HOME SECURITY

Michael Holigan: Here's a question for you. What is one of the easiest crimes to commit, but one of the hardest to solve? Would it surprise you to know it's home burglary? Every ten seconds somewhere in America someone's home is robbed. Could yours be next? A burglar looks at your house a little differently than you do. One way to protect your home and family is to make sure that he doesn't see something that you've missed. We're going to show you a few ways to stack the deck against a thief. We're going to start with security companies. Mark Malone and his wife just bought their first home. In fact, they haven't even moved in yet. But even before the furniture goes in, the Malone's are having their security system installed.

Mark Malone: You read statistics and they all say that they add security and for me it's more for my peace of mind, but I really do believe that it will keep burglars and criminals away.

MH: The technician is installing a sensor in the doorjamb. When the system is armed, it will sound an alarm every time the door is opened and it's turned off by punching in a special code on a nearby keypad. Once it's installed, the sensor is just about invisible. The Malone's will have two keypads - one by the front door and another in the bedroom. But instead of having sensors installed on every window in the house they'll have glass break detectors on the sun porch and motion detectors inside. Like Mark said, he knows this will give his family peace of mind, but will it keep their house from being broken into? Walt DeVault with Brinks Home Security doesn't have any doubt.

Walt DeVault: We know that having a security system in your home will make your house 300% less of a target for a bad guy. If they're driving down your street and they see ten houses on the street and eight of them have security systems and two of them don't, well, if you were the criminal, which two would you choose? You're going to go where the path of least resistance offers itself first.

MH: The average installation is $200 and can go as high as $2,000, but it can be an ongoing expense if you decide to have it monitored. The average monthly cost is around $25 to $30. If you're thinking about having a home security system installed, do some research. There's more than 14,000 security companies in the U.S. alone. Major cities normally have two to three hundred. Make sure that you get one with a good track record. How about if you're not going to have a security system installed? Is there some preventive things you can do? Absolutely. Start with the exterior doors and make that they're solid core or metal. One-fourth of all intruders break down the door to get in, so you want to make this barrier as strong as possible. The same thing goes for your garage door. Steel doors and frames are simply harder to destroy than wooden doors and frames. Hallow doors just aren't recommended. If you're moving into a house that was previously occupied, you have no idea who might have a key, so go ahead and rekey the locks. And if you are going to change out the locks go ahead and add a deadbolt. Any deadbolt within 40 inches of breakable glass should be key operated on both sides, unless that's prohibited by your local fire safety codes. If you do install one of these locks, be sure to keep the key in a place where you can reach it quickly in case of a fire. One thing to remember with all deadbolts - use a reinforcing metal strike. The strike should be anchored in the studs to the building so that the door cannot be kicked in. Locks are just as important on your windows. Adding another lock, one that will secure the inside and outside frames can also send a would-be burglar someplace else. Remember, if it takes a thief more than a couple of minutes to break in, there's a good chance that person will become frustrated and leave. Do anything that makes your home look lived in. Keep your shrubs clipped. Keep your lawn mowed. Pick up the mail and newspapers. If you're going to be out of town put timers on your lights. Anything that stacks the odds against the thief helps your odds of keeping your home and family safe.

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Episode 65 1997 - 98 Season

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