The Ultimate Homeowner’s Guide to Security: Protecting Your Family

Coming out of hard lockdown and with the festive season fast approaching, Blue is bracing for an increase in criminal activity. We’re advising all homeowners to assess their property safety using the following home security tips and considerations in this Ultimate Homeowner’s Guide to Security.

How Burglars Choose a Home

Securing your home starts with understanding how criminals choose a home to target – the factors they seek out and the factors they avoid.
• Most burglars don’t want to come face-to-face with anyone, which makes a ‘lifeless’ property that much more attractive. Overgrown bushes and grass make a home appear neglected and empty, increasing your chances of being targeted.
• Homes that appear dark and quiet are another sign of an empty home. Turning on certain interior lighting or a radio can create the illusion that people are home. If you have a Smart Alarm System you can even control your lighting from your smart system – from anywhere in the world!
• Likewise, criminals will be on the lookout for newspapers or flyers, accumulated in your post box or on your driveway, as a sign that the property is empty.
• Burglars will generally avoid homes with dogs, however in some cases, they will poison animals to gain access to your property. Look out for your pet’s safety with our guide to protecting your animals from poisoning. 
• Burglars also use rubbish bins to determine whether a property is worthy of targeting. Avoid leaving the boxes for expensive items, such as television sets, out in the open.
• Burglars often target the areas of your property, such as garages and sheds, that you may neglect in regards to security. Ensure your property is secured throughout with these outer building safety tips. 
In many cases, burglars will ‘scope out’ your property in advance looking for signs of an easy target. Learn to spot a potential suspect with our guide to identifying suspicious behaviour.  For example, a vehicle roaming around a community at night, with its headlights off, is usually trying to remain undetected. This vehicle could be following someone so be cautious of these cars.
Crime trends often start in one community and progress through the different suburbs of Durban. Keep track of crime incidents by setting up alerts on our Crime Map and stay up to date on the latest crime trends, suspects’ modus operandi, and safety tips by signing up to our free weekly newsletter, The Siren, or by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Choosing your Security Technology

From the most basic alarm system to CCTV cameras with artificial intelligence capabilities, there is a world of security devices out there to suit your individual needs. The key to effective home security and adequately protecting yourself and your family is to create several layers of security, which will provide an early warning system that will alert you to the presence of any unwanted intruders.
Layered security is about placing as many barriers between intruders and your family as possible. These barriers may include:
• Alarm systems. House alarms form the core of your home security and these days they are smarter than ever! The benefits of Smart Alarm Systems are endless. They provide easy-to-use control over your security, appliances, entryways, climate control, and energy efficiency. Arm or disarm your alarm and even save energy by controlling your lights or geyser directly from the mobile app.
• Remote or Cellphone panic buttons. Although securing property is of some value, we understand that personal safety is of utmost importance. This is where panic alarms come into play. The primary difference between a panic button and an alarm system is that a panic button does not include detection equipment, rather the alarm is activated manually by the user.
• Electric fence. Electric fencing consists of a varying number of strands of electric wires, which carry high-voltage electric pulses. If the electric fence is touched, it delivers a non-lethal but extremely powerful shock to any would-be intruder. Ideally, if you have electric fencing surrounding your perimeter, it should be zoned and connected to your home alarm system so that any tampering on the fence line will result in an alarm activation.
• Outdoor beams. Beams come in three basic types: outdoor detectors, point-to-point beams, and strips beams, each of which provides another solution to early intruder detection.
• CCTV Surveillance. CCTV cameras can be mounted outdoors to monitor property, at entranceways to keep track of visitors, keep an eye on pets, and monitor interior security. Connect your CCTV to your Smart Alarm and take your monitoring one step further with image and video verification. By integrating your alarm system’s infrared detectors and outdoor beams with your CCTV cameras you can automatically stream a set of images or video footage direct to your smartphone when the sensors are triggered.
Blue also offers a number of additional security devices, such as anti-gate crashing kits and glass-smashing sensors for windows. Contact us on 031 717 5000 to find out more about the security technology we can offer you.

Helpful Safety Habits

Military Home Search outlined the following helpful habits to increase your home’s overall security:
• Lock doors and windows. Check them every time the house is left empty and make keeping them locked the “default” setting for door and window locks.
• If the house has an alarm, set it. Many homeowners find setting the alarm at each departure an inconvenience. But it is a simple habit to form compared to dealing with the aftermath of a break-in.
• Get to know the neighbours. One of the best forms of home security is having more protective eyes watching a property; especially when the owners are at work or on vacation.
• Keep bushes trimmed. Overgrown vegetation can serve as camouflage for a burglar. Keep hedges trimmed and the house visible.
• Keep entrances well lit. Install and use lighting around entrances. Solar, motion-activated or timed lighting can provide added security in the absence of an owner.
• Maintain doors and windows. Older and deteriorating doors and windows are easier targets for burglars. Keep them maintained, repaired, and replace as necessary.
• Don’t advertise your absence. Avoid announcing your absence publicly on social media. Have mail and newspaper delivery stopped when away for several days or more. Keep lawns mowed.
• Leave a radio on in your absence. A talk radio station can be particularly effective in creating the illusion someone is present in the home.
Whilst taking a proactive approach is key to your safety, we sometimes find ourselves in situations we can’t control, be prepared with our 7 safety tips to survive a home invasion. And remember if you ever find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to do – call Blue.