Order by 11:00am central time for same-day shipping!

Week 7 of 52: Basic Home Security

Learn how to protect from home by using these home security layers.

wk 7
Everyone wants to believe that they are safe and sound when they latch the windows and lock the doors. We even experience an added security boost when we live in an expensive neighborhood, a home with a security system, and an active neighborhood watch program. Today, we would all love to have Gladys Kravitz (Bewitched) as our next door neighbor. In reality, security gadgets can protect the outside of your home, but it’s meaningless if you cannot protect what’s inside. People can still be mugged, burglarized, and attacked simply by opening the door to a stranger or by leaving vulnerable areas of their home exposed. I’m going to ask you a question. Have you ever placed a key under a mat? I ask this because we all have placed the spare key under the mat at one time, and the burglars know that trick. It is not my intention to promote fear, but to awaken you to potential hazards. You want to make breaking into your home difficult.

Designing a home defense system that includes multiple security layers is a proactive way to protect your home, family, and belongings. Security layers are preventative measures that will advertise to intruders that they should avoid your home altogether. The more layers you have in and around your home, the less likely a criminal is going to choose your home as his/her next “job.”

Layer 1: The Outside Layer. This layer comprises the outer perimeter of your home, the landscaping, and security features (e.g., flood lights, motion detectors, gates, doors, locks). Installing preventative measures around your home will advertise to anyone staking out your neighborhood that you mean business. Walk around your home and distinguish where the vulnerable areas are. Making some minor adjustments to the outside of the home can help secure it from the outside-in. By planting thorn-bearing plants, bushes and trees around the vulnerable and exposed areas of the home can help secure the property. One of the most vulnerable areas of your outside perimeter are the windows. One heavy lawn chair can easily be tossed into a window, thus shattering it and creating an easy entry. Investing in shatter proof window film may be a solution to this potential problem.

Layer 2: The Inside Layer. This layer comprises the inside of your home. Taking some small preventative measures (e.g., home alarm system, web cams, emergency protocols, and emergency phone numbers) can help secure the inner sanctity of your home. A person who is prepared for a burglar or home invader is well-equipped with knowledge of their home’s security features, how to get additional family members to safety, and, as a last resort, how to use a weapon. Teaching family members what a home invasion is and the emergency protocols associated with this will help each family member understand what to do if this situation occurs.

Layer 3: The Personal Layer. This layer is the most critical because it is based around all of the protocols, defense training, and emergency plans you have already established. The personal layer is the only layer that you can take into the outside world. When you are walking and someone tries to mug you, you will use your defense training and emergency protocols to deal with the attacker(s). Recently, there have been news reports about mob attacks at stores and on some personal property. Perhaps if the store owners had utilized all of the protective layers the outcomes would have ended differently.

Consider installing a safe room. A safe room is a great starting point for preparing a personal layer. In addition, it may be the last effort to defend yourself and your family. Although it is a personal preference to have a gun in the home, having multiple techniques of defending yourself would be prudent. Learning self‑defense to incapacitate your attacker or attackers through rapid response techniques would a great course for the entire family to take. There are many different forms of self‑defense courses available: Krav Maga and Wing Chun are two popular courses. In addition to using your body as a weapon, there are other weapons that can be used to defend yourself, such as the following:

  • Pepper spray
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Hot coffee
  • Lamps
  • Metal baseball bat
  • Salt in the eyes
  • Butcher knife

Preps to buy:

Your security items should fit your personal choices and budget. Therefore, I will not make any suggested preps. I do hope that you will make some suggested improvements to your already existing home security. With the increase in crime, jobless rates, and increased food prices, home break-ins are likely to be on the rise. At the very minimum, you could buy these low cost items:

  • Window alarm systems.
  • Combination or key locks for the backyard fences.
  • Infrared (IR) floodlights to illuminate the property (These can be motion-sensor activated).
  • Ensure that your doors and locks are reinforced.

To read more information on different types of security features and locks, here is some suggested material:

Home Security: Securing the Doors

Home Security: Securing the Windows

Action Items:

1. Create an emergency protocol and discuss it with your family members. Be sure to include a list of emergency phone numbers and escape routes.

2. Create a safe room where family members can retreat to if there is a break in. Ensure that the safe room has a phone line, and if you have a gun in the home, ensure the gun is in the room. Please make sure that the gun is locked and put away so small children do not have access to it.

3. Install some outer preventive layers such as the following:

  • Ensure your doors are strong. (A hollow-core metal or solid wood door is best.)
  • If your doors are comprised of glass, install a double cylinder lock to reinforce the strength.
  • Install 1-inch deadbolt locks on all exterior doors.
  • Install locks on the back fences.
  • Infrared (IR) floodlights to illuminate the property (These can be motion-sensor activated).
  • Put a peep hole in the door.

4. Install some inner preventative layers such as the following:

  • Burglar-proof your glass patio doors by setting a pipe or metal bar in the middle bottom track of the door slide. The pipe should be the same length as the track.
  • Put an anti-lift device in your windows.
  • Add an intrusion detection system.
  • Position hidden web cams strategically throughout your home. Place the computer that is monitoring the locations in a hidden spot so the criminals cannot walk off with it.
  • Sign family members up for a self-defense course.
  • If you have a gun, go to gun range. The only way you will be an accurate shot is if you practice on a regular basis.

This article was originally published at Ready Nutrition™ on June 17th, 2011