Are we really safe once we lock our door?

Home Security

By Steven Rappaport

The question we all have to ask ourselves is:  Are we really safe once we lock our door.  In an open society like the United States, your home should be a sanctuary for you and your family.  The home is the only environment where you should have control over who can get close to you or your family.  Protecting your home from criminal intrusion should be high on your list of priorities. 

By far, the most common threat to our home is burglary.  The definition of a burglary is a non-confrontational crime. However, any of us who have been the victims of crimes knows that a crime can leave us feeling vulnerable and violated.  To avoid becoming a victim, it is important to first understand who commits them and what their thought process is.

The majority of home burglaries occur during the day, when most people are away at work or school.  These burglaries are committed most often by young males, under the age of 25, looking for items that are small, expensive, and can be easily converted into cash such as cash, jewelry, guns, laptop computers, DVD players, etc. 

Although home burglaries may seem random in occurrence, they are actually quite well planned out.  Choose an unoccupied home, with the easiest access, greatest amount of cover, and with the best escape routes.  Increasing your home security creates obstacles to make the job of the burglar more difficult, forcing them to move on to an, “easier” target.

Two elements of home security are your physical hardware such as doors and locks, and secondly through electronic security such as an alarm system.

The first step is to work with a professional to design a security system for your home.  For all reading this article, give me a call and I will give you a security consultation at no charge.  During this consultation we will walk through your home or business and design a system that is appropriate for you.  Something that will become apparent during this consultation is that proper security isn’t achieved through the advertised, “Free” alarm systems or the, “Two Locks for $14.99” specials. 

The next step is making your home more difficult to enter.  Remember, a burglar will simply bypass your home if it requires too much effort to get in.  You must make sure that you have good solid doors, proper deadbolts and knob locks that are functioning correctly.  The most popular way for criminals to break in to homes today is to kick the front door in.  A solid heavy duty, grade one deadbolt, installed properly will do a great job at preventing your door from being kicked in.

The final step is to have a proper alarm system installed and to, “advertise” to the world through stickers and lawn signs, that you have that alarm system which will deter burglaries since they increase the potential and fear of being caught and arrested by the police.  Advertising to the world that you have an alarm system that was installed by a reputable local alarm company, will do wonders in having the burglar pass your home and move on to an easier target.

Steven Rappaport is the President of Rappaport Alarms, Inc. and the Vice President of A&N Rappaport Lock and Alarm, Inc.  A&N Rappaport Lock and Alarm, Inc. have been serving Rockland County since 1967, and are the counties largest full spectrum Security Company.  Full Spectrum simply means that we can handle all aspects of your security needs ranging from the simplest locksmithing duties such as cutting a key, to the most advanced digital video surveillance systems.  Any questions, give Steve a call at 845-947-7773.