Home & Car Security

A Brief Synopsis Of The SEPS Home & Car Security Module

Anybody who has been the victim of a burglary, will have a sense of violation, at having had somebody force their way in to a place that should feel safe and invulnerable. With cheap commodity prices, and insurance, financially we usually lose little in burglaries, however they go to remind us, that even in our homes, a committed criminal is able to gain access to us, and that is an unsettling thought. There are however simple strategies that we can employ both to reduce the likelihood of having our home selected by a burglar, and to improve its security in order to prevent a burglary.

Most residential burglaries, occur during the day, when a house is most likely to be unoccupied – with those that live there out at work. In fact, signs of occupancy, are probably the greatest deterrents for a burglar; who is by and large a non-confrontational criminal, who wants the greatest amount of uninterrupted time to go through the house looking for items of value. Any sign that a homeowner may be in the house, whether somebody is there or not, is likely to cause them to move on to another property. On a hot day, if someone is in their house it is likely that an air-conditioning unit will be switched on, rather than left off, so properties where the AC is not running are likely to be empty – something a burglar wants. Leaving your AC running, in fan mode, to save electricity, may well cause a burglar to pass your house over in favor of another.

Window air-conditioner units also offer burglars easy access to your property. If they’re not screwed in place or fastened with a AC-lock, a burglar can easily shimmy the unit, and push it through the window, into your house. This now gives them an easy entry point, to climb through. During the summer months, this is a common method of entry, which can be easily prevented. Other easy access and entry points are poorly maintained garage (where the garage abuts the house) and basement doors. Many basement doors, are subjected to water damage, which compromises the door’s structural integrity. With most door handles and locks secured with only a few screws these can be easily kicked in, giving a burglar access to your property. Even if you keep the door from the basement to your kitchen locked – and many people don’t – a burglar can now take their time to break in, without having to worry about being seen.

Natural Surveillance, is one of the biggest crime preventers, of most crimes – no criminal wants to be seen committing a crime, which is why all access points to your home, should be visible from the street, or from your neighbor’s properties. If any are hidden or obscured, so that a person can either wait or break-in unseen, you should cut back shrubbery and plants that may create these pockets that don’t enjoy natural surveillance, or use motion-sensor lighting to draw attention to a person’s presence. Natural Surveillance is also something you should consider when trying to find a safe place to park your car; if you can you should try and park at/near the entrances to parking lots, which see the most traffic, as this means there are the most “eyes” on your vehicle – parking here is preferable to parking deeper in the lot (even if it is well-lit), as there will be a smaller number of people driving past your car.

If you would like to learn more about preventing burglaries and home invasions, and ways to improve your vehicle security, please click here. If after reading/learning more about home and car security, you want to learn some physical solutions to dealing with violence, you can attend one of our free women's self-defense classes/seminars using the booking form below.