Home Security Systems?

[Lannis]

 Sorry for that  :-[ Check for local security companies , they seem to do the best job .

  Dusty

I'm normally much in favor of "local companies" for doing business, but the only "local" one here is ADT.   They seem to have a franchised "lock" on the Home Security business here.

I do know our local sheriff - I'll ask him if there's an effective one that's easy for the Sheriff's Department to work with and respond to here.

Lannis

[not-fishing]

My home security system.



Used and bred by Louisiana State prisons as guard, convict "fetch" dogs.

Also good for Bear Hunt'n & Boar Hunt'n.

[oldbike54]

My home security system.



Used and bred by Louisiana State prisons as guard, convict "fetch" dogs.

Also good for Bear Hunt'n & Boar Hunt'n.

So... how does he do with California escapees  ;D Good looking dog  ;-T

  Dusty

[bpreynolds]

That dog is right purdy as they would say in my birthplace of Appalachia.

[redrider]

Damn, that IS a fine looker!

Whatever the system, it can be defeated in time. Sometimes simple, sometimes not. A friend has Ridgebacks trained not to take food from any one else because local perps tossed poisoned meat over the fence. Jammers will block the wireless. Hell, ADT called me for an alarm at my parent's place. And they asked me if I wanted the police to respond. WTF?? Hell yes. I arrived there first and cleared the property before the police showed up. (Dad accidently set it off before leaving and guess what-the klaxon never went off) I live in a city with mostly petit home invasions-old folks with prescriptions, big screens and the like. Yes, I can replace stuff but if I catch you here I might not be as accommodating as RK.

[Rough Edge racing]

What am I going to do, if I come to my house that is 1/2 mile from the road and locked up, I come in with my wife and/or granddaughters, and there's a guy IN MY HOUSE hiding in a closet or behind a door?

"Excuse me sir, are you a dangerous guy?   Do you have a weapon or gun?   Is it your plan to kill me or mine, or steal my stuff, or are you kind of like, innocent maybe?   Can you show me some ID or give me a reference, please?"

Not.   And the sheriff, prosecutor, and judge will shake my hand after.

Lannis

I wasn't saying to do anything less than taking immediate action..Just thinking about it.. Hmmmm...

[charlie b]

ADT, I have it at work and it is very reliable.  Every now and then a false alarm, but, 95% of those are due to outages of the internet connection, not the alarm system.  That's been in place for over 5 years now.

Kids have ADT also, after having their home broken into twice in one year.  They have only had one false alarm in two years.

We live out of town.  Security doors all around, but, not bars on windows.  I set up my computer with a monitor program and it uses the camera to check.  When it detects motion it runs the camera and sends me an email.  It kinda works, but, I'd like to try the system that Lowes has so I can monitor more than just the entry room.

[johnr]

What am I going to do, if I come to my house that is 1/2 mile from the road and locked up, I come in with my wife and/or granddaughters, and there's a guy IN MY HOUSE hiding in a closet or behind a door?

"Excuse me sir, are you a dangerous guy?   Do you have a weapon or gun?   Is it your plan to kill me or mine, or steal my stuff, or are you kind of like, innocent maybe?   Can you show me some ID or give me a reference, please?"

Not.   And the sheriff, prosecutor, and judge will shake my hand after.

Lannis

For shooting an unarmed guy who is hiding and not attacking you? Not sure I would Lannis.

[Robert]

Cook in oil?

Oh, boy, oil thread!

[krglorioso]

That dog is right purdy as they would say in my birthplace of Appalachia.

Didn't you play a banjo in "Deliverance"?

Ralph

[Chuck in Indiana]

Dorcia's kid has one that he installed himself in SoCal. He can arm or disarm it with his phone. It'll send him a message if there's a break in. Is that what you are looking for? If so, I'll ask for particulars.

[Rough Edge racing]

For shooting an unarmed guy who is hiding and not attacking you? Not sure I would Lannis.

I agree but I believe Lannis is saying there's no time to make a decision ....But suppose it's a neighbor's kid...There's no for sure answer unless it happens...Many years ago I lived in a rough city neighborhood. Ground level apartment in a large house. I was napping when a noise woke me up, like a person . I burst into the main room and found a guy near the entry door.."WHO the F are You"!!! He ran out and down the road like his ass was on fire...I was unarmed...
 We don't lock out doors during the day unless plans are to be gone all day. I would move if a security system and or carrying a firearm was a necessity for survival.

[Lannis]

 We don't lock out doors during the day unless plans are to be gone all day. I would move if a security system and or carrying a firearm was a necessity for survival.

Same here.   And you're right, just because someone is a "neighbor's kid" doesn't mean he's not there to kill you.   

Security systems and firearms are simply insurance to protect against an extremely low probability, extremely high consequence event. 

Like fire insurance.   I've paid $40,000 in fire insurance for my house over the years, even though I nor none of my family have ever had their house burn down.   Do most people carry fire insurance too?    Most people do, and they spend WAY more on that insurance than I do on arms and ammo for something that has never happened and is not likely to happen.

Lannis

[Bill Hagan]

I agree but I believe Lannis is saying there's no time to make a decision ....But suppose it's a neighbor's kid...There's no for sure answer unless it happens...Many years ago I lived in a rough city neighborhood. Ground level apartment in a large house. I was napping when a noise woke me up, like a person . I burst into the main room and found a guy near the entry door.."WHO the F are You"!!! He ran out and down the road like his ass was on fire...I was unarmed...
 We don't lock out doors during the day unless plans are to be gone all day. I would move if a security system and or carrying a firearm was a necessity for survival.

That's certainly how I read what Lannis wrote.

Such moments are not of the contemplative type, where one examines at leisure the various possibilities or admires the numerous facets.  They are, instead, time for more primal responses: fight or flight.

The law in most places in the U.S. does not require flight, nor does, IMO, common sense or good judgment.

An intruder in one's home is presumptively dangerous.  And, why should you rationally assume -- and recall that this is likely not a moment for rational thought, but for reaction of the appropriate save-your-life sort -- that this intruder (even if the neighbor's kid) is alone or unarmed?  I would not.

In rural Frederick County, Virginia, the local authorities would probably react as Lannis said of his.

Now, lest you infer that I live in an area where such is likely or that I am itching for a chance to perforate some deserving perp's body, consider this.

We moved here a couple of years ago from downtown Atlanta. The contrast between that crime-filled place and Cross Junction, Virginia, is nigh to impossible to describe.  Bustling and edgy to bucolic and easy. 

At our request, the local sheriff sent a deputy to visit with us and discuss local security issues.  He arrived after following me in an unmarked car for about five miles; I was doing 75 mph up U.S. 522 and, when he followed me into the gate, I nearly hurled, but he never said a word about it.  Guess we both had been worried we were going to be late for that appointment.   ;)

Anyway, having come from Atlanta, we were understandably concerned about what issues might be of concern here.  After some unhurried small talk, I got to my core concern: home invasions.  After all, while worrisome and maddening, "mere" break-ins while absent and such do not threaten life.

I asked him when the last such had occurred.  He paused, thought about it, and responded: "Outside of some bad spots in Winchester itself, hum ... 30 - 35 years ago, mebbe."  :o

When I said that I would be in Illinois for the next year and Kathi alone, he said that if anyone unknown came to the door, Kathi should go to it with one of our weapons openly held.  Said that would "talk anyone with a questionable 'lost dog' story into looking elsewhere."   ;)

Now, though we do have a serious, well-planned security system, with all sorts of bells and whistles, I sometimes think that the huge doghouse -- left by the previous owner and my oversize flip-flops on the front porch -- read about that once  :D -- are the best passive deterrents we have to any crime-bent thugs or thugettes. But we shall see. 

If anyone does get past the threshold while we are home, there likely won't be time or inclination for any Miranda warnings.  My time in the prosecution function makes me know -- sadly but that's just the way it is -- that there are bad people out there.  I have no intention of sacrificing Kathi's life, mine, or those of guests, or grandbabies to Woodstockian views of lions and lambs lying together or the sort who put COEXIST bumperstickers on their cars.  Sweet, but painfully naive.  Put bluntly, prey.  ::)

Finally, after all of that chatter about crime and my concern when away, the reality here is I that I am way more concerned about frozen pipes, etc.., while we are gone for more than a day than with any human damage.  So, while I considered remote-access CATV, I decided that might be useful -- if recorded -- to catch crooks, there was no real-time benefit in terms of stopping something.  Besides, given the "threat" or its lack, I am looking into getting a web-based thermostat that allows me to monitor the house temps and change settings on my cellphone.

Whew, shows you what coffee (and Kathi being occupied elsewhere) will do for making a longwinded post.   ;D

Sorry.

Bill

P.S.  In the one instance where we had an alarm sound while we were away, the sheriff arrived almost instantly. Sure, the patrol happened to be running radar two miles down 522, but that's mighty fine response for a large rural county. 

   

[bpreynolds]

Didn't you play a banjo in "Deliverance"?

Ralph

Funny you should ask.  I always tell folks that I am very serious when I say I am from an area where we were kinda rooting for the blue people in the movie.  Reynolds - a great name, btw - totally redeemed himself in the area, however, with the Bandit movies. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

No matter what your alarm system, a pro will defeat it easily. Fortunately, there are very few pros, most are just dirtbags looking for an easy score. An alarm system will deter them.
We had an alarm system that was hard wired to the telephone line. I never told Dorcia, but I knew that if I was going to break in, I'd just cut the phone line, then knock that annoying alarm off the wall. One night, about 2 am the alarm started screaming, and I was instantly awake, and had my 44 ready to go. It was like someone mainlined about 10cc of adrenaline.   ;D I'd always wondered what would happen in that scenario, and I found out. If there had been someone in the house, I would have asked questions later. Couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
There had been a car take out the telephone line, and that's what set the alarm off...

[Rough Edge racing]

Like fire insurance.   I've paid $40,000 in fire insurance for my house over the years, even though I nor none of my family have ever had their house burn down.   Do most people carry fire insurance too?    Most people do, and they spend WAY more on that insurance than I do on arms and ammo for something that has never happened and is not likely to happen.

Lannis

 Fire insurance is for monetary reimbursement for a loss...A  weapon is to protect you and or family from bodily harm.. Insurance won't prevent a occurrence...But a weapon including properly used feet and hands can be preventive. I don't advocate using lethal force against unarmed burglars but I do believe they should be kicked,punched,pistol whipped,dragged,flogged and otherwise caused enough pain to remember the situation.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Fire insurance is for monetary reimbursement for a loss...A  weapon is to protect you and or family from bodily harm.. Insurance won't prevent a occurrence...But a weapon including properly used feet and hands can be preventive. I don't advocate using lethal force against unarmed burglars but I do believe they should be kicked,punched,pistol whipped,dragged,flogged and otherwise caused enough pain to remember the situation.

How do you *know* they are unarmed? I personally wouldn't chance it.

[Dean Rose]

My security system is big and black, weighs 95 pounds and has big white fangs.
Had an ADT salesman come to the door at our house in Florida when we lived down there. The Golden Retriever we had then didn't like strangers, the guy said "I guess you don't need my services".


Dean

[averb]

In answer to the OP
Homeboy.com (disclaimer - the company I work for designed this product)
more at http://www.cnet.com/news/security-camera-roundup/
No idea if any of them are suitable.
Steve

[charlie b]

I would not rely on dogs, and we have owned a few.  They are good for alerting us to someone around the house, but, that's about it.  If we are not home the dog is no deterrent to a thief.

Daughter and husband have two, a jack russell type and a doberman mix.  Both go rabid when the mailman or anyone else comes to the door.  They were broken into twice.  The dogs were shut in the closet when they got home.  No blood anywhere.

But, if you have a dog that is known to bite people and is big enough, that might be enough, but, most are not.  Bark and growl does not equate to a 'guard dog' and most criminals, even the stupid ones, know that.  Most dogs have to be trained to be aggressive like that.  If any doubt then take your dog to a good trainer and have them tested or trained.  Beware, this can have legal consequences if your dog ends up biting someone.

[Robert]

Olive, from Italy!

[DucatiSSsp]

In answer to the OP
Homeboy.com (disclaimer - the company I work for designed this product)
more at http://www.cnet.com/news/security-camera-roundup/
No idea if any of them are suitable.
Steve

Think this system would be best.  May or may not prevent break-in, but most likely will capture pic of intruder.  Would also have hidden motion-activated nanny cam indoors for additional coverage.
Even with hoodie/mask, police may know who the perp may be due to build/height etc.
Haven't had any burglary issues in my neck of the woods so far except for a couple of car stereo thefts 15-20 years ago.  High-five to the Bellevue PD! P:)  They also sent me my new CWP in 4-days(year past due) so I celebrated by buying a new S&W M&P 9mm Bodyguard!  ;-T

[bpreynolds]

I would not rely on dogs, and we have owned a few.  They are good for alerting us to someone around the house, but, that's about it.  If we are not home the dog is no deterrent to a thief.

Daughter and husband have two, a jack russell type and a doberman mix.  Both go rabid when the mailman or anyone else comes to the door.  They were broken into twice.  The dogs were shut in the closet when they got home.  No blood anywhere.

But, if you have a dog that is known to bite people and is big enough, that might be enough, but, most are not.  Bark and growl does not equate to a 'guard dog' and most criminals, even the stupid ones, know that.  Most dogs have to be trained to be aggressive like that.  If any doubt then take your dog to a good trainer and have them tested or trained.  Beware, this can have legal consequences if your dog ends up biting someone.

Yes and no, I think.  In these parts and as evidenced by my original post, the vast majority of burglaries in my area are in the afternoon and opportunistic ones.  Guys get off the busline or out of their buddy's car and just start walking, looking for the most unobtrusive entry they can find.  I think even a yapper makes some degree of difference in the decision they make as to which house.  This being said, if they are completely drugged and/or looking specifically at your place for some reason, yeah, dogs or no dogs are not gonna stop them per se.