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Security Cameras Catch Intruder

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Video is a great thief repellant. It is one layer of security that must be incorporated into every home security system. However there is no such thing as 100% security. And while video often catches a thief in the act, it can’t actually catch a thief. That’s what police are for.

In Des Moines Iowa, which I’ve been to a few times and is a very cool place, lots of Bald Eagles, a bar owner was awoken to a phone call from ADT Security calling to tell him the alarm in his bar was going off. At the same time the police were summoned.

Meanwhile the bar owner logged into his security systems internet enabled cameras and saw the legs of a man dangling from the ceiling through ceiling tiles! The criminal apparently cut a hole in the roof! Then he saw the man jump to the floor with a crowbar and immediately head towards his target: a ticket machine full of cash.

Obviously the thief knew what he was after. After about 3 minutes he ran out when the police arrived and narrowly escaped.

Now the police have video footage of the thief to use to hopefully catch him.

Security is about layers of protection. The protection in this case at least minimized the damage by sending off a piercing alarm reducing the damage the criminal would do if he stayed longer and then the cameras will help identify the thief. Fortunately the bar owner has insurance (which is another layer of protection) that will ultimately pay for the loss and damage.

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

Your “Status” is Important to Others

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People have always paid attention to your status. Now they do it on social media. Status is your “standing” in society. It could mean whether you are married, employed, rich, poor, saving the world, up to no good, home or not.

Status in terms of home security begins with your whereabouts.

By now we should all know posting your whereabouts (or where you aren’t) can be an invitation for criminals to break into your home while you are gone. It’s simply not a good idea to post you are not home and your house is vacant. On the other hand it is a great idea to have home security cameras and an alarm system.

Furthermore, if you travel, contrary to what some might suggest, I’ve never thought it was a good idea to place your status on a “stop mail” list at the post office.  It’s the same thing with stopping delivery of your newspaper. Once you are on that list, it is known you are away. The best case scenario for both issues is to have a trusted friend, family member or neighbor grab your mail and newspaper for you. Never list your vacation plans on social media. The last thing you need to be doing on Facebook is telling the world you are 2000 miles away.

In Houston, two dumb criminals, one a teller at a bank that was just robbed and her boyfriend posted their status as “IM RICH” and “WIPE MY TEETH WITH HUNDREDS”  were arrested shortly after someone notified police on their status.

People are definitely paying attention to your status, so secure your social media.

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

This Doesn’t Happen In Small Towns

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If you have children you know what worry is. If you have a daughter you worry times ten. I have 2 daughters and I worry times 10,000. Worrying is unproductive however, but taking action can and putting your worry to work can create positive results.

In a small Massachusetts town a recently graduated and talented 18 year old woman got off work and went to the beach to meet an 18 year old man she was in some type of relationship with.

She was supposed to check in with her dad early evening and never did. Her father got worried and called all her fiends then the police. The next day a bicyclist found her body in a wooded area in the small town.

The 18 year old man was arrested in the same day as the suspect in her murder. Her dad was quoted saying “When we fall in love, we allow ourselves to become vulnerable and we lose perspective.” That’s an amazingly poignant and correct observation coming from a man who just lost his daughter and only child

The Boston Globe reported one of the residents stated “People who are not from a small town don’t understand. We are all so tight here. . . . Stuff like this doesn’t happen here.’’

Stuff like this happens in small towns. It happens everywhere. Predators are people not “right in the head” and they are part of every town.

Reporting this isn’t fun.  Reading is less so. Worrying is futile. But taking action and learning self defense, teaching your kids at an early age how to protect themselves is fundamental to living.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing self defense on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Home Invader Says God Told Him to Do it

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Of all the things God would tell you to do, would it be break into someone’s house? Probably not. He might tell you to go invest in a home security system to prevent a home invasion but otherwise….no, I don’t think so.

Gawker reports “The Connecticut native was arrested for breaking into a stranger’s home, telling the owner that God made him do it, and then proceeding to smash statues of Roman soldiers and a marble table with a fireplace poker. Then he took a shower and dressed himself in the clothing of a deceased man who used to live there. When police took him into custody, he informed them that he’d smoked “a strange strand of herb.”

Smoking “a strange strand of herb” is probably what he thinks is God talking to him.

Meanwhile when in the home the invader told the homeowner he’d broken into the house because “God wants me to help the world,” and then told the homeowner, “I mean you no harm.”

The homeowner then called the police and as they waited for police, the homeowner asked him how he broke into the home, which he stood up then flexed and replied ‘You see, super-human strength.”

He definitely smoked something strange.

Rule #1: Never smoke anything strange because God may talk to you in way you wouldn’t expect.

Rule #2: Install a home alarm system to prevent someone who smokes strange herbs from invading your home and breaking all your little statues with a fireplace poker.

Rule #3: If ever invaded don’t hang out in the house with the invader asking them questions. Leave. Go to a safe place, then call the police.

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

Woman Bites Off Attackers Tongue

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Years ago my childhood hero was this Chicago cop named JJ Bittenbinder. He would say “If all else fails, let them kiss you, then bite down on their lips until your teeth meet.”

The Boston Globe reports a woman was attacked in an alley and her attacker lost a big chunk of his tongue. The cops found it on the ground in an alley near a church after she defended herself. Maybe she read my book.

The guy fled and ended up in a clinic where police had already sent a bulletin.

It is important to understand that in any attack situation the victim actually has a lot of control over the outcome if they react within the first 30-60 seconds. What the victim does in that initial time frame can allow them to gain control over the direction of the attack. The attacker generally goes into the attack thinking the victim will be submissive but when the victim is confrontational the attacker is usually not prepared for that.

Offering resistance has been proven to stop an attack situation more than 80% of the time.

In addition to installing a home security system, it is essential that kids, women and men take hardcore self defense classes. The best program is known as Impact Model Mugging which utilizes a technique called “adrenal stress training”. Look them up and take any class within driving distance.

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

Woman Hit With Frying Pan In Home Invasion

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We’ve gone over this at least a thousand times, lock your doors at night while you sleep, lock your windows and install a home security alarm.

Why? Because strange men who have murdered in the past and have been incarcerated as a teenager eventually get out of jail and then invade a person’s home at 3 am and hit the home owners daughter in the head with a cast iron pan. That’s why.

In Portland at 15 years old this guy pleaded no contest to murder. He eventually got out in 2006. Then at 26 years old he decides to break into someone’s house and fracture their skull. I have a cast iron frying pan and they are fantastic to make blackened fish and fajitas. And I can see how one to the skull could do some damage. His dad says drugs aren’t the problem but his son might have mental health issues. I’m no doctor, but I’d have to agree.

What he was after and why he broke in is not known. He didn’t have much time to steal anything because the father of the girl stabbed the home invader multiple time as the criminal was running out the door.

Understand that there always have been criminals, there are criminals now and there will always be criminals. And you Harry Homeowner need to recognize this and take steps to prevent becoming a criminal’s target.

Frankly, all that blood all over the house makes quite a mess and is just so unnecessary. A simple screaming home alarm in many cases could prevent the whole stabbing, frying pan, home invasion and waking up at 3 am thing from happening in the first place.

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

Home Alarm System Aids Tornado Victims

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The ADT Pulse alarm system I have has a “Panic” button in case we are in an emergency situation where we need help. I’ve always visualized situations such as home invasion or maybe medical or fire emergency as its intended function.

Well one ADT customer Jarod Stice and his fiancé Jessica Bennett — along with their dog – were huddled under two sheets of plywood and a tarp in the basement of their new Joplin, MO home, while one of the deadliest tornados in U.S. history wreaked havoc overhead.

After emerging from the rubble where his home once stood and uninjured, Jarod climbed up the basement stairs reaching for the control panel of the ADT Pulse home alarm system mounted on one of the few remaining walls. He pushed the emergency button knowing that the system –which uses cell-phone technology – would dial out automatically and relay the need for help to an operator at one of ADT’s Customer Monitoring Centers. The signal was immediately received by Customer Care Representative.

Within minutes help was on the way. Jarod credits ADT for helping to get emergency aid quickly to several seriously injured people whom he and other neighbors had pulled from the rubble and shepherded into his basement for safety.

“The EMTs were able to get within three houses of our home,” he said. “They had to be responding to the alarm because there’s no other reason they would come this close. We were one of the first in the neighborhood to get help.”

Thanks to the quick response from the paramedics, all of those hurt survived the injuries. According to Jared, no one in his immediate neighborhood was among the more than 130 people killed by the tornado.

Become familiar with your alarm control panels panic button. It may save your life or the life of a loved one.

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

Three Dead and One Shot in Home Invasion

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Not all home invaders invade to steal. Some are simply mentally ill and violent and seek a victim or in this case, victims. Here is an unfortunate example of why you should have a home alarm system and security cameras.

Imagine living into your 80’s only to be taken down by the neighbor from down the street in a fit of rage. With no signs of forced entry the 27 year old with a history of mental illness committed a random act of violence by stabbing a husband, wife and their son before being shot and killed by the son.

Apparently the son had come home to his parent’s home and walked in on the stabbing. He quickly ran upstairs and grabbed a gun and shot the suspect a bunch of times.

There were no signs of forced entry where the attack occurred. Investigators found one unlocked door between the garage entry and main house.

I’ve seen studies published declaring as much as 50% of all people suffer some form of mental illness. Not all are violent, but the ones who are, are all around us. For your own safety, develop a personal security mindset. This means thinking proactively by asking “what if” questions and visualizing possibilities. By predicting and then preventing bad things from happening, you are actively involved in your personal security and that of your families.

When you do this, develop a strategy to that ensures your families security. Lock your windows, bolt your doors and install a home security system.

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

10 Covert Ways to Hide Your Valuables

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Even though you have a home security system installed…right? You should still hide and lock up your stuff.

Burglars are generally aware that a woman’s jewelry is either in her jewelry box on top of her dresser or in her underwear drawer. For men, it’s in a similar place or sitting in a little dish next to the bed. These methods aren’t exactly covert.

A safe is your best bet. Wall and floor safes can be hidden and other heavy box safes can be bolted to the floor.

Here are some options:

1.    Buy or build a “Book Safe”. A book safe is a carved out book containing your most valuable valuables. Here is a DIY security book safe or do a search online and buy one.

2.    Hollow out an appliance. If you are mechanically inclined and have nothing more than a screw driver and wire snips you can gut anything from a power strip to a blender to a coffeemaker.

3.    Install a fake wall electric outlet or switch. This is also a buy or build.

4.    Use an air vent. If your home has “forced air” and you have air blowing for heat or cooling then any one of your horizontal vents can be a hiding place. Just make sure it’s a vent that doesn’t immediately lead to a drop.

5.    Can Safes. This is a buy or build. Mostly a buy. These are regular looking soda or aerosol cans that have a removable top or bottom. They are cheap enough to buy. But be careful with this because they can be mistaken as something you may not need and thrown away.

6.    Use your freezer. The best way to accomplish this is to freeze a smaller plastic bowl with nothing in it within a larger plastic bowl surrounded by tomato sauce. If a burglar looks in your freezer they see gravy.

7.    Hollow out a pillow. If you sew, this is an easy one.

8.    Make false inner pockets in clothing. Designate an older suit or dress that you don’t wear and put pockets in it.

9.    Use lamps or ceiling mounted lights. Lamps often have an hole  to insert anything. You may need a ladder for ceiling mounted lights so only put things in there you don’t access often.

10. Shoes. It’s easy enough to slide something in a pair of shoes then put a sock in there to contain it.

The key to improvised home security through obscurity is NOT to hide anything on the fly. Meaning designate a spot now and always use it. The day you quickly hide something in a lamp before you go on vacation is the day you lose what you hid because you will spend 6 months looking for it and think the house cleaners stole it. Yes, I know this from experience.

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

Famous Burglar Caught, Another Killed

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Yet another reason to invest in home security systems.

Some people work in a building, others on construction sites. Some work in banks and some in people’s homes. Burglars and bandits go to work to rob banks and homes and that’s a normal days work for them.

A dude named Robert James Neese famous for burglarizing Dan Quayle the former Vice President under Bush Sr is known as the “Rock Burglar” and got his name by tossing rocks through a glass door or windows to gain entry to his victim’s homes. How original.

Neese racked up a reported 337 break-ins over 17 years and stole an estimated $10 million in cash and jewels. He was busted in Arizona and now instead of throwing rocks he’ll be breaking them on a chain gang.

Another famous burglar in Georgia known as the Grandma Bandit wasn’t a grandma at all, but just another (more than likely) drug addicted dude who donned a grandma disguise and posed as a cancer patient at numerous drug stores and would ask for drugs, then demand money.

After a string of robberies police released security surveillance video and photos of the robber who was eventually identified by a concerned citizen who called the police. And unfortunately for the Grandma Bandit, that police chase ended badly. He was eventually shot and killed by police.

Unfortunately there will be someone to take these burglars place. Invest in your home security and adhere to the home security tips below:

Install signage. “Beware of Dog” and “This House is Alarmed” neon signs for $1.98. One for the front door and one for the back door.

Go to the pet store. Get 2 big dog bowls, one for the front porch and one for the back. Write “Killer” in permanent marker on it. This gives the impression you have a big dog. You can even buy a barking dog alarm.

Lock your doors and windows. Install a monitored alarm system. Consider ADT Pulse™ that comes with a battery backup even when the poser goes out.

Give your home that lived in look. Leave the TV on LOUD while you are gone.

Install timers on your lights both indoor and outdoor. Close the shades to prevent peeping inside.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source