The intent of this post is not to sell anything or convince you that you need to run out and purchase anything from myself or any store. After reading about the break-in at Mr. Ruppert’s office FTW I thought I’d share with you some things I know about security. These tips can apply to your home or office and hopefully the unfortunate incident at Mr. Ruppert’s office will get you thinking about intrusion protection in your life as well. This is a very long post but hopefully you’ll find it worthwhile…
Protecting your physical site from forced entry is not as difficult or expensive as you would think. Here are a few tips to help you lay out a security plan that won't cost you a lot of money, won't stifle your lifestyle and will deter even the most aggressive burglars or vandals.
Before I start, a little background on my experience; I’ve been an alarm installer for the past 9 years. In that time, I've heard just about every type of forcible entry story there is. From the kid down the street breaking in to steal Playstation games to organized thieves rolling up in a rented truck dressed as movers to clean out an entire house in broad daylight, I have seen just about everything. I've handled both large and small security installations however my forte and preference is residential installations. I take security very seriously because I know it not only saves property but saves lives as well.
When you make the decision to upgrade your current security level, there are a few things to consider in designing a plan that meets your needs. One thing you need to understand is that no matter where you live, no matter how safe you believe your location is, your site is vulnerable. Even in the areas where the police maintain an active presence and actually respond to break-ins are susceptible. Police are not usually a deterrent to this type of crime; they are a reactive force not a proactive deterrent. Filling out reports and occasionally fingerprinting a broken window is usually all you can expect from your local police department (if you live in Cleveland, don’t even waste your time expecting this much police attention. You’re lucky if they even answer the phone).
The first thing you should do once you make the decision to enhance your security is to take a walk around your site and access your vulnerable entry points. Try to think like a burglar and determine the easiest or quickest ways to gain entrance. Most break-ins are crimes of opportunity. If a site looks relatively safe and easy to enter, a burglar will choose your site over one that has visible signs of active security measures. Make sure that your site has adequate exterior lighting and has the appearance that it is actively occupied. Exterior motion activated lights go a long way in deterring a would-be intruder. Also, a site that appears occupied is far less likely of falling victim to a break-in. A clever and relatively inexpensive way of giving a residence or business that “lived in” look is home automation technology offered by X-10. There are many websites that offer these products and give good advice on how to apply it to your site.
During your walk around your site, pay particular attention to your windows and doors. Ground level windows and entry doors are usually the areas that an intruder chooses to enter. Check to make sure that your windows and doors all have functioning and secure locks and deadbolts where applicable. Often times an intruder doesn’t even need to break anything to “break” in. Forgetting to lock a door or window makes entering your site quick and easy so get in the habit of inspecting your perimeter entry points before you leave your site or retire for the evening. However, even if your windows and doors are always secure, make sure you assess the quality of your locks. Some locks are very easy to bypass with something as simple as a pair of channel locks or even a credit card. If you don’t know the quality of your locks, call your local hardware store and describe the type and brand of lock you have and find out if what you have is sufficient. A note about sliding doors; sliding doors are very vulnerable so ensure that your locking mechanism is sound and absolutely invest in an anti-lift locking device to stop a would-be intruder from lifting your door out of its track with a pry bar or screw driver.
Hardening your exterior entry points is a critical first step to enhancing your security and should go a long way in deterring a forcible entry. However, a determined intruder will not be stopped by a lock. Most will use what I call the “universal key” to enter your site. The universal key is a crowbar mixed with some old fashioned elbow grease and in no time, the intruder will be in your site. Intruders do not like smashing windows or prying open doors to gain entry but they will and do quite often (according to national FBI statistics this happens about every 15 seconds).
To deter an intruder once they have entered your site you will need to have either a very large dog or have a security system of some kind to drive the intruder away. Dogs are very good at providing deterrence to intrusion however these are also subject to the “universal key”. A determined intruder can silence a dog just as easily as smashing a window so I highly recommend installing an electronic security system over getting a watchdog. Also, in most commercial application, this is not even an option and the benefits and costs of owning a dog should be self-evident so I’m going to move on to electronic security applications.
The most important thing to consider when investigating what sort of electronic security system is right for you is the reality that no matter how elaborate your security system is, it is still just a deterrent. Security systems cannot stop a break-in, they cannot stop someone from taking what you have or vandalizing your belongings but they can dissuade them and often times reduce the damage or loss from an intrusion. Security systems are designed to inform the intruder that someone, whether the police, a neighbor or the owner, is aware of their intrusion and en route to the site. This reality is usually sufficient to drive an intruder away or even stop them from entering in the first place; if the presence of the system is noted by placards, stickers or yard signs. According to national FBI crime statistics, less than 2% of the sites burglarized had active security systems so if you think of a security system as a contraceptive, you’ll be in the right frame of mind when deciding on what type of system to get.
There are two types of security systems that I am going to cover. The first type is the electronic security system most of you are probably familiar with already. Even if you’ve never used one, you’ve seen them around in many different places. This system usually is operated from some style of touchpad located near an entry door that arms and disarms the interior and perimeter protection devices. These are usually quite simple to operate as most usually only require a user-programmable access code for operation. Do not be intimidated by these systems as they are designed for ease of use. I’m not going to cover all the specifics of the different type’s security peripherals available as this information is covered by hundreds of security websites. Do a search on “home security” and in no time you’ll have a good understanding of the options available to you that you can add to your system.
There are two things I am going to suggest you get if you do decide on a security system. The first is fire protection. A monitored smoke detector actually calls the fire department for you if a fire breaks out while you are away or if you are rendered unconscious from noxious fumes. Without monitored fire protection, it takes on average 29 minutes for the fire department to find out there's a fire in your site; with monitored fire protection that time is cut down to 4 minutes. I strongly urge you to consider this option if you decide a security system is right for you. One other thing you should most certainly add to your system is a loud outside siren and maybe a strobe light too. The noise and the light will go a long way to drive off an intruder especially if the police response is slow or, in my city’s case, non-existent.
Now, I'd like to cover how to save money when purchasing a system and what to avoid when making your decision on what sort of system to buy. There are many retailers out there that do not tell you the disadvantages to the different kinds of systems available. If the system you’re looking at is a self-contained wireless system, avoid it like the plague. These systems have a major flaw in their design because all of the vital components of the system, like the dialer, CPU and siren are all contained in the keypad. If you disable the keypad, you disable the system. By the way, I’m not telling you anything the burglars don’t already know; I’ve changed out many of these systems because they have been defeated with ease by intruders. The type of system you will want is a hard-wired system that has a control panel/dialer and siren separate from the keypad. Most hard-wired systems have wireless capabilities so if your site requires wireless contacts due to a finished basement or no basement at all you’ll be able to add on this type of contact without sacrificing your security.
When buying a system from an alarm company, your bill can needlessly climb to astronomical heights if you want full security coverage. With a little net-savvy buying skills, for only a few hundred dollars you can get a system that would cost you thousands of dollars if you purchased it from an alarm company. The best way to go about buying a system is to determine which brand of security system to buy and then buy all of the peripherals that are compatible with that system. Most hard-wired contacts can be installed on any panel so don’t worry about brand names with these types. However, wireless contacts are usually brand specific so make sure if you’re buying an Ademco, DSC, or some other professional grade panel you’ll want to buy the same brand of wireless contacts to match as the others probably won’t work. For example, the panel I usually install is the Ademco Vista Series panel and it can use any of the wireless Ademco contacts but one’s made by DSC will not work. My suggestion is to research either of these brands of panels and then go shopping on EBay as this is usually where you’ll get the best price.
Once you have the system and all the sensors you want, contact Service Magic or some other contractor locating service and get a bid on the installation price. You should expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $200 for the basic install which includes the panel, keypad, siren, phone connection, 3 doors and 1 motion. Any additional equipment should cost you roughly $15 an item for hard-wired and $10 an item for wireless. A note about windows: buy wireless. Windows are a pain in the ass and most likely will be a pain in your wallet so just plan on going wireless for any windows you want to add in.
If you’re only interested in the basic system mentioned above and you are planning on having it monitored by a central station anyway, the best way to get a system is to go through a national alarm dealer program. Generally, you’ll pay about $100 for the basic system and the installation. They recoup the cost of the system and install over the length of the contract which is usually 36 months so they’re not losing any money. The monitoring rate should be about $30 a month. If you’re looking to get a lot of extras though, purchase the extras the way I described and ask them to install the extra contacts for you at the rough price I listed above. They may charge you a little more than that but it’ll be worth it in the long run. Just find out what brand they use and you shouldn’t have any problems.
The second type of security system you can get is a surveillance system. These tend to be a bit pricier but not only do they act as a deterrent, they can also assist the police in apprehending the intruder. However, there is one thing you need to keep in mind when purchasing a surveillance system, you should, without a doubt, have an electronic security system as well. The problem you’ll run into during a break-in is that more often than not, the intruder will either destroy your recording equipment or (as in the case of this auto repair shop I dealt with a while back) steal the equipment. Nothing sucks worse than having your security system stolen so protect it. I posted some guidelines on how to purchase a CCTV system on another board a while back so I’m just cutting and pasting that post here.
When buying the cameras, expect to pay anywhere between $80-$150 for a good one. Then get 4. You can mix and match it; does not matter. Get something that has 1/3" CCD, a verifocal lens 4-9 mm and has at least 12 leds to illuminate in total darkness. You shouldn't have a hard time finding one's like this and they should fall right in that price range.
Find yourself some wire, they have it in selections of 10', 25', 50', 100' and 150' with both the power and video lines so hook up is a snap. Just make sure everything is BNC connections only. RCA connections have generally been for lower grade cameras anyway but I guess there may be some decent ones with this connector, I don't know. I'd say stick with BNC and you're gonna do alright.
Get power supply's. Best thing to do is make sure you get the right transformers when you buy the camera. The camera should be 12V or 24V; 9V is crap, don't buy it.
You can get a good dvr for about $300 - $500 on ebay. 4 channel with an 80gb Hd will be fine for about 2 to 3 days on constant recording with pretty good quality. When choosing compression, try and stay away from wavelet and don't get a pc based system. Get a stand-alone, it's a lot more stable and can't be hacked into (well, almost can't) Most of all, don't trade quality for quantity, it's better to spend a little more to add an additional hard drive than to cut down your vid quality.
Also, when you're buying, try and buy the system from a vendor. Vendors offer great deals and even more, they offer technical support that is invaluable when you get into trouble. If you screw up royal or just feel overwhelmed, don't worry, log onto an online referral service or call up a local security company and tell them you need to contract out one of their guys for a camera job. They can be pricey but you'd have to do the same if you bought costco and couldn't install it. The bottom line is, those proprietary systems are junk and don't offer the quality you're gonna want. The pictures are crap and the recording is usually pretty bad. For $800, you can do a lot better and even if you have to spend closer to $1000; at least you'd get what you paid for.
There's a lot to installing a camera system but with a little internet surfing and some bargains, you can piece together a very decent system for about the same price as a store bought one.
Securing your physical site whether its your office or home falls right in line with two old sayings, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and a “Penny saved is a penny earned”. Hopefully, this post can help you realize the truth in both of these expressions. With any luck, this post has inspired you to take a second look at your security and I urge you to search the net for other tips on securing your premises and you’ll find that many of them are common sense solutions and usually low to no cost. As I stated before, I am not trying to get you to run out and buy anything from myself or anyone else, I’m just hoping that you’ll take some of these tips or tips from other sites and use them to keep you and your family safe.
God bless you all,
Mike
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