Awareness

Home Security: The Basics

Expert Chris McGoey offers simple, common-sense advice for home security against burglary and intrusion

By Chris E. McGoey, home security expert (crimedoctor.com)

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Exterior lighting is also very important. It becomes critical if you must park in a common-area parking lot or underground garage and need to walk to your front door. The purpose of good lighting is to allow you to see if a threat is lurking in your path. Exterior lighting needs to be bright enough for you to see 100 feet without glare, and it helps if you can identify colors. Good lighting is a deterrent to criminals because they don't want to be seen or identified.

Another important area to be well-lighted is the perimeter of your home or apartment, especially at the entryway. Exterior lighting on the front of a property should always be on a timer to establish a routine and the appearance of occupancy at all times. Common-area lighting on apartment properties should also be on a timer or photo-cell to turn on at dusk and off at dawn. The practice of leaving the garage or porch lights turned on all day on a single family home is a dead giveaway that you are out of town. Security lights with infra-red motion sensors are relatively inexpensive and can easily replace an exterior porch light or side door light on single-family homes. The heat-motion sensor can be adjusted to detect body heat and can be programmed to reset after one minute. These security lights are highly recommended for single-family homes.

" Use interior light timers to establish a pattern of occupancy.
" Exterior lighting should allow 100 feet of visibility.
" Use good lighting along the pathway and at your door.
" Use light timers or photo-cells to turn on/off lights automatically.
" Use infra-red motion sensor lights on the rear of single-family homes.

Burglars are not high-tech criminals. Just a few measures of deterrence can keep you from becoming a victim of this all-too-common crime. A combination of high-quality door and window barriers, well-thought-out alarm systems, watchful neighbors and lighting systems can keep your from becoming an intrusion target. ##

Chris E McGoey, CPP, CSP, CAM, is an experienced security consultant. Contact him or find more advice at his website, www.crimedoctor.com