Home Security From A Private Investigator's Perspective (Con't):
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The thing that sets the most secure homes apart from those less secure is often a simple matter of landscaping. Hidden in my specially equipped surveillance vehicle, I’ve been witness to all manner of yard care and privacy efforts. People will invariably choose privacy from their neighbours, over a favourable security feature in their yard.
High fences with privacy lattice, thick shrubbery and overgrown gardens, little to no outdoor lighting and often a sense of weak ownership portrayed by a relaxed attitude toward maintenance. There is a tipping point in this scenario, a point at which the pendulum swings to far toward outright privacy, and ultimately provides ample concealment for potential intruders.
High fences with privacy lattice, thick shrubbery and overgrown gardens, little to no outdoor lighting and often a sense of weak ownership portrayed by a relaxed attitude toward maintenance. There is a tipping point in this scenario, a point at which the pendulum swings to far toward outright privacy, and ultimately provides ample concealment for potential intruders.
When it comes to your home's security, it makes all kinds of sense to stop any and all intruders at the sidewalk first, and using an alarm system as a further deterrent. You can accomplish this by evaluating and improving the effectiveness of your home's second or middle security zone.
Your Home's Second Security Zone:
So what kinds of things can be done to engineer the middle zone of your security plan to achieve maximum protection? In this area you have a wide range of options, from simple landscaping to hardscaping (we’ll discuss this in a moment), surveillance cameras, and even outdoor motion sensors. Where the home security system from the close zone is all about letting you or the authorities know when an intrusion takes place, the purpose of the measures in the middle zone are intended to make your property less appealing to prowlers, and/or to capture evidence of the intruder to assist police in their investigation should there be an intrusion.
So what kinds of things can be done to engineer the middle zone of your security plan to achieve maximum protection? In this area you have a wide range of options, from simple landscaping to hardscaping (we’ll discuss this in a moment), surveillance cameras, and even outdoor motion sensors. Where the home security system from the close zone is all about letting you or the authorities know when an intrusion takes place, the purpose of the measures in the middle zone are intended to make your property less appealing to prowlers, and/or to capture evidence of the intruder to assist police in their investigation should there be an intrusion.
Right:
Effective lighting is a well-known deterrent to burglars.
Effective lighting is a well-known deterrent to burglars.
Look around your yard: has your desire to create a private little paradise overshadowed your need for security? Have you provided areas for intruders to hide while they contemplate the best way to gain entry? Is your yard (front or back) so dark that you couldn’t see a burglar hiding just a few feet away? If a police patrol was to swing by your property, would they be able to see anything more than a driveway and a few bricks on the front of your house? The golden egg of advice here is simple; make your home less desirable for intruders. So how do you do that? A few basic rules might be:
Maintain Your Yard And Your Home’s Exterior:
If you were to look at pictures of two properties, in one the home was clean and well maintained, no peeling paint, no front porch clutter and a nicely manicured lawn with neat flowerbeds and a few small shrubs; in the other, the gardens are overgrown, the lawn needs to be cut (but it’s not unruly, yet), the house has some peeling paint on the trim, some of the siding is dented and there are some boxes on the front porch.
Which one of those homes seems like an easier target to you? While some might say the first home might yield a better haul, I would definitely say (as would most crime statisticians) that the second home is the better choice for a burglar. It’s a simple trick of psychology, the first home tells passers-by that the owner cares about the property, they’re vigilant and organized and the consequences of breaking in and getting caught will likely be greater. The second home says that the homeowner doesn’t really care, at least to the degree of the first homeowner, and as such it might be easier to find an unlocked window or door; at the very least the bushes and overgrown gardens offer a hiding spot to think about how to break in. Given the choice between those two homes, the unfortunate second homeowner is in for a fright, and unfortunately, as deterrents go, this homeowner’s neighbours may thank them in the end, for not sending the crook on down the street to their house.
If you were to look at pictures of two properties, in one the home was clean and well maintained, no peeling paint, no front porch clutter and a nicely manicured lawn with neat flowerbeds and a few small shrubs; in the other, the gardens are overgrown, the lawn needs to be cut (but it’s not unruly, yet), the house has some peeling paint on the trim, some of the siding is dented and there are some boxes on the front porch.
Which one of those homes seems like an easier target to you? While some might say the first home might yield a better haul, I would definitely say (as would most crime statisticians) that the second home is the better choice for a burglar. It’s a simple trick of psychology, the first home tells passers-by that the owner cares about the property, they’re vigilant and organized and the consequences of breaking in and getting caught will likely be greater. The second home says that the homeowner doesn’t really care, at least to the degree of the first homeowner, and as such it might be easier to find an unlocked window or door; at the very least the bushes and overgrown gardens offer a hiding spot to think about how to break in. Given the choice between those two homes, the unfortunate second homeowner is in for a fright, and unfortunately, as deterrents go, this homeowner’s neighbours may thank them in the end, for not sending the crook on down the street to their house.
Limit Fencing To Reasonable Sizes And Locations:
Fences, also known as the principal component in hardscape on your property, are meant to provide a visual barrier in both directions; they are not intended to physically bar anyone from your property (unless you’re including razor wire and electricity). They key thing to remember when thinking about your fences, is that the visual barrier works just as well for intruders as it does for backyard relaxation. All things being equal, two homes with the same layout, level of ownership and lighting, have equal deterrent value, but if you add a six foot privacy fence around the back yard of one, you just provided the bad guy with an incentive to choose one over the other. Hoping the fence is simple compared with remaining unseen in an open yard.
Fences, also known as the principal component in hardscape on your property, are meant to provide a visual barrier in both directions; they are not intended to physically bar anyone from your property (unless you’re including razor wire and electricity). They key thing to remember when thinking about your fences, is that the visual barrier works just as well for intruders as it does for backyard relaxation. All things being equal, two homes with the same layout, level of ownership and lighting, have equal deterrent value, but if you add a six foot privacy fence around the back yard of one, you just provided the bad guy with an incentive to choose one over the other. Hoping the fence is simple compared with remaining unseen in an open yard.
Above:
Try to balance privacy and security when choosing a fence for your yard.
Try to balance privacy and security when choosing a fence for your yard.
Use Lighting Effectively:
This is my all time favourite way to deter bad guys, and it seems that most people are either unaware of the effectiveness of lighting, or they prefer to live in the dark. Lighting can be used in both the middle and close zones to provide the same deterrent. In simple terms, to the bad guy lights mean someone’s home. Most people don’t realise that the difference between burglary and home invasion, is whether or not someone was home at the time. Guess which one is more serious in the eyes of the law. For this fact, most would-be burglars will invariably choose the home that is least likely to be occupied, and in our wheel of circular logic, how do we best make them wonder if someone’s home? We light the place up!
This is my all time favourite way to deter bad guys, and it seems that most people are either unaware of the effectiveness of lighting, or they prefer to live in the dark. Lighting can be used in both the middle and close zones to provide the same deterrent. In simple terms, to the bad guy lights mean someone’s home. Most people don’t realise that the difference between burglary and home invasion, is whether or not someone was home at the time. Guess which one is more serious in the eyes of the law. For this fact, most would-be burglars will invariably choose the home that is least likely to be occupied, and in our wheel of circular logic, how do we best make them wonder if someone’s home? We light the place up!
But it’s not good enough to just leave lights on all night, whether they’re porch lights or living room lamps. Automatic timers, photocells and motion detectors are the easy answer. Install, or have installed, lights with photo sensors which will turn them on and off automatically when the sun rises and sets. Have those same lights outfitted with motion detectors, so that the intruder will get a surprise when he approaches. Set up some of your interior lights to turn on and off at regular times of day with a good quality timer, so that you appear to be home when you’re actually not.
Install Conspicuous Video Surveillance:
Depending on how and where it’s installed, a video surveillance system can and does work as both an effective means of collecting evidence of an intrusion, and as a deterrent. Now, hidden cameras and larger units placed in private areas do less to deter a crook than cameras deliberately placed out in front for all to see, because the deterrent effect requires the entire system to be obvious to anyone who may approach. Having a good quality camera installed on your property doesn’t need to be expensive either; there’s a wide range of pricing levels, technologies and methods of installation, so there’s bound to be a system that works for your needs and budget. You can learn more about video surveillance for the home here.
Next: Your Home's Third Security Zone
Depending on how and where it’s installed, a video surveillance system can and does work as both an effective means of collecting evidence of an intrusion, and as a deterrent. Now, hidden cameras and larger units placed in private areas do less to deter a crook than cameras deliberately placed out in front for all to see, because the deterrent effect requires the entire system to be obvious to anyone who may approach. Having a good quality camera installed on your property doesn’t need to be expensive either; there’s a wide range of pricing levels, technologies and methods of installation, so there’s bound to be a system that works for your needs and budget. You can learn more about video surveillance for the home here.
Next: Your Home's Third Security Zone