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My other website is all about personal security, self-defense issues, and how to stay safe and avoid becoming a victim of crime. When I give presentations to groups of ladies on personal safety and security awareness, one of the things I discuss is that your personal security starts at home. That’s why your home should be a safe haven where you feel protected from the criminal elements. Many women are only concerned about their personal security and safety when they are away from home…at the mall, driving in their car, at work, or when out alone in the evening.
Your personal security should be about developing a safety plan and habits of how to stay safe all the time. That means being aware of your surroundings whether you are home or away and alert to any type of situation that appears strange or gives you an uncomfortable feeling like something isn’t quite right. When that happens, that’s your "gut feeling" or your "intuition" possibly giving you danger signals so listen to those signals and get away from that situation as quickly as you can.
Take for instance the lady who enjoys jogging or walking in her neighborhood. She gets up every morning and starts her jog or walk first thing. Over the last few months it has been light at about 6:00 a.m. - so this would appear be a good time to jog. However, as the time has started to change, it stays darker longer in the mornings and it is getting darker earlier in the evening.
Be especially observant when out jogging or walking late in the evening or taking your dog out late at night for his/her last break. No matter if your neighborhood is considered a fairly safe area, it is still a good idea to be on guard and alert to what’s going on when out by yourself. If you are complacent about your personal security and safety, it’s that one time you let your guard down when you are jogging or walking ...youknowchatting on the phone or listening to your MP3player, that you could miss a danger signal and become a victim of an attack.
When I leave the house in the morning to do my daily walk, I have my cell phone and my one-pound weights filled with pepperspray with me. I’m not anticipating being attacked, but I am on the lookout for joggers/walkers and cars that pass by. You’ve probably seen unfamiliar cars in your neighborhood that you know don’t belong there, and the driver/passengers look a little too suspicious. There are people who come into nice neighborhoods and case the place out first - then come back later when everyone has gone off to work and burglarize the homes. [Read more →]
If your children must come home from school by his or herself, you are among a growing trend in our society of working parents who may have to struggle for after-school child care. In fact, 17% of kindergarteners through eighth graders spend time after school in self-care at least once a week.
Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adult supervision for children under the age of 11 or 12, for many families this isn’t possible. When faced with this situation, maturity should be the determining factor in whether a child should be left alone.
A very important factor in your child’s overall safety when coming home from school alone is whether he/she is coming into a SAFE home. With the number of burglaries, home intrusions, and predatory criminals lurking, you want to ensure your home is thoroughly safe and free from an intruder potentially being in your home when your child arrives home alone. [Read more →]
One of the most prominent things that stand out about this home is the ADT alarm sign right at the front entry area. A random survey of the neighborhood showed there were not many security alarm signs - which make those homes a more vulnerable target.
As a burglar is looking at homes to break into, one of the first things he looks for is - does the homehave a security system? As you have built layers of protection with your security system, your yard sign is your first line of defense. Your home will not be that attractive to a burglar. He will more likely move on to another home - unfortunately to one of the homes with no alarm yard sign - as they will be more appealing to a burglar.
Make your home less appealing to a burglar by installing a good quality home alarm system.
Recently I did a radio interview with Susan Bartlestone, owner of www.fightsafe.com. Susan is a Personal Safety Expert, author, and teaches personal safety seminars. She has started a new internet radio program called Crime Prevention 101. This radio program will provide valuable tips from experts in the security, self-defense, and safety field. Topics will range from home security, personal safety, self-defense, travel safety, vehicle safety, and so much more. Everyone can benefit from this information.
As soon as I have the details on when her radio program will be aired, I will put a link on Home Security 911 so everyone can check it out.
During my interview with Susan, one of the questions she asked was about putting the alarm signs and decals in the front/back yard and on windows. She wondered if that would be telling the would-be burglar who the alarm company is protecting the home, thus allowing the burglar to “know” how to disarm the system and easily get into the home?
My response was after 20 years of professional experience helping homeowners protect their home and finding peace of mind – that putting the alarm yard signs in the front and back of the home and placing the window decals on all vulnerable windows – was the first line of defense! Once I put the signs and decals in place - that initially started the protection for the homeowner. The homeowner normally had a short wait before installing their security system, but right there – putting the yard signsnear the front entry door and a yard sign near the back entry – initially told a would-be burglar DON’T stop here go someplace else ! [Read more →]
Summer vacation or anytime vacation – it’s great to get away from work and home to just relax and enjoy some R & R. Whether you’re going out of the country or traveling locally for your vacation, keeping your home safe and secure while you are on vacation is a major concern.
Statistics show that more burglaries occur in July and August than in any other month. That will make a lot of homeowners cringe as they get ready to leave town – especially if they don’t have a security system or someone to keep an eagle eye out for their home. Watch the video below and don’t let this happen to you when you go on vacation. If you have been considering a security system for your home, now is the time to take action.
You can always do some things to tighten up and strenthen your home’s overall security and give you a little extra peace of mind. You want to be able to relax on your vacation and not worry about what is happening at home. [Read more →]
This was a vigilant neighbor who saw a crime in progress and notified the local police. How many people out there would do that? How many people want to get involved? It seems that we aren’t as neighborly today as people were back in the good ole days.
A couple of questions to the readers - how many of you know your neighbors right next door to you? How about 2-5 houses left or right of you? How about across the street? Isn’t it a sad situation when we don’t even know our next door neighbors? Especially if you’ve lived in your home for any length of time. And then we expect our neighbors to help us when a bad situation happens.
Just a suggestion but how about we all make an effort to go over to our neighbors right in our area and introduce ourselves. You can exchange a card with your name, address, and phone number(s) and ask if each person might be willing to set up a "home watch." If someone is going to be out of town, on vacation, or if the wife will be alone while the hubby travels that might be something that could be shared among your new neighbors. She now has neighbors to call if something happens while the hubby is traveling that frightens her. And you now have someone (and hopefully several neighbors) keeping an eye on your home when you are gone. Before, no one knew your comings and goings so a burglar could show up, unload your belongings, and no one knew. As a good neighbor you are all keeping a watchful eye out for one another. [Read more →]
Home Invasions may be on the rise so it’s a good idea that we follow good home security protection tips. It is way too easy to become complacent about our home security - especially if there has been no recent crime in our neighborhoods. You may say to yourself that you feel safe - that you are away from the high crime element in the city, but that situation could change in a split second.
I live in a very nice subdivision outside of a medium size city. People tend to leave their garage doors open a good part of the day, and I would imagine they leave entry doors unlocked as well. This is definately a NO-NO! In nicer neighborhoods where crime is not real prevalent, it would be so easy for thugs or violent criminals to simply commit day or night burglaries or home invasions right while people are home. Most homeowners aren’t prepared for this and just don’t think it will ever happen to them.
First of all the majority of people do not have security systems in their home. In our society today, if you don’t have a security system in your home—–WHY? They are so cost effective. Plus they give you a prewarning to any type of intrusion - you’ll know of a break in immediately if you are home. If not, the police will be notified right away and send someone to your home. [Read more →]
Many real estate professionals have a small cubby-space at the realtor office they work for; however, their primary office may be in their home. Considering the risky nature of your job – meeting strangers alone in homes or being a high-visibility agent – it is a good idea to ensure that your home and office are protected. By being proactive and taking the necessary steps to secure your home, you reduce your chances of becoming a victim of a burglary or a home invasion crime.
You probably go into homes everyday that have security systems that you must arm and disarm. Do you have a security system protecting your home? If not, why not? Many people wait until they have had a burglary or someone close to them has before they decide to install a security system. Don’t wait - look into how you can protect your home, your family, and yourself 24-hours a day. You may be surprised at how cost-efficient it is to install a really good quality security system.
One of the biggest concerns for people who are considering a security system for their home is having false alarms. Because they have heard numerous horror stories of friends or others who have accidentally had their alarm system go off and the police dispatched, they are afraid this will happen to them. This discourages many homeowners from installing a security system and protecting their home and family.
As a security consultant with ADT Security for 20 years, I had to deal with this concern for prospects as well as existing customers. False alarms can be a real “pain” for local authorities and the customer. Some of the biggest problems with false alarms are customer errors. People who are not properly trained to use the security system – who don’t have the proper access or identification codes – should not be entering a home with an alarm system turned on. Of course, equipment malfunctions, pets, and other issues can also be part of the problem. [Read more →]
Do you have a plan of action so you know what to do in the event you are broken into while at home? I would venture to say that most people don’t! However, it is a good idea to have a Home Security Defense Plan that includes a Safe Room in case someone forcibly enters your home while you and your family are there. The general intent of a safe room is to provide short-term protection for the family members until the police arrive or the attackers leave your home.
It is a fact of life today that burglaries, home intrusions, home invasions, and kidnappings are happening at an alarming rate. We are all encouraged to have a Personal Plan of Action in case we are attacked on the street but we forget to have a well-thought out plan for some sort of attack in our home.
The very nature that someone would forcibly enter your home, especially while you and your family members are there, means the intruder is serious about burglarizing your home either for your possessions, valuables, money, or worse yet - kidnapping. The fact that you are there and could identify the intruder means there is a good chance you may be harmed or even killed. [Read more →]
Watch this video news broadcast about break-ins in this particular city. This could be your city…it could be my city…it could be anybodies city because it is happening way too often to just ignore it.
Leader Newspapers - Rise In Burglaries
I just opened up our small town (approximately 12,000 population give or take) news magazine and this was one of the articles, “2 Homes Burglarized While Owners Slept.” That’s a pretty scary scenario to find yourself in. To have someone open your doors and walk into your home while you are sleep and not even know it. Shame onpeople for not taking a more proactive interest in their home and families’ security. It really makes the crime more serious when the burglar comes into your home while you are there and asleep. That means he’s not afraid of the homeowner and he definately means business. Taking your stuff is how he does his business. [Read more →]
As you can see from the news video, home burglaries are on the rise throughout the U.S. All cities, small and large, are affected by crime. The fact is these punks find it easier to break into homes and take someone else’s personal belonging rather than to work for a living. I guess they consider this their job. These guys (and gals) are basically lazy, lowlifes and you should do everything in your power to make your home as difficult as possible for them to get into.
If you take the complacent attitude that “it won’t happen to me,” by doing nothing you may eventually become a victim of a break in or a home invasion. Or the other statement I used to hear all the time, “I don’t need an alarmsystem, I have a gun for protection.” Well that’s great but that gun won’t do you one bit of good if you aren’t there to use it. In fact, the burglars will probably take your gun since that it is one of the major items they are looking to steal.
Since burglars are basically lazy scumbags, what can you do to make your home a difficult target for them to get into? There really are several ways you can secure and protect your home so that a burglar decides to give it up and move on to an easier home. Why not be proactive and set up perimeter and interior protection for your home! I guarantee you will rest easier at night knowing your home and family are safe. The peace of mind you get will be well worth any investment you make. I have posted this information over three separate parts. Be sure to check out all three. Go to Read More as I have another video for your viewing. [Read more →]
Take for instance the lady who enjoys jogging or walking in her neighborhood. She gets up every morning and starts her jog or walk first thing. Over the last few months it has been light at about 6:00 a.m. - so this would appear be a good time to jog. However, as the time has started to change, it stays darker longer in the mornings and it is getting darker earlier in the evening. 
