|
What does home security
really mean? Some people define it simply as creating a home that is
effectively impregnable to criminals – the fortress model. Others
prefer silent alarms and notifications instead – the eye in the sky.
And nearly everyone looks at home security as a bulwark against
theft and violence, offering alternative means of escape and defense
that may not necessarily come included in the blueprints to that
structure. No matter what your priorities or budget, you should be
able to find something that helps you sleep easier at night.
Some of the most basic home security measures are also the most
effective. Door alarms and breakage alarms offer sirens, lights and
other spectacular responses if any egress has been compromised. Many
of these work not unlike a car alarm, creating commotion to scare
criminals away, inform the residents something is amiss and get the
gears turning on a neighborhood response. Although some come with
only basic trip wires and magnetic seals, more advanced versions may
include gyroscopic sensors and infrared, virtually ensuring no party
can pass undetected. Arm them once a night and you will know anytime
someone is coming or going.
More advanced sensors may cover the exterior and interior as well,
offering something like real-time monitoring at low cost. These tend
to work on infrared as well, ignoring leaves as they blow by but
zeroing in instantly on any warm bodies. The great advantage to
motion sensing of this sort is that it doesn’t rely on predetermined
access points to your home – if someone is inside, no matter how
they got there, the system will know. That said, a number of people
still like to supplement motion sensors with simple mechanical
devices such as door and window jammers to further reduce the chance
of a break-in.
All of the devices discussed so far have one thing in common – they
are self-contained home units whose only response is an alarm. If
you want to invest in something far more sophisticated, it may be
time to graduate to a system that can communicate on your behalf.
The best of these offer detailed information to a central security
command the instant your home is violated, including where the
criminal may be in the home at that precise moment. Depending on
your preference, you can even set many such alarms to trigger
silently, giving police responders the element of surprise as they
apprehend that intruder.
The final tier of security does monitoring systems one better by
adding real-time telemetry, including live video and sound. Elite
security systems often make use of such measures to eliminate
uncertainty and provide first responders with essential information
in a pinch. Video monitoring lets them know how many intruders you
have, for instance, as well as whether family members are inside the
house. It can also be used as ready evidence if someone manages to
escape, ensuring you never have to worry about the same problem
recurring in the future.
There are advantages and weaknesses associated with every kind of
home security, so the best advice is simply to exercise caution. The
truly paranoid and outlandishly wealthy may even look into the
market for so-called “panic rooms,” though most experts recommend
against anything that traps you in the event of danger. One thing
you should never do without considerable training is bring a gun
into your home. A high number of break-ins turn to tragedy every
year when such weaponry is used against the homeowners themselves. |
