An approach to home security

Security is an important part of your life. You, your family and business are in need of some kind of basic security. Especially at home you are in need of security. Without it, you and your family will not live and sleep as comfortable as you should be.

To create the security you need at your home you can do some simple things. The most important condition for security is awareness. Where ever you are, at home, at work, travelling. You and your family should be aware of the environment around you. Be aware where you are, what is around you, who you’re going to meet and how you can get away. This is in general, the basic idea about security. Everything else is more or less supporting your security. Mostly with the use of technical means.

Home Security

To be secure and safe in your home, you ideally do, or have done, some research about the geographic area where you’re going to live and/or where you’re living. The neighborhood is an important element as it will tell you were the dangers, potential threats will come from and what, level of, actions are necessary to maintain/improve your security. In what kind of community you’re living, buy or rent, house or appartement, upper class or working class, gated community or ghetto. How often does your living area turn up in police reports or even local news.

Where you live will determine what you have to do. Living in an appartement or a single house on a plot of land. Will demand a different kind of approach, entry, into security.

To be more secure we will build several layers of defence around your home. This will make it any trespasser more difficult to enter your property. We don’t want any trespasser to enter your property so we will make it difficult to enter. We will create obstacles to change his mind about entering your property.

There are five layers to overcome before any trespasser can make it to the inside to his or her thing, e.g. become a imminent threat to you and your family.

The first layer: perimeter defence;

the second layer: ironware;

the third layer: electronic security;

the fourth layer: safe room;

the fifth layer: essentially a catch all layer, awareness.

Perimeter defence

If you don’t live in appartement or gated community and have a single home on a plot of land you will need some kind of fence and automatic gates as the first obstacle to deter trespassers.

The area between the fence and the house should be observable and shouldn’t give any illegal entrants the opportunity to hide themselves. But it should also give you privacy and give bypassers little opportunity to have a good view at your property. Anything what they don’t see wil not attract them to come inside. With the use of landscaping and gardening you can do a lot to achieve it.

Ironware

The fence, gates, doors and windows should be of good quality as should the locks on it. A lock is for a professional burglar nothing more than an 1 to 5 minute delay. It’s never the less an obstacle which could stop a trespasser, make it more difficult and most important create noises which could set of an alarm, security, system. Or attract attention from who ever might hear it.

Hard wooden, solid, doors or even steel doors will make it more difficult to break it down. Glass has to be double-pane or even security kind of glass.

Electronic security system

Were as perimeter defence and ironware will make it more difficult to enter, electronic alarm, security, systems will give a warning if somebody is entering but it will also work as a warning to enter. Most burglars will choose an other object to enter if they’ve knowledge about a security system.

The main advantages about electronic security is:

– it will work 24/7;

– it will report if something is going on;

– it will call emergency services;

– and you get the help which is needed.

Indoor electronic security system work with passive infra-red and movement sensors and glassbreak sensors. Or a combination of both. This depends on if you have animals or if you want to have an alarmsystem operating and still have the ability to walk around in the house. Most systems also have a fire-detection system, an emergency button and electrical current control function coupled to the system.

Outdoor electronic security systems also exist and can be used. They register any contact with the fence or if somebody crosses certain areas. They can be used in combination with a CCTV system to check if the alarm is genuine.

An electronic security system can be a stand-alone system, just giving a sound and/or light alarm. It can be connected to your mobile phone and will send you a sms tekst message what is happening. And you even can connect it with a CCTV system. This will show you what is happening at your property. You can then contact the police or fire department.

It’s ofcourse better if your electronic alarm system is connected with a professional alarm centre, emergency room. They will monitor your alarm system, send someone over to check the situation and/or contact the necessary emergency services.

Safe room

If your property, house, is entered by burglars, criminals, and the police isn’t be able to respons that quickly you can build for this occasion a safe room in your house. This room is constructed with extra strong walls and an armored door. Inside there are communicaton equipment and enough food and beverages to wait for the police to come and rescue you and your family.

Awareness

The most important element of security is awareness. Be aware where you live, who is around you, who is passing by. Try to get as much information as possible about the environment around you. With this information you can find out if there is a potential threat around which might harm you and your family. Plan for incidents and what to do if they might happen.

Make sure the gates and doors are locked and the electronic security system is switched on. Be aware to change your behavior. Try not to do everything everyday the same. Patterns are great for criminals and for security services for that matter.

Awareness will take care that you’re prepared for most incidents which might happen. And if you’re prepared you will be better able to confront the problem and eliminate it.

Conclusion

Security is a choice, you can do more than expected. It depends where you live and what you can afford or want to invest for your security. But even for an average house, there is a electronic alarm system available with an alarm centre for a very reasonable price. For example, in the Netherlands is the security provider Securitas offering such a (professional) home security system.

And be aware is possible for everybody, it is a mindset. You can train yourself to be more aware of the world, people, around you. You can do your own risk analysis about your environment and what can be done to maintain/increase your security.

What you need to improve your security is a matter of analysis. You can do it yourself. Or we can do it for you. Decide what level of security is necessary for you and your familiy. What equipment and systems are needed. And what additional training you and your family need to be secure.

Especially for larger properties, economical/political important families and security interested people a professional analysis might be useful.