When it comes to home defense you want to build as many layers of deterrence as you can. The more obstacles you create to make it difficult for an attacker to get through, the more likely it will be for him to look for an easier home to commit his criminal activities. Most criminals are looking for easy targets, and that’s why we always want to be a hard target, and that means making our home a hard target too. Creating extra layers of defense may cause a criminal to just go elsewhere, and at the very least it will slow him down so that you have more time to detect the threat and escape to safety or deal with it as you have planned.
The Survive and Defend membership pages will contain a lot of information on fortifying and defending your home. For purposes of this blog, I will provide a few tips on what I mean by layers of deterrence.
Layer One: External Deterrents. This is your first layer with the goal of stopping an attack before it even begins. Cut of the possibility of something happening to you, your family or home. External deterrents include: fences, motion detecting lighting, security system signage and decals in window, beware of dog signs, bushes and other things away from windows (unless thick with thorns), remove anything outside that could aid a criminal, actually having a dog in the yard and not just a sign.
Layer Two: Fortify Your Home. For this second layer, think like a criminal and look for ways you would break into your home. Strengthen the weak points you find. Reinforce doors and windows (all entry points to your home). Make sure you have quality locks and use them.
Layer Three: Security Systems. This level includes professionally installed monitoring systems, but also includes anything else you use to monitor for a breach in your home. The key here is to be warned so a criminal doesn’t surprise you. Items may include: professional security system, breakage alarms on windows, battery powered alarms (in case your power is shut off first), door stop alarms, etc.
Layer Four: Home Layout. If you can control a criminal’s movement once he has gained entry into your home, it can provide you extra time which is crucial. Furniture placement can do this, as can decoy valuables to lead a person to a certain part of your home. One strategy is to have it so a criminal will be attracted to, or forced to, move into a location that provides you the advantage to attack back and stop him. This is obviously for those circumstances where escaping to safety is not an option.
Layer Five: Safe Room. The safe room is a place where you and your family can immediately get to in case of a home invasion. It can be fortified to the extent your circumstances, location and budget allow. The layer four above may be designed to funnel a criminal the opposite direction you and your family are going to reach your safe room. This site will have much more information on safe rooms in the future.
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