Your Personal Blue Zone

In an increasingly frightening world our home should be the one place where everyone feels safe, and a place where the outside world is … outside. Regrettably, burglaries are so common that they barely warrant a mention and it’s easy in this climate to feel helpless. But, given that burglaries are generally speaking opportunistic crimes, and that burglars will select a target because it offers a relatively easy opportunity to carry out a crime undetected, there is a lot that you can do to secure your home and limit an intruder’s opportunity to break in by creating your own Blue Zone.

Creating a Blue Zone: A layered approach to security

Whilst some security measures may be a little pricey, if you consider that it takes an experienced intruder just a few minutes to derail a driveway gate, force open a security gate and a front door and escape in a vehicle with your expensive electronic equipment and any of your other possessions that are light and portable (such as cameras and jewellery), a security system that provides early warning that intruders are on your property is a small price to pay for the protection of these expensive goods. Along with leading security experts, Brian Jackson, Operations Manager of Blue Security says, “A layered approach to security is the most effective security solution you can adopt to protect yourself from a break in and the loss of valuable possessions.”

The 4 D’s of Security:

When designing an effective security solution, consider the 4D’s of security:
Deter the criminal – you want your property to look and be secure enough so that the criminal is not tempted to break-in to your property but rather move on to a softer target. Professor Rudolph Zinn, a former police officer and now a senior lecturer at UNISA, interviewed a number of criminals for his book, Home Invasion: Robbers Disclose What You Should Know. In the interviews, criminals admitted that they found the following early detection devices effective deterrents:

• Razor wire or electric security fences around the entire perimeter of the house.
• Pre-warning alarm systems, such sensors in the garden, along outside walls and windows, and in the ceiling.
• An armed response service.
• A CCTV system.

Detect the criminal – if the criminal is undeterred and chooses to attempt a break in, early warning devices such strip beams placed around the perimeter of your property and across windows will trigger the alarm as soon as an intruder enters your property. This will give you advanced warning of a potential break in so that you are not caught by surprise.
Delay the criminal – if the criminal does manage to get up to your house ensure that the security gates and burglar bars are strong enough to withstand being prized off doors and windows quickly. Burglar guards screwed into wooden frames are largely ineffective because of  how easily that can be forced in. Ideally burglar guards should be bolted into a concrete wall or welded to metal frames.
Detain the criminal – this will give armed reaction enough time to respond to the alarm activation and hopefully to apprehend the criminals before they have left the property with your possessions – it’s amazing how much can be stolen in under three minutes.

A Layered Approach

You need to “harden” these 3 layers of your property to limit intruder opportunity

• The exterior or outer layer of your property.
• The perimeter of your home or business; and
• The interior of your home or business.

Exterior / Outer Protection

This is the boundary area of your property. Ideally, this is where you want to stop intruders – long before they get near to your family and possessions. The earlier detection takes place, the sooner action can be taken and losses prevented. The outer layer of security would comprise CCTV surveillance, walls and electric fences, trees and shrubs, dogs, outdoor sensors / beams and lighting.

Perimeter

The perimeter or second layer of your property is the area that surrounds your home and includes doors and windows. Intruders most commonly enter properties through doors and windows and it is important that these access points are “hardened” to delay or slow down an intruder’s ability to break in. It is best to stop a would-be intruder here.

Burglar guards need to be robust (i.e. made of a thick gauge steel) and securely affixed to the window frame with an 8mm bolt. The head of the bolt should be counter sunk into the window frame and the nut should be rounded off with a file or angle grinder and coated in epoxy. Perimeter doors should be solid core and fitted with adequate locks and dead bolts. Again, security gates should be robust and fitted in such a way that intruders are not able to easily prise them open with a crow bar.

In addition to this, Strip Beams placed on doors and windows offer additional protection as any tampering with these access points will trigger the alarm siren which, in most cases, will send the intruder on his way.

Interior protection

This is your last layer of protection. If an intruder gets past your first two layers of protection then the motion sensors in your house will trigger the alarm.

Some thieves enter through the roof as this area is often overlooked – ensure that microwave passives are installed in the roof to prevent this from happening.

Some Exterior Protection Devices are:

• Motion lights that come on when they detect motion
• Exterior CCTV cameras
• Perimeter beam detectors

Some Perimeter Protection Devices are:

• Door contacts
• Window contacts
• Glass break sensors

Some Interior Protection Devices are:

• Motion sensors
• Panic buttons

Early detection, such as strip beams, magnetic locks on gates, CCTV cameras and electric fencing act to deter and limit the intruder’s opportunity to get into your home. And this is exactly what you want to achieve – the ability to LIMIT intruder OPPORTUNITY to steal your possessions.

A Layered Approach to Security – A Summary

Burglaries are mostly opportunistic crimes. A layered approach to security is one of the most effective security solutions you can adopt to protect yourself from break ins and the loss of valuable possessions. The aim of a layered approach to securing your home or business is to deter, detect, delay and detain the intruder before the intruder is able to break in. The three layers of your property that you need to “harden” to limit an intruder’s opportunity to break in, include:

• The exterior or outer layer
• The perimeter
• The interior of you home / business