Fortifying your home

awshoot · Feb 16, 2020

Dyjital said:
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I do have soft measures such as 24/7 video recording with a computer that is hidden and unlikely to be found that is hardwired into my network.
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You probably already have a UPS to keep it running when the power blips, but just mentioning if not.

No_Regerts · Feb 16, 2020

gmerkt said:
I've thought about this before, heard some stories of it happening. We live in an area where most lots are about an acre. Neighbors aren't too close. Lots of trees, it isn't unusual to hear chainsaws running from time to time. I wonder if a neighbor of mine would ever think engine noise from my place was anything but my own. I think it's a viable concern under some conditions. Most residential break-ins are kind of a version of smash and grab. Breaking a window is a lot faster than tearing a hole in the wall. So doing the latter is just a lot more trouble for a quick burglary by tweakers.

Along the same line, I think wall interior wall demolition might be of more concern. Meaning, with a safe placed against it on one side with access on the other. When crooks break in for long burglaries, it has been known that they make off with an entire safe. If the safe is bolted to the floor but against a shared interior wall, the rear wall can be torn out or at least broken through to get more leverage against it.

I've liked this idea before but never have done anything about it. Beam placed about three and a half feet off the ground. There are deer in the area but I've never seen them on my property.

I'm older and live in a fairly secure area. Not that stuff doesn't occasionally happen. I've got the cameras up, security lighting, etc. But I've been retired for years, my schedule is very irregular and unpredictable. People around here never know when I may be here or not. My vehicles don't necessarily reflect presence or absence.

I have to say that at my stage in life, I don't cleave to the bunker mentality. It doesn't make for a comfortable life. You just have to take the prudent steps and call it good or else move somewhere else. And I would if I thought I had to put up burglar bars.

Story in my family. My sister is very well-to-do, since we were kids she always wanted to live in a certain neighborhood in our home town. The part where the professionals and other wealthy people lived. She got to live her dream and live in this fancy neighborhood. It still exists. A lot changes in 60 or 70 years. The difference is, there is a ghetto to the south, and a much bigger ghetto to the north with a major arterial road running right through that connects both. Last time I was there, over half the fancy homes in my sister's neighborhood had burglar bars on the windows. The crooks driving between the ghettos turn off the arterial and detour through the fancy neighborhood looking for places to boost. Living in a fancy home under siege isn't my idea of homeowner enjoyment.

I have a picture I took of it somewhere, wish I could find it to share. House in the desert of southern California, near an off-road vehicle area. Five acres surrounded by chain link fence, ground completely clear of any vegetation. House COMPLETELY covered with steel bars, even over the roof. Tented you might say. I've wondered if the cleared ground contained land mines. Many structures in the area have been broken into, worse, stripped of siding for off-roaders to use for camp fires.

You make a good observation and when it comes to population density and property crime rates, there is a heavy correlation. Lower population density = higher property crimes. Especially where you can't see your neighbors.