Home security - what would you do?
Discussion
We live in a quiet, pleasant area where not too much 'nastiness' happens (thankfully). This evening the door bell rang and it was a chap, about 20, with a bag of old crap he wanted to sell me. I quickly said "no thanks mate" and shut the front door. However, I noticed that before leaving my driveway he walked up to our lounge window and had a snoop of the inside of the house. The bloke had the sort of 'ferrety' face you just knew was trouble - a photofit just waiting to happen! You just wanted to punch it for no particular reason!
Anyway, the wifie and I were just wondering about what, if anything, can be done to prevent any incindents. We do have a burglar alarm and we lock all the windows and doors, so the obvious stuff is covered. Any other practical suggestions? We can't get a dog because one of my kids is allergic to dog hair.
Anyway, the wifie and I were just wondering about what, if anything, can be done to prevent any incindents. We do have a burglar alarm and we lock all the windows and doors, so the obvious stuff is covered. Any other practical suggestions? We can't get a dog because one of my kids is allergic to dog hair.
Edited by srebbe64 on Thursday 17th July 22:43
SS HSV's Guide To Security 
I was MD of a well known security firm for 15 years and have come out of the industry as I found it a depressing and negative environment to work in. What I can advise you from experience is the cheapest form of deterrent is security lighting and a barking dog. I lost £££ trying to compete the sales of high-tech systems against mans best friend.
Some tips which might help:
My typing fingers have expired. If you want to know any spefics PM me
Edited for typos, missing words and stuff that didn't make sense
I was MD of a well known security firm for 15 years and have come out of the industry as I found it a depressing and negative environment to work in. What I can advise you from experience is the cheapest form of deterrent is security lighting and a barking dog. I lost £££ trying to compete the sales of high-tech systems against mans best friend.
Some tips which might help:
- Fit PIR external lighting - not the cheap £10 jobbies with built in lights but a seperate lighting controller and some decent looking high quality lanterns that are asthetically pleasing and don't go off when a fly buzzes past them. If they flash on and off for no good reason the thief will play on that after basic testing. Lighting is the best form of security at night when the opportunists will strike. A pro will come for you in broad daylight armed with scams and cons and will rely on you helping them achieve their goal whatever that is.
- Keep your house tidy outside so that you look like you are actively mainting your property and not the kind to get mugged over because 'you can't be bothered'.
- Do not run the same daily routines - if you have more than one car, do not park it in the same place at the same time. An experienced thief will watch your habits and base his attack on what he knows you will do, so alternate your lifestyle patterns more when you think you are under threat of attack and he will not know what to expect.
- Tell your neighbours about the shady looking guy - the more people on the lookout the better. If your gut feeling is that he will come back again, tell the CPO from the local nick or inform your local beat officer if you have one. If you don't know ask them.
- Don't hang up your car keys on a hook near the front door - especially one of those key racks that says 'Keys' - this is possibly the most stupid modern-day invention ever and it is an invite for whoever cases your pad with the few seconds he gets when the door is open.
- Ask your alarm intruder company to fit you an external combination PIR/PIR or PIR/Microwave detector which is fitted in your drive and also to the rear of your property. This is programmed as a 'chime zone' which is active normally only on 'Part Set Mode' when you goto bed. If it detects movement during the 'Set' period it will chime like a shop alarm does rather than wake the entire neighbourhood up. You can also have it chime during the day to warn you if someone is on your property even if they do not ring your bell. This is how my alarm is set up and I am opening the door as they are reaching out to press the bell push
- Next time someone comes to the door offering to sell you something, tell them it would be something you would be interested in and ask them for the name and telephone number so you can call them back. Instand friend or thief detector and works every time
- Want more security? Buy an 8KV electic cattle fence and run it on the inside of your fence, and along the top of your gargen gate. The law requires that the only proviso is to fit a warning notice which must be easily visible and must clearly state that an electic fence is in operation.. I have one of these too and nearly bbq'd an intruder but I got hauled over the coals for not having the notice but that was all and an entirely differnt story from this topic
- Don't ever leave anything visible in the car, that includes plastic bags of any decription empty of not. A drug user will smash your window just to have a look.
- Always lock your car even if its blocked in. They will nick your battery as a minumum an fence it for a fiver!
- If you are going to put up CCTV, either buy a decent system or don't bother at all. Also fit small by visible 'These premesis are montired by CCTV' signs - regardless of whether you fit a system or not. Next best thing to a dog
- Argos and Maplins are not good examples of places to buy professional CCTV from
- If you are buying cameras, they should be day/night not Colour with a load of 5mm IR LED's.. they are a waste of money. You want a proper day/night camera which is colour by day and B/W by night. Yes you want infrared LED's to illuminate at night but you want the 3rd generation units which have the Jumbo sized LED's which are 80% brighter and there are less of them - typically 4 or 5 LEDs are twice the power of 50 LEDS on the old systems.
- The only specs for the cameras worth bothering with should be: Sony Super HAD™ Imagers - they should have a MINIMUM of third inch CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image chips and not 1/4" inch types like the Sharp ones which are everywhere. The bigger the aperture the more light you can get into it and the better the night time picture will be. NEVER buy anything CMOS (cheap and nasty on-die image chips with poor IR performance). The camera should be a minimum of 460 horizontal lines (TVL) and above. Your non-HD TV is nearly that anyway and CCTV is almost HD by comparison with the cheaper stuff. You want a fast shutter speed; typically 1/100,000 of a second and you want a lense that matches the use of the camera ie if you want an 'Observation System' that just sees people moving on your property but with not much detail, then you want a wide angled lense like an F3.8 or 4mm lense. If you want clear 'faces to fill the monitor' then your system is classed as a 'Sureveillence System' and you lose your wide angle picture and only see a small width but what you do see is up close and personal Typical lense for a 20M range would be an 8-16mm. These cameras will cost between £80-£200 each and are available cheapest from China in ebay, but beware there are many fakes as well!
- Recording device: Time lapse videos are for nothing now. The reason for this is because they have been superceded by DVR's (Digital Video Recorders) DVR's do not use tape they record to PC hard disks. Do not buy a DVR card which goes into a PC unless it is a professional card. Google for Geovision - they are the best on offer IMO. If you do use a DVR card, make this PC dedicated to only recording security and not as a general purpose PC. Your PC needs to be high spec and suited to the needs of the card but PC's are cheap at the moment. if you run 4 cameras all recording video at real time, then your card needs to capture a minimum of 100 frames (still pictures) per second, so that equalls 25 frames per second per camera for four cameras. Recording 720x 480 resolution you will use about 400-500 gigabytes per week depending on compressions technology of the DVR. Ideally you want one drive for the Operating System (XP not Vista) and another dedicated only to images. I would go for a fast SATA drive, and 1 Terrabyte for CCTV. You should be able to build that for around £600 all-in. Again if you are serious this is the minimum you should spend as the DVR card alone will cost between £100-£600 depending on spec. Do not even attempt to compare Geovision cards with the £5 jobbies on ebay - they are having a
My typing fingers have expired. If you want to know any spefics PM me
Edited for typos, missing words and stuff that didn't make sense
Edited by SS HSV on Friday 18th July 00:01
SS HSV said:
SS HSV's Guide To Security
I was MD of a well known security firm for 15 years and have come out of the industry as I found it a depressing and negative environment to work in. What I can advise you from experience is the cheapest form of deterrent is security lighting and a barking dog. I lost £££ trying to compete the sales of high-tech systems against mans best friend.
Some tips which might help:
My typing fingers have expired. If you want to know any spefics PM me
WOW - that has to be the most comprehensive answer to a question, by someone who knows what they're talking about, in the history of the internet!!!!I was MD of a well known security firm for 15 years and have come out of the industry as I found it a depressing and negative environment to work in. What I can advise you from experience is the cheapest form of deterrent is security lighting and a barking dog. I lost £££ trying to compete the sales of high-tech systems against mans best friend.
Some tips which might help:
- Fit PIR external lighting - not the cheap £10 jobbies with built in lights but a seperate lighting controller and some decent looking high quality lanterns that are asthetically pleasing and don't go off when a fly buzzes past them. If they flash on and off for no good reason the thief will play on that after basic testing. Lighting is the best form of security at night when the opportunists will strike. A pro will come for you in broad daylight armed with scams and cons and will rely on you helping them achieve their goal whatever that is.
- Keep your house tidy outside so that you look like you are actively mainting your property and not the kind to get mugged over because 'you can't be bothered'.
- Do not run the same daily routines - if you have more than one car, do not park it in the same place at the same time. An experienced thief will watch your habits and base his attack on what he knows you will do, so alternate your lifestyle patterns more when you think you are under threat of attack and he will not know what to expect.
- Tell your neighbours about the shady looking guy - the more people on the lookout the better. If your gut feeling is that he will come back again, tell the CPO from the local nick or inform your local beat officer if you have one. If you don't know ask them.
- Don't hang up your car keys on a hook near the front door - especially one of those key racks that says 'Keys' - this is possibly the most stupid modern-day invention ever and it is an invite for whoever cases your pad with the few seconds he gets when the door is open.
- Ask your alarm intruder company to fit you an external combination PIR/PIR or PIR/Microwave detector which is fitted in your drive and also to the rear of your property. This is programmed as a 'chime zone' which is active normally only on 'Part Set Mode' when you goto bed. If it detects movement during the 'Set' period it will chime like a shop alarm does rather than wake the entire neighbourhood up. You can also have it chime during the day to warn you if someone is on your property even if they do not ring your bell. This is how my alarm is set up and I am opening the door as they are reaching out to press the bell push
- Next time someone comes to the door offering to sell you something, tell them it would be something you would be interested in and ask them for the name and telephone number so you can call them back. Instand friend or thief detector and works every time
- Want more security? Buy an 8KV electic cattle fence and run it on the inside of your fence, and along the top of your gargen gate. The law requires that the only proviso is to fit a warning notice which must be easily visible and must clearly state that an electic fence is in operation.. I have one of these too and nearly bbq'd an intruder but I got hauled over the coals for not having the notice but that was all and an entirely differnt story from this topic
- Don't ever leave anything visible in the car, that includes plastic bags of any decription empty of not. A drug user will smash your window just to have a look.
- Always lock your car even if its blocked in. They will nick your battery as a minumum an fence it for a fiver!
- If you are going to put up CCTV, either buy a decent system or don't bother at all. Also fit small by visible 'These premesis are montired by CCTV' signs - regardless of whether you fit a system or not. Next best thing to a dog
- Argos and Maplins are not good examples of places to buy professional CCTV from
- If you are buying cameras, they should be day/night not Colour with a load of 5mm IR LED's.. they are a waste of money. You want a proper day/night camera which is colour by day and B/W by night. Yes you want infrared LED's to illuminate at night but you want the 3rd generation units which have the Jumbo sized LED's which are 80% brighter and there are less of them - typically 4 or 5 LEDs are twice the power of 50 LEDS on the old systems.
- Specs for the cameras should be: Sony Super HAD™ Imagers - they should have a MINIMUM of third inch CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image chips and NEVER buy anything CMOS (cheap and nasty on-die image chips with poor IR performance). The camera should be a minimum of 460 horizontal lines (TVL) and above. Your non-HD TV is that anyway and CCTV is mostly HD by comparison with the cheaper stuff. You want a fast shutter speed; typically 1/100,000 of a second and you want a lense that matches the use of the camera ie if you want an observation system that just sees people moving on your property but with not much detail, then you want a wide angled lense like an F3.8 or 4mm lense. If you want 'faces to fill the monitor' then you lose your wide angle and only see a small width but what you do see is up close and personal Typical lense for a 20M range would be an 8-16mm. These cameras will cost between £80-£200 each and are available from China in ebay, but beware there are many fakes as well!
- Recording device: Time lapse videos are for nothing now. The reason for this is because they have been superceded by DVR's (Digital Video Recorders) DVR's do not use tape they record to PC hard disks. Do not buy a DVR card which goes into a PC unless it is a proffesional card. Google for Geovision - they are the best on offer IMO. If you do use a DVR card, make this PC dedicated to only recording security and not as a general purpose PC. Your PC needs to be high spec and suited to the needs of the card but PC's are cheap at the moment. if you run 4 cameras all recording video at real time, then your card needs to capture a minimum of 100 frames (still pictures) per second, so that equalls 25 frames per second per camera for four cameras. Recording 720x 480 resolution you will use about 400-500 gigabytes per week depending on compressions technology of the DVR. Ideally you want one drive for the Operating System (XP not Vista) and another dedicated only to images. I would go for a fast SATA drive, and 1 Terrabyte for CCTV. You should be able to build that for around £600 all-in. Again if you are serious this is the minimum you should spend as the DVR card alone will cost between £100-£600 depending on spec. Do not even attempt to compare Geovision cards with the £5 jobbies on ebay - they are having a
My typing fingers have expired. If you want to know any spefics PM me
Many thanks indeed, I will most certainly take up your suggestions.
Once again, thanks - I owe you a pint!
srebbe64 said:
We live in a quiet, pleasant area where not too much 'nastiness' happens (thankfully). This evening the door bell rang and it was a chap, about 20, with a bag of old crap he wanted to sell me. I quickly said "no thanks mate" and shut the front door. However, I noticed that before leaving my driveway he walked up to our lounge window and had a snoop of the inside of the house. The bloke had the sort of 'ferrety' face you just knew was trouble - a photofit just waiting to happen! You just wanted to punch it for no particular reason!
Anyway, the wifie and I were just wondering about what, if anything, can be done to prevent any incindents. We do have a burglar alarm and we lock all the windows and doors, so the obvious stuff is covered. Any other practical suggestions? We can't get a dog because one of my kids is allergic to dog hair.
Call the police and get it reported. Chances are that he's done the same thing all over the neighbourhood and if you in a high value area they may send a car out to have a chat with him.Anyway, the wifie and I were just wondering about what, if anything, can be done to prevent any incindents. We do have a burglar alarm and we lock all the windows and doors, so the obvious stuff is covered. Any other practical suggestions? We can't get a dog because one of my kids is allergic to dog hair.
(and close your curtains in future)
srebbe64 said:
I noticed that before leaving my driveway he walked up to our lounge window and had a snoop of the inside of the house. The bloke had the sort of 'ferrety' face you just knew was trouble - a photofit just waiting to happen! You just wanted to punch it for no particular reason!
would have killed him in the teeth tbh whilst i had the chaceyou either get done for kicking a scumbag in (likely) or have the satisfaction of knowing you kicked in the teeth of the guy who robbed you when the police dont provide any decent excuse why your belongings are not worth more than the innocent bloke down the way being hassled for a victimless crime they didnt commit.
srebbe64 said:
Chrispy Porker said:
Make sure your car keys, credit cards, chequebooks etc are not lying about in obvious places.
Use the alarm when you go out.
Yeah, we've got them hidden away safely!Use the alarm when you go out.
Mattt said:
I've read before somewhere to have your car keys in a semi-easy to find place. I would rather a thief broke in, took the keys, and went - instead of breaking in, breaking me, then taking the keys, then the car.
I think the key is making it difficult for the opportunist but being able to immediately comply if your life/ringpiece is in danger. Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff