Burglar alarms and home security Featured

The average house doesn't have enough small, high-value s*it to come back and risk another break-in.

Some punk who breaks in the first time and finds your gun in the night table and your wife's jewlery on the dresser will notice your 55" plasma in the den - but he sure as hell isin't going to be hassled dragging that down the street, and he knows that every third house is going to have a similar TV so why bother coming back to the same house?

Because they took everything the first time?

Insurance.

Didn't have insurance it was a rental (yes I know you can get renters insurance). Also, there was a security system installed after the home was broken into. As the OP, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people get security systems installed if their home gets broken into.

Next hint: think.

With renters insurance you have to do a cost/benefit analysis. If you have something worth stealing (this is relative, before someone has a stroke!) it's a no-brainer. It's not going to prevent a break in. I prefer to look at the opportunity cost of insurance premiums and deductibles. ie: I get the highest deductible car insurance I can. I dropped State Farm for Century 21 (AIG) years ago because, the opportunity-cost of gold plated car insurance, doesn't make State Farm practical. Of course: YMMV.

I rented for many years and I would have never filed a claim. The only one benefiting would be the Ins co. With insurance it's never black and white. Rather, infinite shades of gray

Just connect 240 volts to the doorknobs. They'll die on your porch, but they wont get into the house. A dead Burglar is a good Burglar.

"Booby Traps" have been outlawed since at least the Magna Carta in 1216. The reason is simple: There are any number of people who may enter your home without your permission or even knowledge. Examples:

• A peace officer with a valid warrant
• A firefighter
• A child - children have no criminal capability
• A civil tresspasser

Deadfall is so much more descriptive.

You don't know the kids I know!

He fell on the gun would be my claim. (-:

I did realize last night that one thing I can do as a deterrent while not home is to use my Homevision controller to pulse the car alarm when substantial motion is detected. If I hear something out in the driveway late at night, I'll often turn on the LR and side light and tweak the car alarm to make sure it's set. That's certain to give at least a hint of occupancy. Maybe a recording of a pump shotgun racking would help, too.

Last night I was watching a Texas rancher threatening a repo man with a gun, saying he had the right to shoot anyone coming on his property. Don't car loan contracts require that the rancher allow an agent of the bank access to the truck? In the end he backed down, probably because there was a film crew, but he seemed quite sure of himself.

-- Bobby G.

From my limited experience, a lot of times people end up caught in their own booby traps. I had the world's loudest siren mounted inside my van running off a separate battery and triggered by a time delay motion sensor. One day I didn't disarm it in time. The next day I took it out, my ears still ringing.

-- Bobby G.

I'm in Texas and can confidently report that the rancher was wrong. However, a civil contract has no bearing on the criminal law. Also note the following:

Follow along. First a definition:

Texas Penal Code: § 28.03. CRIMINAL MISCHIEF. (a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner: (1) he intentionally or knowingly damages or destroys the tangible property of the owner; (2) he intentionally or knowingly tampers with the tangible property of the owner and causes pecuniary loss or substantial inconvenience to the owner or a third person; or (3) he intentionally or knowingly makes markings, including inscriptions, slogans, drawings, or paintings, on the tangible property of the owner.

Now check this out (emphasis added):

Texas Penal Code: § 9.42. DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect land or tangible, movable property: (2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary: (A) to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or CRIMINAL MISCHIEF during the nighttime; or

The old Valiant charged my batteries a few times when I forgot to disarm the hood before checking the oil. Just made me a bit more carefull the next time. Untill I forgot again.

NOBODY would risk opening the hood after the word got around!!!

Cameras with an attached means of recording can show you and police whether or not it's a false alarm. One homeowner had a problem with the police department over multiple 911 calls coming from his home. It turned out to be squirrels chewing on his phone line. I was in the alarm industry many years ago and saw some very strange things cause false alarms. ^_^

TDD

Back in the early 1980's I had a friend who owned a huge malamute dog and the dog had a very intimidating growl and bark. I recorded the dog growling at 7.5"/sec then slowed it down to 1.5"/sec which made it sound like a monster. Since I was building powerful audio amps and large speakers at the time, the monster growl could be felt in your chest when played through one of my PA systems. I setup very sensitive vibration switches and motion detectors to trigger the the sound system and tape when we were away from the shop and any miscreant nosing around the shop would have a hair raising experience when he touched the back door knob or windows which would actually rattle from the sound. ^_^

TDD

I had a friend who bought a small apartment complex from the city and had a problem with trespassers invading the place at night while he repaired the damaged done to the units by metal thieves. I gave him an Edwards 870P-N5 AdaptaHorn wired up to some motion detecting flood lights. We installed the lights/horn behind the complex where there was a barbed wire fence. One night he was awakened by the horn going off and the next morning he found bits of torn black cloth and bloody chunks of human flesh all over the barbed wire fence. Word got out and he had no more nightly visitations. ^_^

replying to clare, GaryBlack wrote: Home security is important. Burglar alarm give protection your home.