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I was driving today and started thinking about this topic a little bit and thought I would share my thoughts on the subject.There are many different ways to do it but I am going to be coming from a more economical standpoint IMO which I feel is worth the cost for what I would consider more situational awareness and tactical advantage. I also want to point out that the mindset may or may not comply with NYS law and you should be familiar with Article 35 yourself.
A little about myself, I am a Marine Corps veteran who was in Security Forces, Infantry and currently work in the Security Field. The below is based on my experiences and opinions and is original content which I did not take from someone else.
This is going to be written with the assumption that a home invasion will be most likely due to burglary or other typical crime not directed at a specific person (i.e. kidnapping specific person, hitman, gang war, ect).
Ideally you would want your house impenetrable and or every possible way in alarmed (doors and windows). Also ideally you would want zone alarms alerting you to movement inside your home all being sent to a centralized alarm monitoring center who can dispatch the police to your location with no further action on your part This can be expensive especially long term and not all people may be able to afford it and that is why I am writing this.
So what is most important to us that we want to protect in our home? That's an easy question to answer....... its our family. So what are the important things you need to consider in protecting them? Since we have already identified earlier the threat we want to mitigate we need to figure out a way to determine when someone has entered our home and pose our family a threat.
So how can we determine when someone is in our house? We can hear someone breaking windows potentially, or forcibly opening a door. However its not a guarantee you will hear that. They could also pick your lock. If you live in an apartment or anywhere that 2 or more different keys will work on your door then you are more at risk of lock picking. I (a amateur at the hobby) can pick my apartment lock in a matter of seconds. I highly recommend you look into the different types of pins to use in locks to make lock picking more difficult. Anyways back to determining if someone is in your house...... A traditional way is with a dog. By having your dog alert you to someones presence it serves 2 purposes. Firstly it obviously alerts you and secondly it can serve as a deterrent to intruder so that they leave. The other option which I would recommend are IP Cameras. This is the specific camera that I have and can speak about but I am sure others have same capabilities http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Secur...t+night+camera . What I like about Trednet Cameras is that they come with free monitoring software. It allows you to set up virtual zones and when motion is detected in that zone you can set it to send you emails or if you have computer in your room you can set it too sound an audible alarm. Either way you get an early warning and with photos being emailed to you automatically you have evidence that can be accessed anywhere.
Now that we have discussed ways at to detecting threats relatively cheaply let talk more about the camera and what other advantages it offers besides early warning and preserving evidence. An IP camera also offers situational awareness. For example most bedrooms are clustered together along a shared hallway. Having a camera at the end of the hallway looking down can give you a tremendous tactical advantage. Knowing if someone is in the hallway when your about to make your way to your children can make all the difference in being successful as safely as possible. Even if you don't have kids and you and your spouse decide to stay in your room and just call 911 (Tip: Tell 911 where your bedroom window is and that you have keys to your house that you can throw to officers if needed) you will be able to keep eye on hallway and see if they are coming your way. You will be able to see how many people and if they have any weapons. If you see someone with a weapon about to enter your room and you decide you need to take action and its safe to do so then you could potentially even take a shot through your door knowing what your target is and what lies beyond.
Another benefit to having a or multiple IP Cameras is that if you decide to take a more aggressive role you will be able too mitigate risk to yourself by seeing what lies ahead of you. You can also use that information to give to the 911 dispatcher so that they can update police to location of suspects for their safety as well.
Some other things to consider. When calling police not only give them description of suspects but also yourself so they know your the homeowner. Do you know what it is to pie a corner or door and how to do it? Do you or have you ever practiced clearing your home? Like stated before your family is the most important thing and I think that a IP Camera is worth its cost for the added safety it provides especially when you have to make it to kids to protect them.
Another thing you may want to look into (I will post link when I find out the one a friend uses) DIY security systems that allow you to remotely turn on and off lights, check status of smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, Allow you to alarm windows and doors and the entire system can be added to when you have the money or inclination.
I hope this may help some of you or give you food for thought.
Most importantly I hope you and your family stay safe!
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas because after all we can all learn something from each other.
A little about myself, I am a Marine Corps veteran who was in Security Forces, Infantry and currently work in the Security Field. The below is based on my experiences and opinions and is original content which I did not take from someone else.
This is going to be written with the assumption that a home invasion will be most likely due to burglary or other typical crime not directed at a specific person (i.e. kidnapping specific person, hitman, gang war, ect).
Ideally you would want your house impenetrable and or every possible way in alarmed (doors and windows). Also ideally you would want zone alarms alerting you to movement inside your home all being sent to a centralized alarm monitoring center who can dispatch the police to your location with no further action on your part This can be expensive especially long term and not all people may be able to afford it and that is why I am writing this.
So what is most important to us that we want to protect in our home? That's an easy question to answer....... its our family. So what are the important things you need to consider in protecting them? Since we have already identified earlier the threat we want to mitigate we need to figure out a way to determine when someone has entered our home and pose our family a threat.
So how can we determine when someone is in our house? We can hear someone breaking windows potentially, or forcibly opening a door. However its not a guarantee you will hear that. They could also pick your lock. If you live in an apartment or anywhere that 2 or more different keys will work on your door then you are more at risk of lock picking. I (a amateur at the hobby) can pick my apartment lock in a matter of seconds. I highly recommend you look into the different types of pins to use in locks to make lock picking more difficult. Anyways back to determining if someone is in your house...... A traditional way is with a dog. By having your dog alert you to someones presence it serves 2 purposes. Firstly it obviously alerts you and secondly it can serve as a deterrent to intruder so that they leave. The other option which I would recommend are IP Cameras. This is the specific camera that I have and can speak about but I am sure others have same capabilities http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Secur...t+night+camera . What I like about Trednet Cameras is that they come with free monitoring software. It allows you to set up virtual zones and when motion is detected in that zone you can set it to send you emails or if you have computer in your room you can set it too sound an audible alarm. Either way you get an early warning and with photos being emailed to you automatically you have evidence that can be accessed anywhere.
Now that we have discussed ways at to detecting threats relatively cheaply let talk more about the camera and what other advantages it offers besides early warning and preserving evidence. An IP camera also offers situational awareness. For example most bedrooms are clustered together along a shared hallway. Having a camera at the end of the hallway looking down can give you a tremendous tactical advantage. Knowing if someone is in the hallway when your about to make your way to your children can make all the difference in being successful as safely as possible. Even if you don't have kids and you and your spouse decide to stay in your room and just call 911 (Tip: Tell 911 where your bedroom window is and that you have keys to your house that you can throw to officers if needed) you will be able to keep eye on hallway and see if they are coming your way. You will be able to see how many people and if they have any weapons. If you see someone with a weapon about to enter your room and you decide you need to take action and its safe to do so then you could potentially even take a shot through your door knowing what your target is and what lies beyond.
Another benefit to having a or multiple IP Cameras is that if you decide to take a more aggressive role you will be able too mitigate risk to yourself by seeing what lies ahead of you. You can also use that information to give to the 911 dispatcher so that they can update police to location of suspects for their safety as well.
Some other things to consider. When calling police not only give them description of suspects but also yourself so they know your the homeowner. Do you know what it is to pie a corner or door and how to do it? Do you or have you ever practiced clearing your home? Like stated before your family is the most important thing and I think that a IP Camera is worth its cost for the added safety it provides especially when you have to make it to kids to protect them.
Another thing you may want to look into (I will post link when I find out the one a friend uses) DIY security systems that allow you to remotely turn on and off lights, check status of smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, Allow you to alarm windows and doors and the entire system can be added to when you have the money or inclination.
I hope this may help some of you or give you food for thought.
Most importantly I hope you and your family stay safe!
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas because after all we can all learn something from each other.
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