Category Archives: Home Security

Home Security Tips to Protect People Living in Ground Floor Apartments

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Some of the immediate benefits for ground floor apartments include easy entry for carrying in groceries, inviting friends over and cooler temperatures because you don’t have to worry about the sun entering through the roof. However, a downfall of a ground-floor apartment is the simplicity of a burglar coming into your house.

Below are a few tips of how to protect your ground-floor apartment:

Building Security and Outdoor Lighting

Make sure your apartment complex has well lit areas throughout the complex. Lights, believe it or not, can deter burglars from breaking in because it is easier for them to get caught. Remember, that if any outdoor lights are not working you should immediately contact the staff and inform them for your own safety.

Another circumstance where you should notify the management is when your door or windows don’t properly shut. Office management won’t be able know things like that without you informing them. Preventive solutions include your help.

Know Your Neighbors

Getting to know your neighbors can help protect your first-floor apartment against criminals. Neighbors can help warn you of any suspicious activity that may be occurring when you are not home. It will also let you know familiar faces in your complex so you won’t have to be as scared when people are walking around your complex.

Securing Your Door and Windows

Before signing your lease do a self-inspection of the complex to make sure everything that they promise is secured how it is supposed to be. Check the doors, windows and patio to ensure all the locks are secure. Your windows should remain locked unless you have them open for air circulation. Others wise keep them locked, and if you have a rod don’t forget to use it as well. Doors should have additional locks other than the one your key can unlock. All locks should be new to prevent a previous renter breaking into the apartment.

Decorating Your Windows

Placing curtains or similar décor will make your home cozier, but will provide home security with a simple item. A curtain will prevent possible intruders from seeing the items in your home. They will also be unable to see if anyone is inside. This is a simple solution to provide you with more privacy.

Alarm Systems

One final solution is to purchase a small home security system and place sensors on your door and window. An alarm system will allow notification to local law enforcement to reduce the chances of the thief having enough time to take your most valuable items. However, you should check with your landlord before installing a home security system to your apartment.

Living on the ground floor of an apartment building can be very convenient due to not having to struggle up the stairs with groceries, and you have immediate access to the parking lot. However, because of the easy access to the street level, ground-floor apartments place themselves at a higher risk of becoming victims of crime.

Some Of The Different Types of Alarm Systems

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Tucson alarms come in many different varieties depending on the needs of an individual homeowner or a business owner. Alarms can make a person or business feel more secure in their space. When you enter certain retail stores, you may hear a ding or buzzer that goes off when someone enters or leaves the shop. This type of alarm is called a door alarm and alerts the sales staff that someone has either entered or left the store. Some shop owners may want their staff to be aware of people entering or leaving the store. This helps the staff to know that a new person may have entered the store and to welcome them. While an alarm of this sort doesn’t work as a deterrent to crime, it may help the staff know that someone has entered the store if they are working in the back and no one is up front.

Alarm Companies

A homeowner can also utilize this type of alarm system in the home. The alarm can be set up to alert a homeowner that someone has entered the premises. This type of alarm can also be set up to signal either the security company that installed the alarm, or go directly to the police department. It is up to the homeowner if they only want to use it to scare off intruders or to have it set up to alert the police force. There may be an extra fee to having the alarm signal the police department or security company.

Other alarm systems can be an elaborate security system within a home or business. A professional will show the homeowner or business owner the different types of security systems that can be implemented onto a property. A motion detector alarm and camera can set off a silent alarm within the residence or business. This type of alarm allows a person within the property to see who is on the premises. Security cameras are often used in estates and in large office buildings to keep track of people in certain areas. A person of wealth may feel they need adequate security for their home and family in case of an attempted robbery. The same holds true for businesses that sell high end products such as jewelry or banks. Banks especially need high tech alarm systems.

Many times the alarms are silent to protect employees and customers within the bank at the time of a robbery. The silent alarm alerts the police while keeping the thieves calm so they won’t hurt innocent people. Tucson alarms can also provide smoke alarms for homes and businesses. Smoke alarms are essential in saving lives. When smoke reaches the alarm it will go off with a loud noise, alerting people to get out of the building. A smoke alarm needs to be checked regularly to ensure it is functioning properly. For homeowners this may mean changing the batteries every six months. A business owner may want a professional to come and test their smoke alarms and security system on a regular basis.

While having a home burglar alarm installed is one thing, they should be properly maintained as well. Just like most electrical devices, an alarm needs to be tested regularly to ensure it is working correctly. The alarm company usually has a professional team can come out to test alarm and security systems to ensure they are functioning, and that the signal is being sent to either the security company or the police department. In some cases an alarm system could be compromised if a criminal tries to break in, so have your system inspected if your home or business has suffered a burglary attempt.

A Few Home Security Tips from a Former Professional Burglar!

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Preventing a burglary is more about deterring a thief than actually barring entry. The truth is, getting into a house is relatively easy, even if the doors are locked and the entire area is secured. The point of alarms and other anti-theft measures are to make the burglar want to move on to somewhere less fortified.

Jack MacLean was a professional burglar for many years before he broke his own rule and worked with an accomplice one night. The accomplice was caught, and eventually blew Jack’s cover. Jack spent 15 years in prison for his crimes. MacLean was such an expert thief that he would reset alarm systems after breaking into and out of homes. While in prison, he wrote a book detailing how to make a home strong against invasion. Because most burglars are amateurs, his strategies and home security information are overkill in most situations. But in order to truly keep someone out, he details the necessary steps.

Secure Your Home

The first things to keep in mind are common sense strategies. Keep doors locked, and buy a good deadbolt for all doors. A deadbolt costs only about $20, and without it, your door really isn’t locked at all. Even an untrained thief can manipulate a spring-operated latch with a credit card or thin, flexible knife. Get a deadbolt with no spring (the true meaning of “dead”) for actual security. In his book, Jack MacLean recommends only Medeco locks. This is because at the time of his writing, these were the only locks that had an extra piece in the keyhole to prevent tampering, and thus were the only locks that could not be picked, even by a locksmith. Getting an un-pickable lock is a matter of personal choice – if you ever lock your keys in the house, you could be forced to break a window.

More Security Tips For Your Home

Windows should be secured with a lock, and should be alarmed with an electronic foil trigger. This is a thin film of foil that is affixed to the window glass around the edge. If the glass breaks, the foil breaks with it, and the current is broken, triggering the alarm. MacLean recommends that a professional be employed to install the foil film, since an incorrect installation can be removed by a skilled thief without triggering the alarm.

Security lights are a good deterrent, but they need to be mounted high up on the house. Otherwise, a burglar can simply unscrew the bulb. Even a loose bulb will not have a connection to the electrical system, and will not light up.

Alarm systems should be armed with an audible signal. While some people think that a silent alarm that calls the police is best, the truth is that police almost always take longer to get to the house than the burglary takes. Alarm systems call the police through the alarm company, not directly. Furthermore, police, unless they are in the immediate area, can take a few minutes to drive to the house. This all assumes that they will place the highest priority on your alarm call, which is often not the case.

While these tips will not keep out a truly determined thief, the amount of added difficulty will make a burglar think twice before targeting your home.

For more home security information, see Titan Alarm, a Scottsdale, Arizona home security company. This Scottsdale security expert has an answer for your unique security needs.