Best way to keep house safe?

shandypants5

melb wrote: »

beat the burglars I think. when we moved into our house we were comforted by the nearby Neighbourhood Watch Area sign until we saw the bullet hole in it!

:rotfl::rotfl:
yep that would make me nervous....

macman

Locking internal doors is a crazy idea.
Firstly because it indicates to them that something of value is behind the door.
Secondly because they'll just smash the internal doors to get to what they want, causing even more damage.
Once they're in, the best thing is that they grab what they want and leave without causing more damage.

MUMMYTO2BOYS

CCTV with signs at entry points to your property and cameras out of reach.

shandypants5

macman wrote: »

Locking internal doors is a crazy idea.
Firstly because it indicates to them that something of value is behind the door.
Secondly because they'll just smash the internal doors to get to what they want, causing even more damage.
Once they're in, the best thing is that they grab what they want and leave without causing more damage.

Macman is right. Once inside then anythng can be done and nobody will ever hear.... even that nosey git next door.

Hide your stuff by all means but locked doors are an invitation.

shandypants5

MUMMYTO2BOYS wrote: »

CCTV with signs at entry points to your property and cameras out of reach.

lol ,,:D:rolleyes:.....

sillygoose

My approach is physical security for the important things. As long as houses have glass in them people will break in. Most burglars are toe rags and don't go tooled up with heavy tools. They don't want to hang around either. would I be that bothered if my TV was stolen? not really as all that stuff is insured.

I have 3 domestic safes out of site, the sort you can get for £15 as long as they are well bolted down they would take an angle grinder and a lot of time and noise to get in for smaller valuables. One is an more expensive fire safe too that I keep a portable hard drive with backups of important things.

The only other thing that would be irreplaceable is my PC so the measures I took there are to fit a shackle plate to the back chassis with bolts with double locked nuts (and a few rivets for luck) This is attached to a similar shackle bolted to the wall with a heavy duty motorcycle chain (too thick for bolt croppers). So unless the burglar has an angle grinder or a steel cable attached to a Land Rover its going to take some doing!

Basically what I am saying is don't forget to plan for 'damage limitation' let them have the TV and Norwich Union can buy you a new one, as long as they don't get you great grannies wedding ring that can never be replaced.

AdrianW2

It depends on where you live. In a rural area burglars are able to go equipped, an alarm is just a nuisance and security lighting just helps them see what they're doing...

...but in a suburban environment things are different. This is my precis of the briefing for crime prevention officers. Most burglaries are by opportunists in the daytime. The two big things your average casual burglar looks for are:

1. An opportunity
2. A means of entry

1. The thief wants to be in and out quickly with the minimum of fuss. So don't make it easy for them to see a route to valuables. Put some obstacles in the way - an alarm, good locks, secure doors and windows etc. Try to ensure that all the entrance points are easily observed by passers by - remember the easiest way in maybe through the non-overlooked back garden.

2. Urban/suburban crooks don't carry tools; all it takes is a neighbour spotting them looking suspicious and it's an easy conviction. So don't leave any tools that they could use around. Lock the garden shed. Bolt down that heavy iron patio furniture.

laurel7172

I'm pretty dubious about the value of window locks-my burglar just picked up one of my garden pots and smashed through the glass of my triple-locked patio door.

It happened on the one day EVER I didn't have the garden gate locked-there had been a storm, the fence (for which next door was responsible) had come down, warped my gatepost, and when I forced open the gate to get the bin out, I couldn't get it shut again. So I'd strongly recommend preventing access to the back of the house if at all possible.

I was lucky-I had hidden valuable jewellery in a secret place "just in case", so all we lost were electronics.

AdrianW2

laurel7172 wrote: »

I was lucky-I had hidden valuable jewellery in a secret place "just in case"

By the way, most people have a secret place where they put valuables. Usually it's in the master bedroom, so that where burglars start looking.

ahfh1

The Gadget Show did a top 5 on home security. Coming at the top was the Siemens Gigaset HC45.

Get the Gigaset to alert you on your mobile phone while you're not in. So if thief tries the doorbell, you can then pretend that you're in by speaking on your mobile which connects to the intercom.