123
Senior Member
I guess I'll add my recent break-in to this thread so others can learn from my troubles. In fairness, we recently moved in and the house was equipped with a "minimally-engineered" security system relying on a maxed-out, 8 zone 12-year old DSC panel. Needless to say, I'm in the process of rebuilding it especially since the thieves damaged it.
For the record, our home, located in a quiet, residential neighborhood, was burglarized in broad daylight on a weekday morning.
Lesson 1: Secure the garden gate.
Once through the self-latching, but unlocked, garden gate, the burglars were shielded by a tall fence and could work in privacy.
Response:
The "security perimeter" needs to be the fenced property and not simply the house. Install a double-key deadbolt on the garden gate and put attractive, yet sharp, objects on top of the gate to discourage climbing.
Lesson 2: Protect the communications line.
Anything that was tie-wrapped to the electrical mast was cut including telephone, cable, and satellite dish.
Response:
Cheapest solution is to run all communication cables within a metal conduit. Tie-wrap a fake telephone cable onto the conduit to serve as "bait". Put it on a 24-hour zone and the next clown who cuts it will instantly trigger an alarm. (Sure, you could have your panel trigger an alarm if the main telephone line fails, but that could lead to false alarms.)
Lesson 3: Reinforce all entry doors.
Two residential steel-faced doors were forced open with a swift kick (doors had only one muddy bootprint). The door's edge, made of wood, split open and let the deadbolt fall out. Truly shocking to witness how flimsy these "steel" doors really are.
Response:
Reinforce the door edge using one of these gadgets http://www.safedoorsystems.com/ or the traditional kind that fits over the lock area only. Use an oversized door strike that accepts four long screws. There's a void between the door frame and the wall stud where the deadbolt is located; fill this void with solid wood (I used oak) to prevent attacks with a crowbar.
Lesson 4: Conceal the sirens.
Upon entering the premises, the thieves ripped the siren off the wall. The original installer didn't add an external siren so now there was nothing to distract them from their work.
Response:
Hide the interior siren in a cold-air return. Hide the exterior siren in the eaves.
Lesson 5: Develop a security plan.
My wife left her office to retrieve an item from home shortly after lunch. Upon entering our home she found the siren lying on the floor. Bless her fearless heart, she proceeded to explore the house to confirm her worst fears. Fortunately she encountered no one but the minimal losses we experienced suggest the thieves may have been interrupted by her arrival and fled.
Response:
Best initial response to a break-in is to walk away and call the police. Ensure the whole family knows how to respond to various threats (burglary, fire, flooding, home invasion, etc).
Good luck!
For the record, our home, located in a quiet, residential neighborhood, was burglarized in broad daylight on a weekday morning.
Lesson 1: Secure the garden gate.
Once through the self-latching, but unlocked, garden gate, the burglars were shielded by a tall fence and could work in privacy.
Response:
The "security perimeter" needs to be the fenced property and not simply the house. Install a double-key deadbolt on the garden gate and put attractive, yet sharp, objects on top of the gate to discourage climbing.
Lesson 2: Protect the communications line.
Anything that was tie-wrapped to the electrical mast was cut including telephone, cable, and satellite dish.
Response:
Cheapest solution is to run all communication cables within a metal conduit. Tie-wrap a fake telephone cable onto the conduit to serve as "bait". Put it on a 24-hour zone and the next clown who cuts it will instantly trigger an alarm. (Sure, you could have your panel trigger an alarm if the main telephone line fails, but that could lead to false alarms.)
Lesson 3: Reinforce all entry doors.
Two residential steel-faced doors were forced open with a swift kick (doors had only one muddy bootprint). The door's edge, made of wood, split open and let the deadbolt fall out. Truly shocking to witness how flimsy these "steel" doors really are.
Response:
Reinforce the door edge using one of these gadgets http://www.safedoorsystems.com/ or the traditional kind that fits over the lock area only. Use an oversized door strike that accepts four long screws. There's a void between the door frame and the wall stud where the deadbolt is located; fill this void with solid wood (I used oak) to prevent attacks with a crowbar.
Lesson 4: Conceal the sirens.
Upon entering the premises, the thieves ripped the siren off the wall. The original installer didn't add an external siren so now there was nothing to distract them from their work.
Response:
Hide the interior siren in a cold-air return. Hide the exterior siren in the eaves.
Lesson 5: Develop a security plan.
My wife left her office to retrieve an item from home shortly after lunch. Upon entering our home she found the siren lying on the floor. Bless her fearless heart, she proceeded to explore the house to confirm her worst fears. Fortunately she encountered no one but the minimal losses we experienced suggest the thieves may have been interrupted by her arrival and fled.
Response:
Best initial response to a break-in is to walk away and call the police. Ensure the whole family knows how to respond to various threats (burglary, fire, flooding, home invasion, etc).
Good luck!
