Week 2 – Keep Watch Whilst You’re Away
Let’s assume you already have good physical security on all external doors and ground floor windows (see week 1 blog).
Although this will protect your home and slow down potential home intruders and give you time to react, call Police etc. What happens if you are away on holiday? An empty house in a secluded area will give a burglar the valuable time needed to force entry.
You could have the highest security rated locks on your doors but what if you’re not home? What’s stopping a thief from breaking a window to enter your property?
Well do not fear, we will discuss some of the other security options available to protect your home in these unfortunate circumstances.
Alarm Systems
There are various options on the market that will suit any budget. Obviously, the more sophisticated the system, the more expensive it will be!
Modern alarm systems have a wide range of options to cover most situations which includes door and window contacts, motion sensors, break glass sensors etc. Once the sensor has been breached the alarm will sound.
There are certain systems that have Smartphone notification features, if the alarm is triggered you will instantly be sent an alert.
Zonal arming of the alarm – this is a great option if you live in a property on more than one level. For example, you would be able to arm the ground floor main entry points, whilst keeping upstairs unrestricted so the alarm isn’t triggered when somebody decides to use the toilet during the night!
Monitoring is another great function – it will log people coming and going from the property and at what times etc.
Please remember that some alarm systems will require a monthly/yearly subscription fee, while others are F.O.C so be sure to check.
Did you know? – Statistics suggest that an unbelievable 9 out of 10 burglars would actively seek out a house without an alarm system. With this in mind make sure the alarm box is well mounted, and in full view – it really is a good deterrent.
CCTV
CCTV is probably the best deterrent on the market – with HD quality cameras that record and save the footage usually via a DVR, integrated security lighting or night vision this really is any would-be burglar’s nightmare.
Similar to the alarm systems, you pay for what you get. You could opt for a relatively cheap battery-operated, stand-alone wireless camera that links to your Smart phone usually operated via an app. Designed more for the DIY market, they are reasonably easy to install and some brands even offer free data storage, it will store any active footage for a month or two before refreshing and start recording/saving again. It will give you enough time to recover the footage if an incident has occurred.
If you’re more security conscious and desire a far more robust reliable system, then you will probably be looking at a fully wired system. Although a fully wired system is more expensive the benefits outweigh the cost of the installation.
The system will be much more reliable with consistent video and streaming quality this is due to the physical connection between the Camera, recorder and router. It will also be more secure as it will be running on a closed network stopping the system from being wirelessly hacked.
In Summary
Cctv and alarm systems can end up being quite expensive however there are cheaper alternatives that could be used as a deterrent at a fraction of the cost.
As a lot of break-ins happen under the cover of darkness so security lighting can be a very cheap and effective. Also, a video doorbell could be a cheaper option too. Although only really designed to keep track of people coming into close proximity of your front door, keeping track of deliveries etc. You can still view remotely from your Smart phone. It has motion detection and alerts you when triggered. Storage is usually via cloud back-up.
The down side is that it will only protect the immediate location of where it’s been fitted so not really a viable option if you want multiple entry points covered. However, if you live in a property with a single front door like a flat or apartment, it could be a cheap solution.
There’s a large variety of things you can do to improve your home security. You can upgrade your existing locks, possibly to fall inline with the British Standard insurance approved criteria, or opt for the latest in alarms and Cctv. We also offer additional security items that can be fitted to all doors and windows to work alongside the existing locks, the choice is massive.
For any help or free advice please give us a call on…07850 448 444 OR 01803 613 138
On-site Assessments and Servicing
As every installation has different requirements, ProSecure Locksmiths offers a free no obligation quote so we can find the best security solution to meet your personal needs. There are various home security packages to meet with every budget.
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How ProSecure Locksmiths Can Help
At ProSecure Locksmiths we offer home security assessments so that you will have a tailor made solution to meet your specific requirements. We also provide home insurance surveys to make sure the criteria of your policy are being met.
At ProSecure Locksmiths we are proud to be an official Yale Smart Security Partner. Working with leading industry brands such as Yale means we can offer the latest in home security products. A recent report found that 47% of all burglaries are “spur of the moment” attacks and having a brand renowned for security could in itself be an effective visual deterrent.