Fortifying Yourself and Your Home Against Crime

Fortifying

Lots of good information here, but these paragraphs struck me as particularly relevant:

In my first post on crime, I urged you to accept the reality of the criminal threat and to mentally choose not to allow yourself to be easily victimized. Hopefully, you’re reading this second post because you’ve sworn off the denial, distraction and passivity that characterizes most people and decided to do whatever you reasonably can to protect yourself, your family and your home. If this mindset of yours is authentic and deeply felt, you’re more than halfway to your goal.

Your next step is to form a self-protection plan. Helping you do that is the purpose of this second post. “Self-protection” is too large of a subject so I’ve narrowed it down to something you can reasonably take on in the near future: fortifying your home and yourself against crime. I’m going to focus on three types of crimes because your plans to defend against all three are closely related.

1. Burglary when your house is unoccupied.
2. Burglary when you are home.
3. Home invasion robbery

First, it is critical for your safety that you get some kind of warning that an intrusion into your home has begun. The need to configure your perimeter, doors, and windows to slow the burglar down and force him to make noise is crucial. You need that warning and that time to respond, no matter what your response is going to be.

All TV commercials by companies selling burglary alarms contain wildly optimistic estimates of police response times. Even in Philadelphia which is densely populated and police are generally close by (even if they are already busy with other calls), response to burglary alarms runs into the four to five minute range at best, and to two or more hours at worst. Calls to 9-1-1 by residents stating someone has broken in and is still in the house, however, are almost always reached in less than three minutes. Suburban and rural response times are generally much, much longer, unless you’re very lucky and a Deputy or Trooper just happens to be close by when the call comes out. Don’t count on it! However, even three minutes is an eternity if you’re in your house with a burglar, and I urgently advise you to have a better plan than hiding and hoping until the police arrive. The advantage of having a firearm close at hand, and the skill to use it, is that you can deal with the worst case scenarios much better and without regard to what the police do.

First, you must not allow yourself to be pounced upon by home invaders who are waiting for you to come home or to leave your home. Could someone follow you home, pull in behind you, pull a gun and demand entry into your house? Could robbers be waiting in hiding near your door and then pounce when you arrive/leave? Eliminate any hiding places on your property. Establish a perimeter fence or wall. Arm yourself and get the training necessary to adequately defend yourself. Decide in advance if you are outside confronted by home invaders and your loved ones are inside that you will die before letting them inside. Warn them any way you can, and don’t let the robbers in.

* Second, you must establish a way to “interview” people who knock on your door without letting them in or making yourself vulnerable to a “push in” once you open the door. The simplest method is to install a two way intercom system and arrange it so you can see the people outside while you talk to them. The second way is to install a heavy duty steel bar security door outside of your house’s door through which you can talk with and see anyone who comes to your door. The security door can be mounted just on the outside of your house door (like a flimsy screen door but much stronger). Or you can enclose your porch or entry way with security bars and a security door. This way you can talk to strangers pleasantly without fear of them rushing you and getting inside. Once the home invaders are inside, you’re way behind the curve.
* Third, firearms and the attendant skills are absolutely mandatory if you expect to be able to cope with a home invasion.

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