Beefing up home security

childofbaahl

Morning,
I was the victim of a break in last week whilst away at work, they got in through a 4 point locked UPVC window and ransacked the house, what the Police call a "Dirty search." I thought that the new UPVC windows (that I had only recently had done) were supposed to be super duper tough to get through. They came into the back garden by way of a communal gully at the back of the property and spent a fair while hacking through the window frame to force open the sash in the middle of the day.

Police and SOCO have taken photos, tool mark casts, dusted for prints and so on so they are looking into catching the little blighters and now I'm looking at trying to get a sense of serenity and security back into my home.

The window is being replaced and I have some ideas on how to deter future incidents:
1) Sash jammers on all the downstairs windows (2 per large portrait / 1 per small landscape);
2) Nest cameras inside and out (1 & 1 to start) with 5 day cloud recording, motion alerts and voice capability - Placed overtly;
3) Overt CCTV signage on back fence, back wall and smaller ones on the windows;
4) Secondary bolts on the inner doors (I have solid multi-point locking outer doors and they did have a go at the back door but got no where);
5) Motion activated light on back of property &
6) Possibly a fake alarm box at the back of the property too.

The front of the property is on a busy main road with cars and buses travelling at all hours, it is also across from a large car dealership with a multitude of cameras covering their area, some of which also cover the street and to a lesser extent, the front of my property.

I looked into an actual alarm but that seemed overkill and quite expensive to boot plus it would have to be connected to a phone line / sim to alert me and the Nest cameras do that anyway. I also thought about screech alarms on the doors, but as I live alone, they would just annoy the neighbours if set off and as I work 12hr shifts, that could get nasty...:rotfl:

So if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, they would be gratefully received.

Fire_Fox

Very sorry to read this. :hug: They sound determined to get in.

Motion activated lawn sprinkler? Glitter bombs? Novelty singing cookoo clock? Alarm that plays music your neighbours love? Might as well film something worthy of YouTube and Facebook.

lewishardwick

Big scary dog that's always one meal short of being 'satisfied'.

googler

Arlo camera(s) outside can be triggered by motion activation, and can send alerts to your mobile device and/or e-mail. You can switch them remotely from motion activation to live view via a web browser, mobile or tablet.

They have a host of other features

DigForVictory

That is deeply unpleasant, and I hope you feel the place is *yours* again soon.
I tend towards the purloined letter style of security - as I don't think it pays to advertise. I was broken into at the old house but the general mess (family home) apparently put the burglars off. Before spending a lot of money I'd talk to a Crime Prevention Officer (if such a role still exists) as they may have suggestions on appearing less tempting a target that give almost as much peace of mind as your impressive hardware list.

childofbaahl

Thank you all for the replies.

lewisa

Sorry to hear that.


Fact is a determined burglar will get in no matter what you do. They wont care about visible alarms or cameras.



The best thing you can do is attempt to slow them down while having a monitered alarm with police response. This limits the amount of time they have before the loud flashing blue deterrent shows up.

d0nkeyk0ng

As pointed out, whatever security measures you install can be circumvented by the most determined of burglars. Making your house less desirable to opportunistic burglars is helpful. But if someone really wants to break in, they will.


Sash jammers will help but they can always just break the glass.


Nest cameras - I have these and they seem to lose signal often enough that they're useless. I'm going to get a wifi range extender because it's mainly one camera that loses its connectivity.


A monitored alarm will warn you if someone's inside. The chap from ADT told us they contact the police. if they suspect a break in. When pressed, he admitted the officers only attend if they have capacity to do so. There's been lots in the media about police cuts so it wouldn't shock me if they didn't attend.


One of my mum's friends was broken into whilst the family were home and awake. They tied up everyone at gunpoint and then took the keys to the cars on the driveway.


Like I said at the beginning if someone wants to take your stuff, they'll find a way.

childofbaahl

Windows repaired, cameras installed, Jammers fitted and getting a security light too. I haven't had any issue with cameras losing connectivity and for the price the quality and responsiveness of the service they provide seems good. I've got one inside and a 2nd outside but I want to get a third to go with the security light - It's a shame that the world is going this way and I get that if someone wants to get in they will. Hopefully opportunistic thieves will see what I have in place and move on, believing it not worth the risk.

At the very least I feel more secured and at peace and if anything happens I can alert the Police ASAP and let them know the gits are still on site.


Thanks again everyone for their input and comments.

societys_child

Just a note about expensive* Alarms.
I fitted one (with a PAYG sim) a couple of years ago.


** It texts me when the alarm is turned on or off.
** Texts me if there is a power cut and texts me again when power is restored.

** Phones me if the alarm is activated.


PIR sensors cover all the groundfloor windows, doors and patio doors and the alarm would sound if attempts were made to gain access by damaging the windows, before they actually got in.


The doors also have magnetic contact switches (with built in panic buttons)

Also magnetic door switches on exterior buildings (shed and garage)


Complete with an ear shattering internal sounder which makes you just want to get out of there (or turn the noisy thing off if you know how)


Everything's wireless and I had to refer to the manual regularly whilst setting it up. But if I can do it . . .


Oh, and it's controlled by good quality keyfobs to arm/ disarm/ (part-arm if you're at home) and yet another panic button.



Although it can be set with entry/ exit delays, I have everything set to instant and use the keyfob from outside, after locking/ before unlocking the door.


I had an existing external alarm box and I've wired it to that, but no one takes much notice of them (neighbours might)


There is of course an app (what doesn't have an app these days) for control by mobile phone (not tried it)



Of course, it could be defeated, as can any security device.



*Expensive?
All for the princely sum of £140 ebay . . . and no ongoing monitoring costs.
Can be had cheaper, depends how many door sensors and PIRs you want.

Wassa123

Burglar Alarm, CCTV, and motion sensor lights is all you can do.

Upgraded doors and locks are good and may make your house insurance cheaper, but they'll still just break a window to get in if they want to. Nothing you can do to prevent that other than put bars over the windows.

Just make sure your house looks more secure and more riskier to break into than your neighbours house.