When it comes to security, everything is fine until one day it is not. And because the likelihood of a break-in is statistically small, a sense of complacency begins to develop. We often feel crime won’t happen to us because nothing has happened to date.
Unfortunately, this mindset can lead to problems. Just because I haven’t been in a car accident for several decades, that doesn’t mean it’s ok to skip the seatbelts. Fact is, it’s only a matter of time before something does. And for this reason, we must adopt a proactive approach to our safety.
James Kerr is founder and CEO of Boss Security Screens, USA-based maker of security screens for windows and security screens for doors:
“In the United States, there’s a break-in every 30 seconds. That’s two per minute, or about 3,000 per day. Over the course of a year, it’s. approximately 2.5 million burglaries. One day the numbers will catch up to you.”
Ask anyone who has been victimized and he or she will almost certainly confess, “I didn’t think this would happen to me. I should have done more to prepare for it. Now I definitely will.”
Here’s what most people get wrong about home security
- “I keep everything locked.”
That’s a great start. One should absolutely keep every door, window, and slider locked as much as possible.
But a typical lock is not enough to keep someone out of our home. Doors can be kicked in and pavers will easily break the glass of a patio sliding door. Yes, we should keep things locked.
To boost security, we must also upgrade and reinforce those locks to make them even more difficult to defeat.
- “I’m home almost all day long. If someone gets in I will know right away.”
If you’re lucky, you will hear a break-in as it’s happening and be able to scare them off. But what if you’re napping on the couch? Or upstairs taking a shower?
Unfortunately, criminals will often enter a home knowing someone is inside. And they won’t necessarily run off at the first sign of trouble.
- “I have security cameras and an alarm. That’s good enough”
Yes, it’s good. We definitely want to keep eyes on our home with the security cameras and we certainly want an audible alarm if and when there’s a breach, but the fact is security cameras and alarms will not stop break-ins.
“Burglars are so brazen”, says Kerr. “They will smile at the camera, force their way in, trigger the alarm, go straight to the master bedroom, scoop up the gun, the jewelry and the prescription drugs, and be out in 2-3 minutes – long before law enforcement has a chance to get there.”
- “I have a firearm. I’ll be ready.”
Firearms are nice to have, but only when you’re conscious and only when they are within reach. If I bump into someone downstairs and my weapon is upstairs in my gun safe, I’ve got to find a way to get up there to get it. And speaking of gun safes, what’s the code again? In order to effectively rely on my weapon as a legitimate line of defense, I need to practice opening my safe with my eyes closed, loading my weapon in the dark under extreme stress and being able to hit a moving target while someone is potentially trying to harm me. That’s a lot to expect from anyone who is not regularly training in these environments. - “I don’t have anything worth stealing.”
That may be true. But do you still lock your door every night? Sure you do. And why? Because you don’t want any strangers in your home – let alone criminals. The bottom line is, strangers are strangers. We have no idea what their intentions are and it’s not good. The person breaking into my home most definitely is not inviting me to Disneyland! We must regard every perpetrator a high-level threat and do everything we can to prevent it from happening.
The reality is bad things happen to good people. We don’t expect to be victimized but we should absolutely prepare for such an event in a way that’s sensible and methodical. At the end of the day, it’s the prudent thing to do.
