Family and Home Security Information

 

Surveillance Cameras, Security Cameras And CCTV

Whether you are looking for business use or for your home, a surveillance camera is one of the most important investments that you can make.

If you have ever thought to yourself that if you could just be there 100% of the time, you would be worry-free.  But you can’t, so to be able to observe the action at your office or home while you are elsewhere can satisfy that need.  Security cameras that you can view remotely are one of the most popular additions to both business and family security.

Surveillance cameras are generally chosen based on the function that they offer and their purpose. Each person invests in them for a number of reasons, all with one goal in mind: security.

Providing A Variety Of Protections

Purchasing a surveillance camera for your business is helpful in several ways. First, it helps you to protect your property from would be thieves. It can also protect you from employees that may be less than scrupulous.  Internal theft can be costing you a huge portion of your profit.

Additionally, surveillance cameras allows you to watch employee and customer interactions and to help you to monitor productivity. In fact, simply placing a surveillance camera in front of someone and letting them know that they are on camera definitely gives you the power to be there even when you aren’t. Chances are good that fewer problems will arise with a working, active camera in place.

In the home, it is an even better tool. As of late, there is an increase in the use of the ‘nanny cam’ or a camera placed in the home discretely so as to help protect the child or elderly parents.

The parent can come home and watch the recording or, even better, view the activity at home from their office.  They can clearly see how their child or elderly parent is being treated when they aren’t there.

In addition to this, a surveillance camera also provides for protection from break-ins (thieves purposely avoid homes that have security systems.) You can even hire a professional company to monitor your home while you aren’t there.  The surveillance system with a digital video recorder (dvr) allows for identification of the perpetrator.

Surveillance cameras are often a wise investment. While the price of a security camera surveillance system can be daunting, there are security dealers that provide a lease to own security camera system (CCTV) option

  

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Sliding-Glass Patio Doors

Sliding glass doors are secured by latches not locks. They are vulnerable to being forced open from the outside because of these inherently defective latch mechanisms. This can be easily be prevented by inserting a wooden dowel or stick into the track thus preventing or limiting movement. Other blocking devices available are metal fold-down blocking devices called “charley bars” and various track-blockers that can be screwed down.

The blocking devices described above solve half the equation. Older sliding glass doors can be lifted up and off their track and thereby defeat the latch mechanism. To prevent lifting, you need to keep the door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted. You can also install anti-lift devices such as a pin that extends through both the sliding and fixed portion of the door. There are also numerous locking and blocking devices available in any good quality hardware store that will prevent a sliding door from being lifted or forced horizontally. Place highly visible decals on the glass door near the latch mechanism that indicates that an alarm system, a dog, or block watch/operation identification is in place. Burglars dislike alarm systems and definitely big barking dogs.

• Use a secondary blocking device on all sliding glass doors
• Keep the latch mechanism in good condition and properly adjusted
• Keep sliding door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted
• Use anti-lift devices such as through-the-door pins or upper track screws
• Install a home security system
• Use highly visible alarm decals, beware of dog decals or block watch decal

Technorati Tags: home security systems, securing sliding glass doors

Doors and Locks

 by Chris E McGoey, CPP, CSP, CAM

                   

The first step is to “harden the target” or make your home more difficult to enter. Remember, the burglar will simply bypass your home if it requires too much effort or requires more skill and tools than they possess. Most burglars enter via the front, back, or garage doors. Experienced burglars know that the garage door is usually the weakest point of entry followed by the back door. The garage and back doors also provide the most cover.

Burglars know to look inside your car for keys and other valuables so keep it locked, even when parked inside your garage. Use high quality Grade-1 or Grade-2 locks on exterior doors to resist twisting, prying, and lock-picking attempts. A quality deadbolt lock will have a beveled casing to inhibit the use of channel-lock pliers used to shear off lock cylinder pins. A quality door knob-in-lock set will have a ‘dead latch’ mechanism to prevent slipping the lock with a shim or credit card.

• Use a solid core or metal door for all entrance points
• Use a quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt
• Use a quality, heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead-latch mechanism
• Use a heavy-duty, four-screw, strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a wooden door frame
• Use a wide-angle 160° peephole mounted no higher than 58 inches

The most common way used to force entry through a door with a wooden jamb is to simply kick it open. The weakest point is almost always the lock strike plate that holds the latch or lock bolt in place followed by a glass paneled door. The average door strike plate is secured only by the soft-wood doorjamb molding. These lightweight moldings are often tacked on to the door frame and can be torn away with a firm kick. Because of this construction flaw, it makes sense to upgrade to a four-screw, heavy-duty, high security strike plate. They are available in most quality hardware stores and home improvement centers and are definitely worth the extra expense. Install this heavy-duty strike plate using 3-inch wood screws to cut deep into the door frame stud. Use these longer screws in the knob lock strike plate as well and use at least one long screw in each door hinge. This one step alone will deter or prevent most through-the-door forced entries. You and your family will sleep safer in the future.

Technorati Tags: prevent forced entry, door and lock security