With all the recent burglaries/home invasions in Marion I wanted to put together a list of things you can do to prevent and protect yourself in case of a burglary/home invasion. Home Invasion Protection and Prevention Tips ---->>>***Prevention 1. Ensure that your door locks are firmly fastened into the door and doorjamb. Most locks come with short, easy-to-install screws that aren’t meant to keep the strike plate in place if a forced entry is attempted. Replace these factory screws with longer (3-1/2”) steel screws. These will bite into the door and doorjamb much more efficiently and will withstand a lot more force. If your entry doors have glass on or around them, be sure to cover the glass with a quality security film. Doing so will make it difficult for someone to smash through the glass, reach inside, and unlock the door. Applying these simple hardware fixes will buy you some added time—and when someone is trying to do you harm, every second counts. Invest in good quality locks including deadbolts on doors and windows. *****This includes sliding glass doors as well. 2. Use delayed and random power timers. By plugging televisions, stereos, and lights into timers that turn on and off throughout the day, you’ll create the illusion that someone’s home. Make sure the televisions and radios are on functioning stations and that the light bulbs are operational. Change the on and off timing weekly to confuse anyone performing static surveillance. 3. Invest in a well-designed security system for your home 4. If you dont have a security system you can go to Amazon or Ebay and buy as much security system signage and stickers as possible. Post the stickers on your windows and signage around your house. This will act as a deterrent for criminals who do not want the added risk of being caught that an alarm system presents. 5. Give the impression that a large dog lives there. Purchasing and deploying a well-trained watchdog is a great crime deterrent. But this may not be the most practical solution for some families. In any case, post conspicuous “Beware of Dog” and electric fence signs, and put out a large stainless water bowl and a horse femur. This will create the impression that you have a 200lb Mastiff inside. 6. Replace basement windows with glass block windows. 7. Invest in motion sensor lighting that are installed out of reach. 8. Keep house numbers easy to see in the event of emergency. 9. Leave front and back outside lights on every night of the year. 10. Trim shrubbery and other landscaping to eliminate any hiding places. Plant thorny bushes under all windows. 11. Don’t hide a spare key under the doormat or under a flower pot. 12. Engrave all valuables such as stereos, microwaves, video cameras, with your driver’s license number. Videotape the contents of your home. Keep the video and the list of all valuables in a safe place such as a safety deposit box. 13. Be sure your garage door is secured. Do not leave it open when you are away. An empty garage broadcasts your absence. 14. Always double check doors at night and lock all windows. 15. If you don’t have a car, have a neighbor park their car in your driveway 16. Hang a bell on your doors 17. Post dummy cameras outside your doors & windows 18. Put a dowel rod in the track of your sliding glass door to prevent it from being opened if the lock is bypassed. --->>>>*** Protection 1. Make a plan – now. There is no single best strategy. Some people can climb out a window and run for help…others live or sleep on upper floors and are unable to flee for physical reasons. If you can safely escape and get help – do it. 2. Be very quiet and listen. How many intruders are there? Are they ransacking the house? Are they making their way toward you? Don’t argue with your spouse about what to do. This alerts the intruder to where you are. Don’t leave your bedroom with a bat or a flashlight. A surprised intruder is likely to react violently. You have better options available to you than attempting to confront the intruder. If you have family to protect you cannot protect them if the intruder gets past you. Get to a safe place. A safe room is one of the best options. Unlike what you have seen in the movies, it doesn’t have to be large and filled with gadgets. An interior closet with a sturdy door that opens out is just fine. Put a deadbolt lock on the inside of the door and, most important, recharge your cell phone in there every night. Then, if you do hear someone in your home, you can go in the closet, lock it and call the police. Even if the intruder takes a phone off the hook to prevent you from calling for help, you will be able to call the police. You should be safe until the police arrive. If you don’t have a safe room, gather your family in a room, lock the door and barricade it with furniture and other heavy objects. Choose the most secure room with the best door and lock, stay there. Make sure you have a charged cell phone. Program your automatic-dial phones to call 911. It’s difficult to push even three buttons when you’re panicked and your hands are shaking. Tell the police dispatcher your address and situation in a few sentences. Be specific. Example: “Someone has just broken into my house. It sounds like one person. I don’t know if he has a weapon. He’s downstairs in the living room. I’m upstairs in the master bedroom with my wife.” Leave the phone line open so the dispatcher can listen to what is happening. If the intruder reaches the room and turns the doorknob, be prepared to act. Do not call out, “I’ve called the police.” By doing so, you will give away your location. Your bedroom door should have a lock. 3. Remain calm and cooperative if the intruder confronts you. How you behave in the first 30 seconds can set the tone for all that follows. When violence does occur, it almost always does within these first few moments. Speak in as normal a voice as you can. Make no sudden moves. Tell him that you will cooperate. Hold your hands up to shoulder level. It appears compliant, yet it affords you the ability to have your hands ready for defense. Avoid direct eye contact. The intruder may interpret this as aggressive behavior and worry that you’ll be able to identify him later. The outcome of a break-in depends on the intruders. Most burglars will flee unless they are surprised or confronted. Home invasion robberies – a small but growing trend – can last for hours and are always violent. They are carried out by thugs who try to intimidate home owners into divulging dafe combinations and bank ATM personal identification numbers, and handling over credit cards that can’t be reported stolen while the owners are being held hostage. Create a distress code with your burglar-alarm company. If you are being held and your alarm has been triggered, you can signal trouble when its representative calls to authenticate the alarm. Your signal might be, “No, I can’t meet you tomorrow.” Or just don’t pick up the call, so the company will send the police. 4. It’s your right and personal choice to own a firearm. People generally aren’t willing to shoot when they need to. You must be trained properly mentally as well as physically. Guns are fired in less than 2% of home-intruder situations but a criminal seeing the weapon and fleeing are in dramatically higher percentages. Also, you need to keep the gun loaded and nearby for it to be effective. With children living in or visiting your home you need to have an adequate safe to allow you access and still keep the weapon from children. If you have pepper spray only use it if you need help to escape. Facial contact and inhalation of the spray will induce up to 45 minutes of coughing, choking, nausea and temporary blindness. Even residual fumes can make your hiding place unbearable and can be hazardous to people with respiratory and heart conditions. Your local police department can tell you if you legally can buy pepper spray in your state and where to learn how to use it. As with any weapon you must have a plan and be prepared to use it. 5. Never take aggressive action unless you believe that you are in a life-threatening situation. Escape almost always is the better option. If you decide to fight back, look for an opportunity when the intruder lets down his guard. Use a hard object to strike his eyes or throat as fast and hard as you can. Don’t worry about inflicting injury. Run as soon as he’s stunned, and yell to get someone’s attention. The intruder would rather escape than become the center of attention. **** Having a plan, learning self defense and purchasing a weapon will almost certainly save your life in a home invasion scenario. Do you have anything to add?
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:05:49 +0000
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