Security Spectrum

Follow with us as we take you through the complete home security spectrum starting with the basic needs that we all look for:

 Homes in this country are primarily designed for privacy and shelter, not security; security has to be added. Starting with the big picture, we go step by step helping you decide what level meets your needs. Many doors (primary doors) which open inward, lots of windows and thin walls are what make our homes so vulnerable.

We endeavor to not try to outguess a “what if” or “one off” scenario. It is best to go by percentages and do everything to increase the level of security odds in your favor.

When looking at security, there are three main factors you have to evaluate.

1 – What are you wanting to secure?

• Possessions
• Personal Space
• Privacy
• Yourself/Family

You can tolerate a loss or violation of possessions, personal space, and privacy, but cannot tolerate confrontation or loss to you or family.

2 – What type of security?

Soft:
alarms, electronic, cameras, etc.

Hard:
physical barrier/deterrent/steel doors/window guards—anything to prevent access to you or family.

3 – Given enough: time, tools, motivation, opportunity and reward.

Someone will break into a bank. Put a million dollars in gold coins on your floor – if someone knows about it, they will get them.

Time
The longer it takes to enter or violate your entry the more it swings the pendulum in your favor. Speed of entry and speed of egress (escape) are very important. Speed of egress can be critical to the bad guy – not getting trapped inside.

Tools:
Pry-bars, crowbars, impact tools, cutting tools, power tools, vehicles—the more it requires in tools also means more time is required.

Motivation:
Profit or perversion – you don’t know if someone wants to steal from you or harm you.

Opportunity:
Unlocked doors/windows; something of value available.

Reward:
What are they going to get or sell, what benefit is it to them.

Soft security requires:
Someone to respond
When can they respond
At what level can they respond

Soft security is a great add-on but doesn’t help that much in protecting you personally. Soft security can be a good enhancement to hard security. This combination can be your highest level of protection.

Hard security is a physical barrier between you and someone that wants to harm or steal from you. Hard security is anything that prevents physical access to you – something that takes a lot of effort and/or tools to overcome.

Typically when looking to add security to your home, we will deal mostly with hard security. There are three levels:

1) secure all doors
2) secure all doors and some windows
3) secure all doors and all windows

Rarely do we recommend level three but sometimes it is needed.

In most cases we recommend you start with the front or main door. This is the door you answer when someone rings the doorbell. Having a security door between you and whoever is there allows you to be safe and then make a decision to open the security door to let them in.

You also tell someone going by on the street that they not only cannot get in, but also cannot get out the front door.

The next door of importance is any door visible from the street. If they see it is not secured, you move them around to that door. At this point, if what they can see has been secured, then they have to assume what they cannot see has also been secured.

Doors are so important because they are the source of quick entry as well as egress for would-be invaders: quick to enter – take something or harm you, then quick to exit themselves, with or without your possessions. Slower entry gives you more time to protect yourself.

When it comes to windows, we recommend two ways to decide if you want to secure a window:

1) if you feel vulnerable or uncomfortable about a window
2) if you want to have fresh air and not worry about someone entering.

We must put a fire release on any window guard that closes up a bedroom or sleeping area.