Home Security - Advice needed

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Dot1

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Hi All

Had a very bad experience yesterday.
Had an armed robbery at home.

Please can you all tell me what you would suggest to make the house less accessible to criminals?

Will be getting laser beams and sensors and internal security bars - but do all these things really help?

We have a armed response company who was there in 5 minutes and burglar bars were broken.

Please can you give me any ideas on how to make the house more secure and what worked for you?

Thanks,
 
Sorry to hear that OP. Hope everybody is ok.
The options are endless but sadly linked to budget. Perhaps mention what you want to spend first?
 
Well I was thinking about 10k.
today we have beams,panic buttons, Electric fence, burglar bars, armed response, motion sensors, internal gates.
I don't know how much more there is to do.

Do you think living in a house is a problem?
 
Dot1 said:
Hi All

Had a very bad experience yesterday.
Had an armed robbery at home.

Please can you all tell me what you would suggest to make the house less accessible to criminals?

Will be getting laser beams and sensors and internal security bars - but do all these things really help?

We have a armed response company who was there in 5 minutes and burglar bars were broken.

Please can you give me any ideas on how to make the house more secure and what worked for you?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Condolences for the bad experience:(

Free standing house? Type of wall or fence around it?

Security works in layers:

Make it harder to get into yard, and also to do so undetected. Then make it harder to get across yard undetected, then make it harder to get into home itself undetected, then make it harder to get into the safe area (bedrooms).
 
Sorry to hear about this.

1) Outside Perimeter:- Ensure gate cannot be lifted, electric fence and connected to alarm if no trees etc can interfere
2) Outside:- Passive eyes covering the garden, CCTV covering garden/house/perimeter and around the house and a small dog and a big dog
3) House:- Burglar bars on all windows and security gates (solid IMO is best not these sliding gates) on all doors, passive eyes and sensors in and around the inside of the house

One can also look at roller spikes on the wall/gate etc.

It all depends on your walls/gates etc and how they actually got access this time as well.

Unfortunately not a cheap exercise

I am sure others will contribute
 
Dot1 said:
Well I was thinking about 10k.
today we have beams,panic buttons, Electric fence, burglar bars, armed response, motion sensors, internal gates.
I don't know how much more there is to do.

Do you think living in a house is a problem?
Click to expand...

Living in South Africa with the ANC as our government is the problem. Giving up your space and liberties to move into a townhouse or flat is no guarantee of safety.
You seem well equipped already. Might be worth your while getting a reputable security ancillary products provider (Sauderson Security springs to mind) to come look what you have got in place and let them advise.
And get some dogs. As much as the animal rights activists are going to protest - they really are a good early warning mechanism. They do need to be trained not to eat treats from strangers or to eat stuff found on the floor (to avoid them being targeted for poisonings).
 
Sorry to hear. Unfortunately Armed Response can only react to a situation, which means that if you are already in the situation, they are too late.

The best thing to do is to have layered security.

The house itself will need to be difficult to get into. Burglar bars, security gates on every door,etc. Don't just put bars in front of opening windows, but in front of (or behind) the large panes as well.

Motion detectors (like Roboguard) and lasers in the yard can let you know if someone is approaching the house. Try and set it up that no one can crawl underneath or use trees to jump over the beams. A person should not be able to even reach the house without being detected.

On the outer perimeter (ie your wall) you need electric fence with square tubing, connected to your armed response. Maybe add Star walls in the space between the wall and bottom strand. With electric fencing, the threat of being shocked doesn't deter criminals, but they don't like alarms announcing them.

Although CCTV does not deter them, it can help identify them and if your are inside the house and something goes bump in the night, you can investigate without leaving your house.
 
So I have a solid wall with Electric fence.
They tested to see if the fence was working and then they lifted the gate.

Q 1: How do you ensure that a gate cannot be lifted? Are there any points to follow? We thought it couldn't be lifted, but we were wrong.
Q 2: When the alarm senses anyone there is a VERY loud alarm that will go, and that will be before they get to the house.

I called my mom to see if everything was ok - she was crying and said " They in the house", I cant stop thinking about it and feel sick to my stomach. Helpless as well.

And all the measures we had - 2 seconds and then they had access.

Took 1 TV.

I just thanks GD they never hurt her. But they did point the gun at her and she is terrified.
 
Maybe old school but dogs. Large one outside and a small yapper inside. We have a jack russell and I'm positive she's warned off more than a single prowler or two and she is loud enough to wake neighbors.

Problem is if the bastards want in, they want in and won't be scared to kill an animal but as many say, it's about deterrents and layers.

And please, bugler bars INSIDE your windows. That will force them to break a window first before accessing. You don't need to go expensive trelli route, we have plain bars that are mounted into the wall ie: not bolted but physically slotted into holes in the brickwork. Sounds messy but the bars are cheap and ours are quite thick ( solid steel square tubes about 1cm thick ), bolt cutter won't cut that. All it costs is some cement and paint afterwards.
 
Dot1 said:
Hi All

Had a very bad experience yesterday.
Had an armed robbery at home.

Please can you all tell me what you would suggest to make the house less accessible to criminals?

Will be getting laser beams and sensors and internal security bars - but do all these things really help?

We have a armed response company who was there in 5 minutes and burglar bars were broken.

Please can you give me any ideas on how to make the house more secure and what worked for you?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Was anyone at your home while the robbers broke in?
 
When your gate is closed (and Im assuming you have a sliding gate) it needs to have a steel bar (or something of that nature) welded in place a few mm above each end of the gate to ensure it cant be lifted off its track.

View attachment 370627
 
yes, we had it done exactly like that, but they lifted it from the back, the side close to the motor.

My mother was at home. They pointed a gun at her and told her to shut it.
 
skeptic_SA said:
When your gate is closed (and Im assuming you have a sliding gate) it needs to have a steel bar (or something of that nature) welded in place a few mm above each end of the gate to ensure it cant be lifted off its track.

View attachment 370627
Click to expand...

Beat me to it.

The gate is the most common entry point these days and in our are at least 90% of all burglaries is through lifting the gate.
 
Dot1 said:
yes, we had it done exactly like that, but they lifted it from the back, the side close to the motor.

My mother was at home. They pointed a gun at her and told her to shut it.
Click to expand...

few mm above each end of the gate
 
So is there a way to connect a siren for when the gate is tampered with?

I need to make this place like fort knox.
 
Bad news Dot1, sorry to hear. These people are blatently operating in daylight.

If anyody's alone at home they should ALWAYS keep a panic button around their neck.
 
Dot1 said:
So is there a way to connect a siren for when the gate is tampered with?

I need to make this place like fort knox.
Click to expand...

We have a beam 1 metre inside the gate. It's armed whenever I'm at home.
 
Put an ordinary waterproof alarm contact on the gate which should be on the same partition as your outside beams. If the gate is opened, it will trip the alarm when the outside partition is armed.
 
Some good tips here...I never knew about a gate being lifted!! News to me.
 
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