I know that security is a bit of a show and its really more of a deterant, but I was wondering realistically how I could prevent someone breaking and entering a small-ish American home? What is actually effective?
Lesson from South Africa: by the time they are at your door it’s too late. Perimeter fencing, preferably a 2m high wall with razor wire AND electric fence on top (including on gate). Garden: floodlights, motion sensing alarms, beams, AI cameras. All doors and windows: bars and security gates. Inside: separate living and sleeping area with lockable gate in the hall between. Panic buttons…
None of that is going to stop a legal intrusion, each just buys you time before the paid security company arrive with guns to chase away intruders. Given time, any determined attacker will get in eventually…
My cousin had a beagle ridgeback mix (accidental breeding incident).
His neighbours from two doors down showed him security footage of burglars jumping back over the wall when they heard it barking! 😂
How big does that perimeter have to be for the lesson to apply? In ZA I know they do whole gated communities, but we’re talking about a single house.
As a locksmith, I can tell you what I tell my paranoid customers. Buying the greatest lock in the world doesn’t do shit if you still have first floor windows.
I always thought that was funny. Same with cheap, stick-built apartments with only the wood studs and two layers of drywall between them, the hallway, and other units, but tenants massively fortifying only the door.
I always wondered why we don’t read about more robberies like that. In a stick built home, the wall is a weak point. With a modern battery powered reciprocating saw, it would take less than a minute even on a standard external wall
I’ve heard of that happening in context of thieves breaking into stores. Never heard of it used for home robbery
I had my windows replaced … Last year, I think? That detail doesn’t really matter.
I always knew that normal windows negate any attempt at security, but it was still unnerving to visually confirm that they are easily removed, fragile barriers filling what are just holes in my wall.
Build a moat.
It’s not impenetrable, but let’s be honest, who’s crazy enough to break into the house with a moat?
Own a musket for home defense, since that’s what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. “What the devil?” As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he’s dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it’s smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, “Tally ho lads” the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.
Don’t forget about your French neighbors who have been looking to get one over on those ruffians.
I mean, building a moat does tell that you probably are rich enough to either pay someone to come over and do all that, or buy/rent a machine to dig & fill it, or are well-off that you have enough free time & energy to dig it without a machine… (might also need something to line the moat with so that the water isn’t just sucked up by the soil)
On the other hand, if someone dug up a moat around a whole house with a shovel all by themselves, it’d probably be wiser not to mess with them…
It also tells that you’re likely to have a vat of boiling oil dumped on you when attempting to breach the walls.
Pirates. You’ve just escalated things a degree.
No. They normally operated on open waters. You have to go back to medieval armies.
Vikings. Cold pirates.
All right I’ll give you a Vikings for that.
Who is your enemy?
If it is just some random burglar, create some fear with triple locks and cameras and you are good.
If it is a government operation, you better leave the country before they even start looking for you.
Ageeed. If random burglar, dud cameras and the “secured by” lawn signs are plenty effective. The appearance of security is a sufficient deterrent for all but determined robbers, or those targeting you specifically (where a camera will not do anything for prevention anyway).
Ah, good old aposematism!
Fake cameras exist ;-)
Top 3 tools that will get you most of the way there.
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Steel door frame reinforcement + steel or solid core wood door. The door jamb is the weakest link here. Cheap steel reinforcement with long screws are an easy win. A quality lock is a good idea.
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Security window film. Best done when the windows are manufactured, but they will deter most people who were counting on a quick smash and grab.
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Dog. No one wants to mess with a dog. Lots of dual purpose family friendly breeds who instinctively guard the home from intruders and can smell the adrenaline of people who don’t belong.
These three things will get you 80% of the way there for 20% of the cost. Cameras just give you memorabilia of that time you got robbed and rarely help prosecution and even less in recovery of stolen goods.
Interesting point about cameras. Why doesn’t the footage usually help?
Think about what the camera even can show.
- you’re not going to see a readable license plate, even assuming they took their own car and parked in front of your house
- so what if you capture a face? There is no universal facial recognition too, and database, nor any way to trace back to where they may be now. If the police capture them by normal means, it’s solid additional evidence, but not useful in itself
- doesn’t matter for insurance. If you make a police report of a breakin, they accept that, and it won’t show what’s been stolen or destroyed
Cameras are good for “the appearance of” security and may deter some. They can trigger lights and attention, which may drive some away. They can also be part of an alarm system which will deter more
Thank you! Interesting and helpful.
Masks, poor lighting, angles, quality and police that don’t give a shit etc…
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If you asking how you secure your residence against ICE…good luck with that. They have legal access to an expansion of the Patriot Act for warrants, and they have toys they’d love to use against any home security. All that physical security is going to do is give them probable cause.
They’ll claim it gave them probable cause.
Yeap. They don’t care about the law…they just care about what sounds good to their people in clips.
Not really much, tbh.
Decent quality door locks
Clear line of sight from the street to likely entry points
Loud alarms so if they do break in they’re not likely to stay longIf someone wants to get into a house, there isn’t much you can do to stop them unless you’re rich and can afford exotic shit like bullet proof glass windows and thick metal reinforced doors.
All to can really do is discourage crimes of opportunity by making them seem like bad opportunities.Judging by the link in the OP, the concern is the possibility of ICE or other federal agents breaking in. It’s not the same as dealing with a random intruder. About the best you can hope for is to slow them down, maybe giving you time to get away or for legal assistance and the media to arrive.
Given that, I’d concentrate on making the house more sturdy: steel framed doors, steel rolling garage door, properly installed security bars/screens on windows and so forth. And maybe start with a solid masonry house.
Probably not realistic for most people, but then a few years ago I wouldn’t have considered the risk realistic either, and here we are.
Best case, my house gets a little more secure and nothing happens.
Worst case, we get time to bug out. I think its a 1/100 chance. But as the family has survived fires, water going out for weeks, electricity down for a while, etc…its better to be prepared just in case.
I honestly didnt want to make this post too political, but it could be a valid concern with people just up and pulling people out of homes and individuals advocating removing citizenship in certain circumstances.
Be wary of bugging out if they are at your door. If they were well trained they’d have people watching back doors and sides. Granted these buffoons aren’t exactly knocking on Mensa’s door, but still.
Thanks ill keep it in mind.
Make it so they won’t want to enter. If it smells incredibly unpleasant for example. Bonus points if some strange liquid is dripping near the front door.
Make it incredibly unpleasant to be around.
If ICE comes, I have no plans to escape alive. Take that as you will.
Layers.
Plant something with thorns or pointy leaves to block easy access to windows. Even better as a hedge around the whole property. Anti break film on windows. Heavy duty exterior doors. Motion sensing lights. Cameras, +1 for cameras with built in lights that can recognize people and automatically turn on.
Every layer should either strengthen, increase risk of being caught, or make access painful. They will go towards easier targets.
Any windows you want to restrict access to, plant these things:
They are no joke. Just remember, if you need that window for emergency egress it will not be a pleasant experience. Probably better than dying, but not by much.
Nice. I’ve always looked at holly bushes or cacti.
Bougainvillea are fucking savage, and they grow really fast
My eufy cameras have an alarm built into them too along with the home base. So at night if they detect motion they will alarm, record and send a notification to my phone.
Alligators.
This is the only answer that makes sense.
Have you seen the film Home Alone 2?
Home Alone has some solid ideas
The ONLY way to stop someone who really really really wants into your house from entering your house. Is to not have a house.
Taps side of head Can’t have your house broken into if you don’t have a house.
That’s why I live in a van down by the river.
Gravel around your house. Bad guys don’t want to be heard.
Exterior lighting everywhere, bad guys don’t want to be seen.
You can always tell a Milford man
Having two locks including a proper deadbolt with a decent type of key. You want a deadbolt that goes deep into the door frame, not a cheap one that barely hits the strike plate. That and locking windows with window film will keep most people out.
Nothing will keep someone out who really wants to get in. You just need to make the hassle greater than their desire to get in.
Steel door jam maybe instead of flimsy wood?
And make sure the strike plate is set into a hardwood frame with 3" screws.
