PRONE AREAS - by Carla Base
I watched a true crime T.V. show late one Friday
night. It was riveting! You held your breath in anticipation. It was about an
old woman and her old sister. They had very safe practices. They had each other
and they had been out that night to dinner together. They called one another
every night or when they returned to the house for the night. "Oh, I'm
fine, everything is great, all locked up tight!" she smiled into the
telephone. I'm going to read a little while then go to bed. I had a great time!
See you tomorrow," she said. Then the crime scene investigators are
scratching their heads the next morning when the sister calls the police. She
didn't hear from her sister that day and knew it was not right. She had
definite habits of good communication daily. She kept doors locked and didn't
answer if she expected no one. Where had she gone wrong? Investigators saw all
doors and windows appeared to be untouched and locked up from the inside. It
was a real mystery! Then they went to the basement. Nothing appeared out of
order at first, but then they spotted the washer with a slight dirty foot print
on the white lid. Looking up, they noticed the break in the glass. It was
completely out of the frame. They had smashed the glass completely out, then
opened the window with their hand. They had slipped down safely from the window
to the washer, and eased onto the floor silently and sneaked upstairs…. Earlier
they had seen money lying around in the old woman's house as two workmen
visited the home to do some maintenance.
If you are like me, you figure that people who come to
your home all work for a living and are not the types to steal. They really
earn their money the hard way: the plumber, the furnace repairman, the
electrician or the handyman, the tree trimmer of gardener, the person who
sprays for termites, the mailman or delivery person, the newspaper delivery
person and on it goes…
But sadly, it is usually the case that a robbery is
committed by a peson who has been inside of a house, having been a person
working in the home or a visitor who had never been there before.
Always secure money, information, bills, receipts,
jewelry and above all, secure your doors and windows and DO NOT forget those
basment windows. Basement windows are easy to fit with bars or glass blocks,
specialized locks and fit with a bullet proof film. Why risk an intruder coming
from seemingly inside your house? What a surprise! For this reason, know that
the door to the downstairs has some good sliding bolts and solid frame even if
there is not an outside entrance to your basement. The windows can be a tragic
entrance. Especially consider as in this case, the ease in dropping down from a
height to the top of the washer. This spot is especially helpful to the
criminal. Washers and dryers, tables and chairs placed under such windows will
only aid them. If you have an outside entrance, be mindful of the glass and the
frames of the door. Be alert to what would happen should someone enter. Do you
always keep that door to the upstairs locked? Alarm protection in the livable
space is usually in the first floor of the one story home, but basement
protection can be placed there in the form of motion sensors or glass breaks.
Upstairs bedrooms in a two story home are usally allowed to go unmonitored,
however these windows can sometimes be opened when the thief avoids both the
basment and first floor and goes right for the goods: in the bedroom, the room
with the most to offer in most all cases; money, guns, jewelry and information,
passports and so many good things. If a thief avoids the main floor and goes
straight for the upstairs, he could do so while residents sleep. Then entering
the window, he or she could sneak about, without tripping any motion sensors if
they were not present. Leaving would be simply descending the ladder. When the
homeowner either awakened later or returned home, his or her alarm would remain
intact and set yet a major robbery could occur. For this reason, always know
each floor has some protection both in physical security and in detection
equipment that can alarm and alert you. If police see the alarm was tripped and
the monitoring station states what zone the thief is inside the house, and that
it is upstairs, they can react quickly, and search for a ladder. Never leave a
ladder or similar piece of equipment near a home overnight. Tool sheds and
garages left open containing them should be locked and their presence unseen.
Consider each area and floor of your home and decide how it is best protected
with the proper equipment after consulting with a security expert. Simple systems
that are not customized to your home, basic equipment that doesn't cover your
needs, will not get it. Only experience can tell you how to best prepare.
Security specialists see homes and the results of burglaries year after year.
They see ceilings that have been the site of entry in liquor stores and jewelry
heists. They see basement windows that have given access to the upstairs, they
see how thieves open the windows on the front of the house: The bedroom facing
the street and the downstairs window to a dining room or laundry room that is
low to the ground. Sometimes during an event such as a party, inside guests
with ill intent have been known to unlatch these windows that drop down to one
another. Later, when the thieves enter, they drop down the pillow case of
jewelry or bedroom treasures to the one standing by the getaway car. Ensure all
windows are truly protected, even ones very high up on the house. With wonder
ladders such as the Little Giant, heights are a cinch anymore and this is not
even a consideration. Even if the glass is smacked with a crowbar, if it is
protected with ballistic film, it will only shatter and remain in the frame,
not allowing entry into the room. Contacts on the windows can discourage
raising them when alarms blare. Don't fall for simple cookie cutter systems
that are all alike and don't address real security issues.