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Protect Your Home This Holiday Season

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Burglars are opportunists looking for a score. They case a neighborhood looking for homes that look unoccupied, mailboxes stuffed, news papers piled up, lights off, shades up with a Christmas tree in the window inside with lots of gifts under the tree.

They prefer homes with no signage outside says “This House Is Alarmed” or “Protected By ADT”. Once they determine a valuable target they begin jiggling doorknobs to see which homes aren’t locked.

It’s not uncommon for burglars to walk around the house in broad daylight looking like a contractor, holding a clipboard and in some kind of a uniform. Their goal is to look like they belong there.

The chances of your home getting burglarized are reduced significantly when you put layers of protection in place.

Protect yourself:

Install a home security system and keep it on during the day when you are home or away and especially at night while you are sleeping.

Lock your doors and install good door locks that can’t be easily “bumped”. This generally means spending a little more money and getting advice from a locksmith.

Keep shades down so the bad guy can’t see what you have going on inside.

Put your light on timers to give your home that lived in look.

If you have a garage, pull in the garage when unloading gifts and large purchases

If you travel make sure to have someone collect mail, newspapers and even shovel while you are gone.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams. Disclosures

Keeping Tabs On Your Home When Away

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You may have a single family home, second home, or apartment. And no matter what your abode sitchy is, there is no place like home. Whenever I leave, I miss my family, house, and stuff.  When we go on vacation, we are always happy to go home. I hope your sitchy feels the same.

And whenever I leave there is always a discomfort that when I’m not there to guard the castle, I’m concerned that something can go wrong. Mother Nature can make a mess of things with inclement weather, Father Time wears things down and they may break while you are gone, brazen burglars ransack your stuff, tempted teens use your vacated home as a party palace and worse than it all, freaky follies occur like a busted water pipe on the second or third floor completely ruining your home.  Water is big time destructive.

I’ve remedied most of these issues by installed a surveillance system by ADT Pulse on my property. Mine is a little over the top, however it serves as a good guide.

I have 16 surveillance cameras including 8 on the inside and 8 on the outside. Each camera is strategically placed to give me a remote view of each critical access point on the perimeter and on the inside.  There are also cameras in the garage and mechanical room. Each camera is set up to record video whenever there is motion. Each “event” is then sent via text message to alert me to the activity.

In the event that a water pipe lets loose I have water sensors tied directly to the Internet. If the water heater or any water dependant appliance gets all freaky In the kitchen I’ll be alerted via text to the issue.

When I’m home my touchpad’s or PC are alarm central. And when I’m out or away it becomes laptop, iPad or mobile. No matter where I am, I have full access to the goings on of my property.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures

How to Save Money With a Home Security System

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The best thing about a recession is it smartens people up. It makes us tighten our belts and shed excess. I’m definitely guilty of piling on the debt circa 2004-8 in the irrational exuberance years.  But as soon as the ball dropped I made significant change.  Immediately I looked at all the monthly recurring fees and bills and cut down on about 80% of them.

I also have a monthly bill for home security alarm monitoring. But not once did I contemplate eliminating that. Actually I upgraded my system to one that’s more efficient that has more options too. My ADT Pulse system has an internet based dashboard that allows me to set schedules for lights, heat and cooling so I sat down and looked at how I could make this system pay for itself.

First thing I did was set schedules for the heat. I have a gas fired hot air system and gas isn’t cheap, nor is the electric to run it. It’s common knowledge that home heating should be set to 68 degrees, so I set my heat to run at 68 starting at the hour of 6 am, which is generally when everyone’s up and about. The 68 degrees runs all the way until 10pm because there is always someone home. Then I set the heat to drop to 64 degrees on the first floor and 66 in the bedrooms on the second floor.  Nobody but the dog is on the first floor and she’s got a fur coat. And everyone in the bedrooms is under blankets and has enough body heat to handle the 2 degree drop.

Over the past year it has become evident that this simple tweak in my heat scheduling has saved me money in excess of what my home security system costs. Nice!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Home Invader/Killer Says He’s Done It Before

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There’s no need to live in fear. And there is a need to take responsibility for your family’s security by investing in a home security system and take some control over your personal security.

Convicted killer and home invader on death row Steven Hayes apparently wrote letters confessing to up to 17 murders of women over the course of his miserable life.

The New Haven register reports he noted “Yes, I’ve killed before,” Hayes bragged. “I have 17 kills throughout the Northeast United States. Perfect victims and well executed, controlled endeavors.”

Hayes partnered with Joshua Komisarjevsky in the “Petit home invasion” which has become known as one of the most brutal highly publicized home invasions ever, where a mom and her two daughters were killed as the Dr. dad lay beaten and bloody in the basement.

Hayes purportedly wrote in a letter “I’ve searched my whole life for someone who could embrace and had the capacity for evil as I possess, I thought I finally found it in Josh.”

Apparently Hayes played the father figure role and Komisarjevsky served as his evil apprentice. But in the letters Hayes wrote “But events show Josh, while (he) had the proper evil intent, lacked in the most serious aspects, commitment and control.”

He further wrote “the Petit home invasion was a dry run in the partnership between Josh and myself. I do now realize that had we gotten away, I would have killed Josh. He was not even close to being worthy of my partnership.”

The letters go on to describe in painful detail how Hayes selected his victims one by one in a process that allowed him to avoid detection for almost 20 years.
Creepy.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams. Disclosures

Community Comes Together to Fight Burglary

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In Rochester New York they are being “plagued” by burglaries which rose by over 13 percent in the last year. As a result they organized a Burglary Prevention Clinic to teach homeowners how to better secure their homes.

WHEC reports one of the residents was quoted saying “It’s so easy to forget that maybe I didn’t lock my window, or I didn’t secure my door, or my lock is a little loose.”

This particular event had more than the standard Neighborhood Watch attendees. In attendance was law enforcement, security professionals, locksmiths, politicians, insurance agents and community members all sharing their experience and best practices to keep safe.

They discussed a number of security issues, people voiced their concerns but one politicians stated very poignantly “I would say the most important thing is that there’s a lot that we can do to protect each other, so communication with your neighbors, and relationship with your neighbors goes a long way.”

Use solid steel or solid wood doors.

Trim shrubs to eliminate hiding spots.

Report suspicious activity in your neighborhood.

Start a neighborhood watch and get to know your neighbors.

Inform a few trusted neighbors of any travel plans to assist in the collection of newspapers and mail.

Install a home security system monitored by law enforcement and consider security cameras too.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Thinking About Building a Safe Room?

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A safe room also known as a panic room is designed to keep bad out and extend your lifetime. Bad could be in the form of Mother Nature’s wrath, manmade disaster or a human predator.

There are varying levels of options and financial investments based on what exactly you want to protect yourself from.  For example if you live in a part of the world where tornados are a problem then you may build your safe room with similar security features as you would when trying to protect from a predator. But may not as extreme as protecting yourself from manmade disaster, like nuclear fallout.

FEMA has a guide that begins the process of building a safe room and asks you to consider: When extreme weather threatens, individuals and families need advance warning and protection from the dangerous forces of extreme winds. Individuals and communities in tornado and hurricane areas need structurally sound safe rooms and early alert systems.

What is the cost of installing a safe room?

Can I install a safe room in an existing home?

Can I build the safe room myself?

Where is the best location for the safe room?

Where can I find plans for safe room construction?

FEMAs guide discusses having a safe room in your home or small business that can help provide “near-absolute protection” for you and your family or your employees from injury or death caused by the dangerous forces of extreme winds.

This is a good start for anyone considering a safe room of any kind. In the next post we’ll get into detail about what designs may be considered when building one to protect for predators and even manmade disasters.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures

Defense Begins in Petit Home Invasions

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It’s as hard for me to write this as it is for you to read this. In one of the worst publically known home invasions of the 21st century one defendant has received the death penalty while the other is facing the same fate. Joshua Komisarjevsky, confessed to the attack on the home and family of Dr. William Petit, and the murders of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and girls Michaela Petit, 11 and Hayley Petit, 17.

The 2 home invaders met in jail and after they got out one night set out to rob some people at ATMs and ultimately landed at the Petit home. The father was sitting on his sun porch when the two men came in and Komisarjevsky hit him with a baseball bat.

Then both men went up stairs to tie up mom and two kids. A short while later one of them escorted the mother to the bank to take out $15,000.00.

When they came back each of the men sexually assaulted the mom and a daughter. To cover up the DNA evidence they debated to burn the house down killing the victims and destroy the evidence.

After what Komisarjevsky described as a brief argument they agreed and poured gasoline all over the house. The mom and her daughters died of smoke inhalation.

In his confession Komisarjevsky stated “They did every, they did, they did what they were supposed to do. There was no reason for them to die. They were compliant the entire way, both you know, very bright young ladies.”

We can “what if” all day long and play out different endings as a result of actions or inaction taken. I’ll simply offer this; while compliance is how most of us are raised and is necessary in a civilized society, sometimes noncompliance is in order in an uncivilized situation.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Reinforcing Your Doors Security (Part 3 of 3)

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Frightening Statistics:

1 of every 5 homes will experience a break-in or violent home invasion.

80% of break-ins occur forcibly through a locked door.

A burglary occurs every 15 seconds in the United States.

This is why installing multiple layers of protection including a home security alarm, door reinforcement and numerous other methods are fundamental to your homes security.

In a recent post I discussed 5 different kinds of door reinforcement devices and then focused on door frame reinforcement. Here I’m reviewing door brace options. Door braces are usually floor mounted alloy metal devices that come in two parts. One is the horizontal floor plate screwed right in the floor and the other is a vertical plate that inserts in the floor plate tightly fit up against the door.

I called Mr. Jordan Frankel known as The Security Sensei of ShatterGARD Glass Protection, Inc. A Division of Global Security Experts to review the OnGARD Security Door Brace. Jordan is a passionate inventor and well sought after expert in home security worldwide. In our conversations he was flying between Saudi Arabia, China and somewhere stateside. He’s like the Thomas Edison of home security.

I’ve known of door braces for some time now. Usually they are a “door bar jammer” which are installed under the doorknob and pitch to a 45 degree angle to the floor. The OnGARD Security Door Brace is in a another league.

What I like most about this device is simply how difficult it becomes for a 250 pound man to kick in your door. The device installs on the floor with four heavy screws and you’re done. It works best when you are home as this device essentially (for lack of a better tem) barricades you in. I asked Jordan how else this would work if I wanted to keep it installed when I leave the home and he suggested if you have a garage door then enter and exit through the garage, which makes perfect sense. The OnGard is less than a foot wide and 4 inches tall but is a beast. I like a door brace in combination with door frame reinforcement to add 2 effective layers of door reinforcement security.

I’m sleeping even better these days.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

 

Reinforcing Your Doors Security (Part 2 of 3)

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In a recent post I discussed 5 different kinds of door reinforcement devices. In this post I’m going to review a door frame reinforcement device by Door Devil. I reached out to other manufacturers of door frame reinforcement and only Nick Fairless from Door Devil was kind enough to respond and send out a device to test.

The Door Devil Anti Kick Door Jamb Security Kit is made of a 1/16“ heavy steel and is 4 feet in length and is installed on the door jamb center, right over the exiting strike plates. Standard door security is comprised of (2-4) small screws through 1-2 small strike plates attached to a thin door frame. A strong kick focuses on this single weak point and easily blows apart the door frame. That’s why kick-ins are (by far) the #1 tactic for home invaders.

|Door Jamb fortified with Door Devil™ provides additional security with:

1) 48″ steel door jamb reinforcement replaces 3″ brass strike plate

2) Force is diffused across 4 feet of the door frame

3) 3.5″ heavy screws drive into 2×4 studs behind door frame

4) 3″ screws reinforce hinges – provide extra door security

What I like most about the door frame reinforcement technology is that it’s always there. Meaning there are no moving/additional parts, it requires no effort other than an initial install and then locking your doors. By itself the Door Devil is one layer of security in addition to a home security alarm and cameras and does a great job. Keep in mind that after about a minute of kicking and shouldering a door, most burglars would give up.

There is one more layer of door security I’d recommend in the category of “door brace” discussed in post 3.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

 

Dumb Ankle Monitor Wearing Home Invader Busted

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If you ever decide to get all hopped up on drugs and seek some extra cash to feed your fix, I’d suggest not wearing your governmental department of corrections court ordered previously installed GPS ankle-monitoring bracelet to your next home invasion.  Chances are you’ll get caught.

But as tongue and cheek funny this may be, this home invader “leveled a shotgun at a young couple and their infant child.”

It’s scary to know that hardened criminals are only tethered by a “signal” and don’t care about getting caught.

Companies that provide ankle bracelets set up their products to send a signal to a GPS satellite every minute to track its location. That information is logged into a data base. If the “tracker” which could be a parole officer or law enforcement has the system set to notify them if the criminal is outside of their required boundaries, police are dispatched.

But in many situations criminals with GPS ankle bracelets can roam free. It’s only when they cut the bracelet off that a signal is sent to the devices last location.

Here are 5 tips to help keep you safe and prevent a home invasion:
1. Never talk to strangers via an open or screen door. Always talk to them through a locked door.

2. NEVER let children open the doors. Always require and adult to do it.

3. Install a home burglar alarm and keep it on 24/7/365. With a home alarm system on, when someone knocks on the door, a conscious decision has to be made to turn off the alarm. Most people will keep it on.

4. Not all home invaders knock, some break in without warning.  Just another reason to have that alarm on.

5. Install a 24-hour camera surveillance system. Cameras are a great deterrent.  Have them pointed to every door and access point.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing ADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures