What do you do for home security?

[rescueme]

Apparently, my neighbors don't like banks or safe deposit boxes. Our local paper likes to list recent robberies in town. There were a few within a couple of blocks to note: 1) One claimed a suitcase with $20k cash was taken, 2) another claimed $15-25k jewelry was taken, 3) newly built custom home, $1.4 mil, no lights and no security with a cheap side garage door got kicked in and multiple furs were taken. Right after this, lights on all the time, security installed.

Sounds like they were drug dealers ...

 

[ls99]

We have lots of ground level glass. Deadbolt locks and plenty of nosy neighbors who keep tabs on everything. They know some plants are about to flower before I or DW notice it. They tell DW or me at the Y swimming pool or in the diner.

No strangers linger more than a few minutes before at least two biddies are on the horn to the local PD or 911.

Besides, either DW or I are at home most of the time.

The joys of small town living.

The downside? I can never take a leak outside in the daytime, unobserved. There are upsides to privacy

 

[FinanceDude]

ADT sign, not the alarm system. I have two motion detector lights mounted on the roof, with large floodlights that come on. Have not had any issues, a couple kids were in the back yard once and the lights came on and they hightailed it. Plus we are less than 1 mile from the PD, so criminals generally go further away........

 

[Orchidflower]

Don't count on not being robbed when you are living near a PD. I lived exactly 1-1/2 blocks from one of Chicago's innercity PD's and was totally robbed of everything. God bless Chicago's PD cause they really tried with the dogs, fingerprinters and everything else. Unfortunately, it didn't help and I remained...robbed. The robber was a "virgin," so no record of his prints anywhere.

 

[Finance Dave]

I noticed that...love the breed. We actually taught ours not to bark. Put 4-5 pebbles in an empty coke can, tape over the hole, sit next to her...each time she barks...shake the can vigorously. This startles them, and they learn not to bark. She still barks occasionally, but not incessantly...mainly when the doorbell rings.

Here's mine...
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/animals-we-share-our-lives-with-50073.html#post1111342

We have two (see the pic to the left to see the "smart" one ).

Sometimes a bit of noise is all you need to scare off somebody. As a sheltie owner, you know they like to "talk", loudly.

It's not the size of the bite. but the size of the bark that matters in a lot of cases, IMHO ...

 

[rescueme]

Here's mine...
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/animals-we-share-our-lives-with-50073.html#post1111342

Mine are on the same link, albit a year older than when the picture was posted...

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9116&d=1273166990

 

[Tiger]

We have 5 dogs, you can't even walk up the street without them alterting us,

 

[FinanceDude]

Don't count on not being robbed when you are living near a PD. I lived exactly 1-1/2 blocks from one of Chicago's innercity PD's and was totally robbed of everything. God bless Chicago's PD cause they really tried with the dogs, fingerprinters and everything else. Unfortunately, it didn't help and I remained...robbed. The robber was a "virgin," so no record of his prints anywhere.

Well, I live in a suburb with a very low crime rate, so that helps. Also, there are about 250 homes in my area, so it's not like we're isolated on a ded end road.........

 

[Finance Dave]

Mine are on the same link, albit a year older than when the picture was posted...

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9116&d=1273166990

awwww.bless their hearts....I like ALMOST all dogs...except those mean little ankle-biters.

 

[bruce1]

Stealth St Bernard, Very Large Black Rooster and good neighbours.

 

[Redbugdave]

Our place is fenced in and we keep the gate closed in our "compound". Having dogs is an important deterrent in addition to being important family members. Security is an important issue with us. Being aware of the way your place is presented is important. Little things as to where you park your cars, garage doors open or not, and coming and going at odd times add up when someone is casing your place for a burglary. For us, it is a normal way of thinking...

 

[Purron]

Eddie the "attack cat" protects the Purron household.

 

[Lsbcal]

Eddie the "attack cat" protects the Purron household.

Purron, you really need this sign:

 

[chinaco]

A word about loud alarms. If you are not there to turn them off and they are battery powered, they can stay on for quite a long time, and that does tend to bother the neighbors. That has happened to us 3 times. Once it was our apartment (company installed alarm system) and we were traveling. The alarm blared for over 12 hours and the entire building (12 floors, 25 units) was really pi$$ed at us. ...

Beside the chance of burglary... false alarm is the other reasons why I am considering a monitoring service.

Now days, many of them seem to be willing to notify people through various communication means. I hope I can have a family member be notified as a first responder (by phone) and an email or text message also sent to me... so if we are out of town, we are aware of the event just in case something happens and we do not hear from the family member fairly quickly.

 

[Purron]

Purron, you really need this sign:

Truth be told, Eddie's a scardey cat. Hides under the covers when he hears thunder or someone comes to the door.

 

[Lsbcal]

I just would like to add the main reason I like our alarm which was in the house when we purchased it. I used to worry about little sounds in the middle of the night in our previous house. Once it sounded like footsteps coming right down the hallway. The next day I read that a big earthquake had occurred right at that time about 400 miles away -- I don't think that was a coincidence.

Anyway now when I hear something I look over at the alarm lights and figures it's just one of those bumps in the night. So I sleep better. Of course, you don't need the alarm company service but we only pay $69 per quarter, seems worth it.

 

[FUEGO]

I just bought some of the fake ADT type stickers for my house. 9 stickers for $7 off ebay. Going to put one on each door and the rest on windows.

On top of that, we have a motion detector flood light on one side of the house. Our house is kinda crappy looking from the street so hopefully a burglar will think we don't have awesome stuff inside (security through obscurity!).

We have waves of burglaries every few years. A wise guy will start hitting a house or two every week for a few weeks, then either abruptly stop or get caught. Last time it happened in the fall of 2010, the guy was caught after hitting a couple dozen homes around the eastern part of our city (maybe 8-10 in our neighborhood of 1000+ homes).

 

[Sarah in SC]

Our place is fenced in and we keep the gate closed in our "compound". Having dogs is an important deterrent in addition to being important family members. Security is an important issue with us. Being aware of the way your place is presented is important. Little things as to where you park your cars, garage doors open or not, and coming and going at odd times add up when someone is casing your place for a burglary. For us, it is a normal way of thinking...

Redbug, that is a nice setup (and a lovely burglar deterring pup). We, too have an automatic gate with an electronic lock, that I hope deters casual thieves and those casing homes in the country, but ours is a simple farm gate with a Mighty Mule opener. I love those big slider monsters!

The one thing I do wish is that our neighbors on one side would put up a fence and gate (the other side has it) to prevent folks from cruising down their driveway and getting a look at our place. We've planted a lot down that side, but you can still see in a bit. It would improve their security and ours.

 

[Redbugdave]

Thank you Sarah. Yes, bushes do grow. We planted wax myrtles, (a native evergreen bush), all around the fence line so it also blocks the views. They are hardy and grow fast.

One thing that bothers me...Google Earth in the wrong hands! A bad guy can view our houses from a satellite zooming in and looking at the views from different angles. If you live off the road and hidden away, you are still not safe from prying eyes now days.

 

[calmloki]

Thank you Sarah. Yes, bushes do grow. We planted wax myrtles, (a native evergreen bush), all around the fence line so it also blocks the views. They are hardy and grow fast.

One thing that bothers me...Google Earth in the wrong hands! A bad guy can view our houses from a satellite zooming in and looking at the views from different angles. If you live off the road and hidden away, you are still not safe from prying eyes now days.

You just need to increase your personal power. Back when Dick Cheney was in office Google earth had his residence and a goodly chunk of the surrounding area at the Washington Naval Observatory blurred out (the Capitol buildings were in plain view). I notice the Naval Observatory is now in plain view again. For the common man tall trees around the house are your friends.

 

[SteveR]

We have an active security system with panic buttons, IR, motion detectors, glass break sensors and two very loving Cavalier King Charles Spaniels ready to like any intruder to death. They system is monitored for break in, panic and fire. I also installed a number of motion activated lights outside the house since the town code does not allow for much outdoor lighting so it is very DARK here at night. I also have block walls 7 feet high on three sides with locked gates...not a big deterrent but would slow somebody down a bit.

Even with all this stuff some lowlife that obviously has been to the property ripped off a piece of pool equipment (salt cell) in the dead of night. I have since installed a camera with motion sensitive flood light near that location so if it happens again I will get a movie to give to the cops. If the guy were to make the mistake of coming into the house there would be another surprise for him but that would be another whole discussion.

 

[Nords]

I guess I question what good a security system is - does film of a theft get your stuff back? Does an alarm bell keep the burglar from taking your flatscreen away with him? I'm tempted to mount a few phony cameras and bogus alarm company stickers, but it seems like you would want to get stickers from a company that does business in the local area.
What do the board members do for security when away from your home and what is your thinking? Suggestions?

Put yourself in a good defensive position and call 911.
These guys are all rare as can be. They exist, and they are out there enough that we are treated to plenty of news stories about their deeds, but they are rare. We're not into winning-the-lotto /struck-by-lightning kind of rarity, but close.

I think it's very difficult (and very expensive) to secure an unoccupied home. Nosy neighbors are probably the only reliable deterrent.

It would be far more zen to be able to rise above the need to protect one's possessions. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, it's just stuff. If we can't stand to have it burned in a fire or soaked in a hurricane, let alone stolen, then we shouldn't have it in our home.

We just lock our doors & windows but we don't have any real security precautions. (As far as you can tell, anyway.) Alarms and lights have proven to be more nuisance than support.

About five years ago, after the latest round of insurance-premium increases, we took a look around our house and canceled our personal-property insurance. Since then we've been slowly getting rid of the excess and, in general, not upgrading to the latest & greatest. I hope that we don't look like targets. The most valuable things we own these days are our wedding rings, and the next-most-valuable things are longboards. A thief coming into our house for jewelry or electronics would end up leaving a $20 bill on the kitchen counter.

If a home invasion comes in our front door, I'd much rather be scampering out the back door rather than scrambling for my firearm. Unless you're a professional, I think the latter can all too easily lead to a false sense of security and bravado. My weapons training is shoot to kill, and I don't want that on my conscience as long as I can run away fast.

We've lived in a home near a busy street, and we had the typical teen burglary through our jalousie windows while we were at work. Window bars discouraged them from returning, but the house's location was the real attraction. Now we're at the end of a cul-de-sac on a neighborhood street that's nearly 1.5 miles from the nearest busy road. I'd like to think that burglars would feel uncomfortable having to drive so far in and so far back out.

As for the feeling of having your privacy and your personal space invaded by strangers, I got over that at USNA and in the submarine force a long time ago. The whole concept is an illusion in the first place.

 

[donheff]

Don't count on not being robbed when you are living near a PD. I lived exactly 1-1/2 blocks from one of Chicago's innercity PD's and was totally robbed of everything. God bless Chicago's PD cause they really tried with the dogs, fingerprinters and everything else. Unfortunately, it didn't help and I remained...robbed. The robber was a "virgin," so no record of his prints anywhere.

I had the Chicago PD out to my house for a burglary about 40 years ago and was surprised at how thorough they were. Fingerprints, canvassing the neighborhood, checking garages, etc. I may have posted this before but one of the best parts was the advice I got on how to deal with insurance. One of the detectives had been though it all recently himself and when I mentioned that some silver was a wedding present, he advised "no, no, no, nothing is a present - some insurers will devalue that. You bought everything and don't have the receipts any longer."

 

[FUEGO]

I had the Chicago PD out to my house for a burglary about 40 years ago and was surprised at how thorough they were. Fingerprints, canvassing the neighborhood, checking garages, etc. I may have posted this before but one of the best parts was the advice I got on how to deal with insurance. One of the detectives had been though it all recently himself and when I mentioned that some silver was a wedding present, he advised "no, no, no, nothing is a present - some insurers will devalue that. You bought everything and don't have the receipts any longer."

Only in Chicago would the cops advise on how to best defraud the insurance co!

 

[donheff]

Only in Chicago would the cops advise on how to best defraud the insurance co!

Maybe fraud, or maybe just a little balancing of the scales of fairness. The insurance companies leave you in the dark about this sort of thing. Most people would not expect that an expensive gift might be devalued to zero. Where was that info buried when they sold you the policy? I would call that moral fraud, although it clearly isn't legal fraud. "Fixing the policy" to conform to common expectations after the fact may be legal fraud but maybe not so much on the moral scale. In any event, I agree - only in Chicago. Love my home town.