So, you took care of the common-sense considerations (see my previous blog) in protecting your home. What next?
We saw how following the common-sense practices provides some deterrence from home intrusion. What can we do beyond that? Is it effective to fortify our home even when our neighborhood is vulnerable? Can excessive home protection make it cumbersome for the occupants to get in and out of the house? Does the Security Camera System adequately address home protection?
One needs to understand how thieves’ minds work. Beyond obvious situations (a nice home and nice car(s) in an area with a high crime rate, lack of following common-sense protection practices), thieves are sophisticated in how they target homes, and when to intrude. For instance, they may observe the occupants’ daily schedules of being out at work during day, or monitor them going on trips/vacations during weekends and holidays. They may also check to see if anyone is at home by soliciting at the door through various excuses, or come to the home portraying a legitimate company. They may find out if someone elderly or vulnerable is at home who cannot respond to intrusions. A good home protection security system should address/respond to all these scenarios appropriately, in a very timely manner.
Is a common Security Camera effective for home protection?
Criminals don’t want to get detected or even worse, caught in the act. They want to get in and get out with their loot as easily and as quickly as possible. So, one obvious answer is to have cameras everywhere to monitor your property and loved ones. Common cameras are activated by motion, which ends up irritating the recipients through receiving hundreds of false alerts. Generally, people turnoff such real time alerts and rely on stored recordings. This disables the owners’ ability to respond to intrusions in near real time. After burglary, one may have to sift through hours of recording to find the right video snippet with a picture of the burglar, and report to the police. Is that solution effective?
It typically takes a great deal of Police resources to respond to a case where a few hundred dollars of belongings are stolen. And the thief very likely would have gone away with the loot already. Police rapid response at such time may not be useful unless ones’ life is presently in danger.
Well, how about security cameras helping in insurance claims? Possibly yes. However, only when the claim amount exceeds the deductible, will insurance pay the claim. Insurance may not feel worthy to go after small burglars, as they budget some claims amounts as part of their business expenses. After burglary though, insurance premiums may go up if there are frequent break-ins at a house, signifying their higher risk level. So, you see how the common security cameras are not effective for handling real time responses – to summon the police to the crime scene, to apprehend the burglars, or to retrieve stolen goods. We will discuss in a future blog how a Sentry enabled Security System can address all such scenarios effectively.
If real security systems don’t work well, some may feel compelled to embrace a smart move such as posting a “Protected by XYZ” sign outside is adequate, without actually installing a security system. But many thieves are even smarter. They don’t hesitate entering a house even if it has a real security system, let alone just the sign. This is because the alarm typically has a waiting period to activate, in case it is the home owner that needs to put in the alarm deactivation code. If the code is not put in, the alarm company is notified and they typically call the residence to make sure it is not a false alarm. Once they do not reach anyone, they either call the property owner at another number or call the Police. This delay is known to criminals and only rushes them to finish what they came in to do.
Some that have camera systems at their home are still victimized by criminals that believe nobody is paying attention, since most homeowners turn off alerts due to all the false alerts in the past. This is because those that have a real security system do not turn on for real-time monitoring. They need more active deterrence in real time before the intrusion actually happens. Sentry enabled Security System is meant to address all such scenarios effectively.
Now you get it – our mission is to smartly prevent the intrusion happening in the first place. You see that in our theme of promoting common-sense practices, and you see the same in advocating the effectiveness of the Security Camera systems. The goal should be to attempt how crimes can be prevented, not just help to apprehend criminals afterwards.
We shall discuss more about the deficiency of current security systems and what can be done to overcome, in our future blogs. We will also show how our Sentry enabled Security System is more effective in all those scenarios. Follow Smart Home Sentry on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, for protecting your home and business.
