Home Security Systems
Home security is a major concern, especially since most countries in the developed world have seen a significant increase in house burglary in recent decades. Enhancing security in your home is the first step in preventing crime.
An important first step is to assess a criminal’s accessibility to your home. Many criminals will approach your house from behind, so never leave a ladder outside your home and cut away any vegetation that either extends to your upstairs windows or creates shadows and hiding places in your garden and backyard. Fit locking gates to side alleyways, and plant thorn bushes around external fences to deter criminals from climbing over. Cover any approach routes to the house with gravel materials, such as small-gauge granite rock, that makes a noise when walked on.
Security lighting can provide a further layer of protection to your home. Motion-sensing lights are ideal. They automatically turn on when anything moves within range of the sensor and both save you electricity and act as a deterrent to a criminal suddenly caught in a powerful beam.
Doors and windows are two of the most crucial points of home security that you need to address. Doors should feature quality five-pin mortise deadlocks made of hacksaw-resistant metals and extending at least one inch into the frame of the door. You can add additional bolts to a door at the top and bottom making it more difficult for someone to kick the door open. Install locks on all your windows and keep them locked at all times that the window is not deliberately left open. If a window is in a particularly vulnerable location, fit a metal grille over it or metal shutters that can be pulled down. If affordable, you should replace conventional glass with toughened tempered glass or polycarbonate.
Alarm systems are excellent additions to your household security and come in a bewildering range of setups and prices. The basic system consists of a control panel and a chain of sensors placed around the property. The sensors trigger the alarm through either detecting motion or by reacting to a door or window being forced open. Once triggered, the alarm system will either set off a deafening audible alarm and/or send out a security alert to a monitoring company who then call the police. Simply having an alarm box on the outside of your house will usually be enough to deter most criminals.
There are three zones of your home that should be protected by an alarm system:
-The outer perimeter of your property which extends up to the boundaries of your property. The garden and backyard are not usually protected by an alarm system but security lighting should be installed.
-The outer shell of your house which includes all doors and windows. This should be connected to the alarm system using a direct trigger system.
-And finally the rooms inside your house should be protected with some motion detectors should someone actually make it inside.
Whatever your choice in a security system, the most important thing is to ensure you install a system that cannot easily be tampered with. A good quality alarm comes with systems to bypass the main electricity circuit if the criminal cuts off your power or there is a general power cut.
With all the amazing home security technology out there, it is easy to overlook some of the good old-fashioned deterrents that still remain as good ways to protect your home. The most companionable is a dog who if loved and cherished will usually be committed to protecting your home. Remember also if you are going away for some time to leave some lights on and a radio playing in order to make it seem like someone is home. Don’t forget to cancel milk and newspaper deliveries that clutter up your letterbox, easily advertising your absence. Never hide your spare keys to the house in an obvious place like under the doormat. Burglars are looking for an easy target so anything that might make the job more difficult will force the criminal to look elsewhere.
