There are all kinds of ways to keep a community safe. Many, however, require the participation of residents and neighbors to be successful. Community watch comes to mind quickly, as well as giving support to the local authorities. Some your support takes the form of relaying suspiciaous activity, or it could include voting in a new millage to maintain the force.
But on a smaller scale, a little bit of cooperation can keep the bad guys out of your community. Here are a few ways to involve the neighbors:
1. If you are away for any length of time, arrange to have your lawn mowed, or the snow removed from the drive and walk ways. Be the neighbor that performs these tasks for some else from time to time. Especially if there are abandonned or unoccupied buildings on the block. No one needs to have squatters in the neighborhood and keeping the property up will tend to deter vandalism and other deviant behavior.
2. If your neighbor has an extra vehicle, ask if they'd mind parking it in your driveway while you are gone.
3. Ask a neighbor to pick up the random papers and leaflets that are left on your property. Some one might assume that if there are a few days worth of advertising laying around that no one is home, thus making it a target.
4. Temporarily stop the mail and the papers. The post office will hold your mail until your return if you ask. This could also be collected by a helpful neighbor.
5. Trash day can also indicate a home that is not currently occupied. If possible, a neighborly neighbor might be convinced to put one of their cans in front of your empty home, or you might put one of your trash cans in front of a vacant property.
Lots of light is often an effective deterrent, and anything that makes a place look lived in and cared for will help avoid criminal activity at a vacant or otherwise empty home.
If you are planning to start a community watch in your area, a fantastic outline for such an endeavor is to be found at http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/node/17501 This is one of the most thorough "how to" articles I've seen concerning setting up a new community watch program.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
How to Drive 'Em Crazy
After years in the industry, I am beginning to see a pattern of things that drive alarm installers to the brink of insanity. I thought these should be compiled, sorted and organized and then printed for the general public, to perhaps reduce the frequency of such burdensome occurences. I have tried to exclude those issues that just reflect an installer or service person in a bad mood, being a baby. So, here is a partial list.
1. When the sales person asks what kind of telephone line you have, there are basically four answers: no phone line (in which case you will have to buy an additional piece of equipment for communications to the alarm monitoring facility); POTS line, which is the traditional phone line with carrier voltage on the line; VOIP, which is provided by cable companies and other internet providers; and satelite phone (which will also require you to purchase additional equipment. The installer will be frustrated if the phone line is not what they expected.
2. Clutter. Depending where you want the control panel to be placed, you may need to clean out a closet, or a path in the basement. In cases where the system will be wired into the home, the installer will need access to a large portion of the basement. They are not furniture movers, so be sure to provide access to device locations, too.
3. No one likes to work in an attic, though many will if they have to. If a system will have to be wired through your attic, please consider allowing the installer to place a wireless system in the home. (See earlier blog entry for wireless vs. hard wired debate)
4. Of course your children and pets are precious, and everyone would prefer to play with lego or throw a ball to the dog than work. It's just that those activities don't pay well for the person who is there to install your alarm system.
5. Installers are trained to install devices where they will do the most good. Most of the time, they will consult with you where the issue is purely aesthetic, such as keypad and control panel locations. Even then, there may be some compromise required.
I don't even know if these are the top five, but certainly effect the job of the installer and could have consequences in how you feel at the end of the installation. It's a partnership of form and function that they installer and home or business owner must balance.
1. When the sales person asks what kind of telephone line you have, there are basically four answers: no phone line (in which case you will have to buy an additional piece of equipment for communications to the alarm monitoring facility); POTS line, which is the traditional phone line with carrier voltage on the line; VOIP, which is provided by cable companies and other internet providers; and satelite phone (which will also require you to purchase additional equipment. The installer will be frustrated if the phone line is not what they expected.
2. Clutter. Depending where you want the control panel to be placed, you may need to clean out a closet, or a path in the basement. In cases where the system will be wired into the home, the installer will need access to a large portion of the basement. They are not furniture movers, so be sure to provide access to device locations, too.
3. No one likes to work in an attic, though many will if they have to. If a system will have to be wired through your attic, please consider allowing the installer to place a wireless system in the home. (See earlier blog entry for wireless vs. hard wired debate)
4. Of course your children and pets are precious, and everyone would prefer to play with lego or throw a ball to the dog than work. It's just that those activities don't pay well for the person who is there to install your alarm system.
5. Installers are trained to install devices where they will do the most good. Most of the time, they will consult with you where the issue is purely aesthetic, such as keypad and control panel locations. Even then, there may be some compromise required.
I don't even know if these are the top five, but certainly effect the job of the installer and could have consequences in how you feel at the end of the installation. It's a partnership of form and function that they installer and home or business owner must balance.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Does The Dog Dial "911?"
Many lame reasons people have for deciding against an alarm system are entertaining and not well thought out. Here is one such excuse. As the title indicates, there are people who rely on man's best friend for home protection. I will agree that some breeds of dogs lend themselves well to deterring break-ins; the German Shepherd, the Rotty and various Bulldog breeds are in the mix. I will also admit that a yappy dog, that barks it's yappy head off at anything that moves can serve as an alert mechanism, should some one be home to hear it. Even then the animal is more likely to be silenced without a second thought than actually cause a person to investigate the possiblity that their privacy has been invaded.
The most likely scenario where a dog is expected to protect a home from intrusion and burglary is that the unfortunate gate keeper becomes the first victim of the crime. People who don't respect your property or your privacy are not likely to respect your pet, either. The best that can be hoped is that the intruder merely provides the animal with a distraction such as a dog treat or piece of meat. They might even make a friend.
Even some dogs that are very protective of their owner and their family, may not care to protect a giant plastic soda bottle full of change, or cameras, jewelry, guns, baseball card collection, grandmother's hand-knitted afghan or even the food in the refrigerator, which dogs like very much.
During such an event, the dog will have difficulty notifying the homeowner while they are away at work. Most dogs don't know how to dial "911," and if they do, their report would be vague...dare I say "ruff." After such an event, the descriptions dogs give to investigators is sketchy, at best. They find it difficult to express just what the intruder smelled like, or what they said. On the bright side, dogs are color blind and less likely to profile intruders based on any stereotype.
This is all stated before advanced fire notification is mentioned: or carbon monoxide, flood, etc.
One item you should take into account as you protect your home and family with a proper alarm system is to make sure the monitoring center knows that you have pets in the home. Have the facility note the likely location of your animals during the day (if you know). The police, responding to a burglar alarm will want to avoid any misunderstandings on the part of your pet, especially if it is the man-eater you think it is, like a Pit-Bull or a Chijuajua. The fire department may also be able to rescue a trapped pet if they know where it hangs out in the house, and if doing so won't be too risky for a fire-fighter.
The most likely scenario where a dog is expected to protect a home from intrusion and burglary is that the unfortunate gate keeper becomes the first victim of the crime. People who don't respect your property or your privacy are not likely to respect your pet, either. The best that can be hoped is that the intruder merely provides the animal with a distraction such as a dog treat or piece of meat. They might even make a friend.
Even some dogs that are very protective of their owner and their family, may not care to protect a giant plastic soda bottle full of change, or cameras, jewelry, guns, baseball card collection, grandmother's hand-knitted afghan or even the food in the refrigerator, which dogs like very much.
During such an event, the dog will have difficulty notifying the homeowner while they are away at work. Most dogs don't know how to dial "911," and if they do, their report would be vague...dare I say "ruff." After such an event, the descriptions dogs give to investigators is sketchy, at best. They find it difficult to express just what the intruder smelled like, or what they said. On the bright side, dogs are color blind and less likely to profile intruders based on any stereotype.
This is all stated before advanced fire notification is mentioned: or carbon monoxide, flood, etc.
One item you should take into account as you protect your home and family with a proper alarm system is to make sure the monitoring center knows that you have pets in the home. Have the facility note the likely location of your animals during the day (if you know). The police, responding to a burglar alarm will want to avoid any misunderstandings on the part of your pet, especially if it is the man-eater you think it is, like a Pit-Bull or a Chijuajua. The fire department may also be able to rescue a trapped pet if they know where it hangs out in the house, and if doing so won't be too risky for a fire-fighter.
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