A full-blown home security system can cost thousands of dollars. If you’re trying to live within a budget it may be a stretch to invest that much money into total home security but that doesn’t mean that you should “do without”. At a minimum, there are three strategies you should consider investing in to increase your level of home security and to help protect your family. Read on to find out what these strategies are.
Keep Intruders Out With a Door Brace
A door brace is a highly underutilized home security device. As most burglars enter a home through the front door, securing your front door is a solid investment. Locks are a good first line of defense but locks can be picked, bumped, and doors can be kicked in even when locked. A deadbolt just isn’t going to cut it. Products like OnGUARD can reinforce your door enough to withstand kick-ins and battering rams. The level of effort it would take to get past a door reinforced by a brace would be enough to detour most would-be intruders. It would also require repeated blows to the door which would be extremely loud and give you time to react long before the door was breached.
Though you can buy a door brace for around $20, you will want to invest in a higher quality door brace. High quality will run more toward the $100-$200 range. The point of a door brace is to keep intruders out so you will want to look for a brace that has several qualities. First of all, a solid brace does require a little elbow grease. Typically a more secure brace will be bolted to the floor or even requiring drilling to reinforce multiple parts of your existing door. Second, you will want to buy a product that is made out of sturdy materials like steel or glass fibers. Finally, the point is to keep intruders out and not to lock yourself in. Make sure that the product you choose provides for a quick and easy escape in the event of a fire or other emergencies.
Use Video Surveillance and Record Evidence
Of course, there are other points of entry that will need to be secured beyond the front door. While the front door may be the most common point of entry, intrusions still occur through garages, back doors, and windows. If an intruder finds his way into your house, you will want video evidence. Video evidence can be empowering and is proven to help authorities bring justice to both home invasion victims and victims of burglaries. Not to mention video surveillance is an effective deterrent as well. If you’re worried about lighting at night, there are always companies that offer surveillance cameras for dark places.
I recommend investing in security cameras that offer motion detections, night vision, and also video recording. Companies like Lorex have worked to bring the cost of cameras down and have improved technology to the point that installation is easy even for those that are not technologically savvy. I recommend something like this wireless home security package. The wireless home security package is home security in a box but for just a few hundred dollars. The package comes with 4 cameras so that you can keep an eye on things inside your house and outside. The cameras included in the package feature two-way talk, motion detection, and the ability to record events using a connected digital video recorder.
Don’t Be Afraid to Protect Yourself
So far we’ve tried to stop the intruder from entering by reinforcing your door and we’ve talked about how to deter and bring justice with video surveillance. But what should you do if an invasion occurs? The hard truth is that you need to be prepared to protect yourself. For many families, this means owning and knowing how to use a gun. If owning a gun isn’t an option for you, I recommend finding other ways to protect your family. One option may be to keep a can of pepper spray where you can easily get to it. It’s also wise to make a security plan for your family. Talk it over and make sure the plan includes a way to escape. Make sure your family knows to stay calm no matter what the emergency is as the goal is survival, not victimization. Another inexpensive idea is to keep charged cellphones in different areas of your house and also bedside so that that you can call for help if needed.
Putting up advanced security systems in your homes can be very expensive. However, the most important thing here is that you feel empowered and not paranoid. These three ideas are geared toward preparedness and prevention. Think of them like getting a vaccine or buying insurance. You should never expect bad things to happen and more than likely bad things won’t happen to you but at least you know that you are doing everything you can to keep your family safe and secure.
Carlos Benjamin is a contributing author for HomeAlarmReport. He grew up in Chicago, IL , and moved to Fresno, CA, after high school, attending Fresno Pacific University and earning his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies. After his apartment was broken into in 2010, he took measures to protect his property, and he enjoys writing about security measures and technologies to help keep others safe as well.
Recently, my neighbor’s house got broken into and many of us in the neighborhood are now thinking about getting video surveillance put up around our houses. I’ll definitely make sure to follow your advice and put up cameras by the back doors and the windows. However, how should I disguise my cameras in anyway when they are there or should it be made obvious?
I like that you mentioned how video surveillance can capture evidence against your intruder and help identify them. This sort of security used to be a luxury item, but it is becoming more and more affordable. If you are concerned with your safety, do something about it and get an alarm system.
I’ve heard that a burglar is likely to give up if they can’t get in your front door. If that’s true, a door brace is a good idea. A new security door can also be good if you have an old door that could be easily unlocked by force.
These are great home security tips to help protect your family! It’s great how nowadays with technology there are so many different brands of video surveillance with recording out there, you can now find one that will best serve you for different prices! Thanks for sharing!
I really like how you talked about video surveillance as well as motion detection and night vision. We’ve been looking for ways that we can improve our home security, and I think that video surveillance would be really helpful to us. I’m going to have to see if we can get cameras like you talked about that have the motion detection and night vision video surveillance, and see what we can find!