not saying this happened. I am also not saying it did not. Let's say you are some gun collector who has a nice stock of rifles. Some are so nice you show them to any friend your son brings home from school who shows some interest including a walk to the closet with deadbolts. Guns like this are of value and when somebody gets in the house and only goes for the guns and gets out fast, you can tell what they wanted. The time on site and path is easy to read from the alarm hits. Who knew the guns were there? Probably most of the kids in 2 or 3 junior high schools.
Enjoy your new shoes and remember if you will spend $200 on a pair of shoes, why not $200 on a good deadbolt?
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The contents of this post are released for non-profit or educational use in whole or in part provided this statement and the attribution below are kept attached.
Laux Myth ... Thoughts From a Locksmith
By MartinB, Found @ http://lauxmyth.blogspot.com/
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