Home Security

[MikeB]

If you go much beyond the window bars and barbed wire to cameras, motion detectors, flood lights, etc, it would need to be unobtrusive and discreet. If you look like you’re guarding Ft Knox they’re going to think there’s gold there and you could open yourself up to many more bad possibilities.

[bastonjock]

ive got a top notch security system on my RV ,it has perimeter sensors etc and i can kill the engine with a  text message ,the main deterrant in this system is noise ,if you are inside the RV the level of noise is nausius , no system is full proof and its best to deterr the thieft , a big dog is a good deterrant and keep it down stairs not in the bedroom ,and put out a large feed bowl with a cows thigh bone well gnawed in it.

You simply cannot make your place 100% secure against thieves ,but you can make your look like a tougher nut to crack than your next door neigbours.

ive never been broken into ,mind you ive always had large dogs in my home , In the phils id go for high wall and a big dog running loose inside the garden

[Dave Hounddriver]

6 hours ago, bastonjock said:

ive never been broken into ,mind you

I have, in Phils and other countries.  Here in Phils it is the simplest of things that will get you.  So many of the people have bars on the windows and they think that keeps them safe, but in my case a young fellow reached his arm between the bars and over to the door handle (he either had very long arms or some form of assistance) and turned the handle from the inside.  In another instance, my neighbor found out that the local boys have a trick where they use a long bamboo pole to fish between the bars and hook the keys off the table or your pants off the couch.  Hmmm.  So you always keep your keys and pants out of reach of a long pole coming in between the bars?  Me too, but where are your wife/gf's keys.  I have spent a decade trying to teach this to different gfs and each one leaves their keys in plain sight of the window and accessible by fishing pole method.  They never believe until it happens.

[OnMyWay]

7 hours ago, MikeB said:

If you go much beyond the window bars and barbed wire to cameras, motion detectors, flood lights, etc, it would need to be unobtrusive and discreet. If you look like you’re guarding Ft Knox they’re going to think there’s gold there and you could open yourself up to many more bad possibilities.

It can depend on where you are located.  In a higher end sub-division I think you will find that CCTV is more common and thus a house with it does not stand out so much.  You can find affordable CCTV systems being sold all over the place.

You need to make sure your cameras can't be stolen.  Perhaps have another camera watching the first one, and so on, and so on.  

Seriously, it is also possible to mount the cameras on the inside of windows, looking out.  My friend in the U.S. has that and it also makes them more unobtrusive.  He caught someone stealing a package from his porch because the perp didn't realize there was a cam looking through the window.

[Snowy79]

It's definitely all about making yourself less attractive to robbing than your neighbour. 

Light and sound before they reach your property and visual to neighbours is always the first line of defence. 

If they get to your doors or Windows again why make it easy. I like the decorative barriers that you can pull across from behind the glass and doors. It'll take a pretty determined or drugged up individual a good hour to get through the likes of Trellidor 

Locks are easily picked with a little practice so use dead bolts where possible. 

A decent sized dog inside roaming downstairs and try to leave a few sets of basketball player sized work boots by the main door. The bigger the better 

I used to booby trap outside areas of my house where no one could get to without an invite. Nothing life threatening but enough to make a mess. In Scotland I had a side gate that was never used. I lived alone and the gate was basically a 6ft wooden door between my garage and house with no handles on the outside. Behind it there was a trip wire leading to a bucket of engine oil which I left on the edge of the garage roof. It helped me catch a burglar as sure enough he kicked the door open then walked into the trip wire. 

I even used to switch the earth wire and live wire on big electrical items when I went on holiday lol.

[scott h]

2 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

but in my case a young fellow reached his arm between the bars

I hear you Dave, having been married to a Filipina for years, and visited many times prior to moving here, I heard so many stories about break ins, pick pockets and all the other crimes here, so I was prepared a bit. When we built our front gate which has see through decorative grill work I got a neighbor boy about 6 years old try and reach through with his small hands and open it from the inside. My welder was there watching and then made additional decorative iron work so he could no longer reach. I surveyed the surrounding roofs for what might be easy access and placed razor wire on likely avenues of approach (hidden from view).  To keep intruders from jumping our fence, I used flat bar to make a decorative lattice cover in a 6 inch diamond pattern, riveted down to support beams, its own weight should keep someone from lifting up and sliding under, plus the rivets. (After 5 years star jasmine has covered most of it providing our front yard with shade, plus it looks good) Could a determined bugler get in? You bet, but I have made it so hard they will try my Brother in laws house first .

As for cctv, I put my trust (and money) in physical deterrents. In a place where police respond quickly or there is an efficient police identification system it might be worth it. Here criminals know that the chance of being identified if seen on camera are slim, or if they are seen that the police will not pursue them vigorously (especially if the victim is a rich foreigner who can afford the lose anyway lol) It might deter the casual opportunist bugler, but not a determined criminal.

[Jack Peterson]

When it comes to thieves, "Where there is a Will, there will be a way" for them

[Dave Hounddriver]

When I read the lengths that some people go to in attempts to secure the premises I wonder at the cost.  I have know a few foreigners to simply hire a security guard or 2.  I have done it myself (after the break in) and its not expensive.  I don't mean the armed security guards that cost 10K a month.   I mean the local cop's unemployed brothers who will stay out in your yard all night for 500 a week each.  They take turns sleeping but they deter the criminals.  I was in a bad area (as evidenced by the break ins) but when the cop's brothers were on the job it turned into an extremely good and quiet area to live.  They were known!  Bad guys stayed away!

[Benington]

14 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

....I'm more of a fan of a decent strong fence that you can look through, it'll also do away from the self induced prisoner effect. I'd then spend the money saved on the wall for home security...

These views of the OP remind me of some interviews shown on CNN a few months back with some US/Mexico Border guards re the Wall. They sensibly thought that a Border fence was a much better idea as they would then have a chance to see from ground level any preparations to climb the Wall on the Mexican side. Less reliance on expensive overflights. They didn't mention the "self induced prisoner effect" but lessening that would have made the Wall's opponents feel better about the project, which would anyway have been much cheaper enabling funds to be diverted to other border security measures, something there is a consensus on.

Of course a fence would be much less impressive to Trump's base support, but as of now it looks like an extensive new Wall, as envisaged by Trump, may never be built due to Republican opposition on the budget.

[sonjack2847]

I am all for having home security,but don`t let it be a hamper if you need to get out in an emergency.