With all of the emphasis in the past few years on Homeland
Security, many people have overlooked the importance of home
security. While it might not make the first story on the news,
when your house is burgled, safeguarding your home soon becomes
the most important issue in your world.
The Facts
There’s no reason to wait until it happens to you. According
to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 75% of all crime
in the United States is property crime. In 2003, there were 14
million thefts of property. In 83% of these crimes, the burglars
actually entered the home or some other building to steal
property.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, residential
burglaries in 2003 averaged $1600 in property or cash loss
per incident. This does not include repair of locks, doors,
windows, and other destruction. Are you willing to give $1600
(not to mention the security of your home and safety of your
family) to a burglar?
It can happen to anyone. Whether you live in an urban, suburban,
or rural area, you are a target of burglars. What are you going
to do about it?
The Options
Never underestimate the resourcefulness of an intruder. Simply
locking your doors and windows isn’t enough. If you can think
of a way to get into your home, surely someone who makes crime
his living will be able to as well.
You also shouldn’t overestimate the resourcefulness of neighbors.
Neighborhood watches are fine, but how many of your neighbors
spend every hour you aren’t home watching your house? How would
they distinguish between a furniture delivery and a robbery?
Can you tell just by looking if someone is simply walking for
exercise or casing houses for possible burglary attempts? Even
houses less than a mile from police stations are easily robbed.
There are more effective options that will prevent break-ins and
make your home secure.
Home Alarms
A simple loud noise will not deter a criminal. Your neighbors
are likely to turn up their televisions to drown out the sound.
Battery and even electrically operated sound alarms are easily
thwarted by criminals.
If you are going to use a home alarm, you should use a monitored
system. When you decide between monitored home alarm systems,
you generally have three choices – a do-it-yourself system, a
national monitoring system, and a local home security company
system.
The do-it-yourself installation systems are by far the cheapest.
You need a bit of technical know-how, and you need to know how
an intruder enters. When you buy your own equipment, you have
your choice of companies to monitor your system. Some systems
let you program additional numbers to be called when the alarm
is triggered, which isn’t as helpful as you’d think. By the
time you or a neighbor is able to react and call the police,
your burglar is usually long gone. It’s best to stick with the
pros.
National alarm system monitoring services (such as ADT or Brinks)
are the most popular. Common customer complaints include being
taken advantage of on installation. The national companies
contract installation with independent dealers. Many ADT and
Brinks customers have reported outrageous quotes, having to
negotiate with the installer, and advertised specials being
worthless. Other problems include monitoring errors and slow
reaction time. When an alarm is triggered, the company calls
you to determine if the alarm went off by accident (the large
majority of home alarm triggers are accidents by the home
owners). If they cannot get you on the phone, they will then
call the proper authorities. Unhappy customers have reported
no calls at all or very delayed calls. These companies also
require you to contract with them for a specified amount of
time, usually 2-3 years, even if you are unhappy with their
service.
Local alarm monitoring systems are usually less expensive with
higher levels of customer satisfaction. A local company will
have fewer customers, so you are more important to them. You
will get a less expensive, yet completely effective installation
by an actual company representative. Because these companies
rarely require long-term contracts, you have more freedom to
change monitoring companies. Knowing this, they will usually
charge less per month and put forth more effort to keep your
business.
Any home alarm system comes with a useful lawn sign indicating
that your home is protected by an alarm system. This, alone, is
a form of prevention as a thief is more likely to hit a house
without an alarm system. Alarm systems are also great for fires
and other emergencies. Usually as an added feature, you can
hook smoke alarms up to your monitoring system. If a smoke
alarm goes off, the fire department is notified. This is
especially beneficial during the night or if you leave pets at
home during the day. Panic buttons are good if you happen to
be home during a break-in or you have a medical emergency. You
should also get a break on your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance
when you have a system installed. Monitored home alarm systems
are definitely worth the investment, but you shouldn’t stop
there.
House Sitters
Even if you have an alarm system, house sitters are invaluable.
If you leave your home to go on vacation, your best defense is
having actual people in your home. The majority of burglaries
in the United States happen during the day while people are at
work. Criminals will take the easiest route. If people are in
their targeted home, they will move on to a house that appears
empty. The problem with traditional house sitting services is
that they simply make one or two trips to your home a day to
collect mail, open curtains, water plants, and throw off
criminals. That still leaves about 23 hours in the day that
your home is vulnerable to intrusion or fires.
The best house sitting option is to have people living in your
home. If you have a friend or family member stay at your home
full-time throughout the length of your vacation, you will worry
less about burglaries, fires, and other problems such as coming
back to a flooded home because of a broken hot water heater.
Having a house sitter also cuts down on preparation time and
expenses before your vacation. You won’t have to have your mail
stopped (all a criminal has to do is watch your postal carrier
skip your house to assume you’re on vacation), buy and set
light-timers, or even board the dog.
Don’t have a friend or family member who can stay at your home?
There are services available that match up people and live-in
house sitters. It’s as though someone is renting your house
while you’re on vacation, only they generally don’t pay you
rent. They will pay utilities, mow the lawn, take care of your
mail, pets, and home while you’re away. They will notify you of
any problems. The services help you screen candidates and find
the perfect person, couple, or family willing to take care of
your home.
The Solution
The very best prevention you can implement is a combination of
24-hour home alarm monitoring and a house sitter if you are going
to be away for any length of time. Don’t become a statistic.
Start protecting your home today!
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