Any home may have valuable items inside that burglars will want to steal during a break-in. Flat screen televisions, game consoles, jewelry, and more may draw a burglar’s eyes, and a home that does not have good security systems installed can be up to 300% more likely to be targeted by burglars than one that does have cameras and other devices installed. Video surveillance systems are easier to install in the home that many homeowners may think; it is not just banks and retailers that make use of such technology, and today’s American homeowner can get his or her share of this anti-burglary technology to keep their items safe and avoid having a dangerous stranger in their home. Security system installation can be done either by hand or with contractor crews, and either way, security system installation is bound to send a loud and clear message of “GO AWAY” to any burglar looking for a score. What are the rates of burglary, and how can security system installation lower the odds of a break-in? What hardware will be needed to get home security systems up and running?
Burglary and Surveillance Systems
One thing that homeowners should know about burglars is that they behave much like bullies; they are looking not for a challenge or a fair fight, but a quick and easy exploitation of others, and burglars heavily rely on facing no resistance during their criminal behavior. The presence of video surveillance systems (maybe backed up with more systems or barriers) can quickly make a home unattractive to burglars, who want an easy score, not an obstacle course.
How and when do burglars operate? Many burglaries take place not during the night, as many people imagine, but between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, the middle of the day. That is when most 9-5 office workers are away from the home, and burglars strike. Around 30% of burglars break into a house through unlocked doors or windows, and 34% of burglars are able to, and brave enough to, enter a home through the most obvious route: the front door. In 61% of burglary cases, though, forced entry is involved, and this both causes property damage and leaves clear evidence of the crime. And every year, around 2.5 million home intrusions take place, and billions of dollars’ worth of property is stolen. What to do?
Security system installation often involves setting up security cameras around doors and windows of the home that burglars can see, and often, this is enough to deter them, because either someone inside is monitoring these cameras and can intercept the burglar (or call the police), or the footage can be used as evidence against the criminal later. According to Crutchfield, there are some tips and advice one can follow when setting up a commercial security system for the home.
For one thing, before drilling holes for screws in the home, the person should be certain that a camera installed there will have a proper view. It is a matter of “measure twice, cut once.” What is more, the homeowner should be prepared to invest a lot into this system, since a lot of cameras, cables, and digital storage space will be needed, more than some homeowners may realize. On the ground floor, which is the most vulnerable area, homeowners are advised to have the largest concentration of cameras at every single possible entrance, and to not place them too far away. For the front door, in fact, two cameras should be in place: one close enough to see the burglar’s face, and another further away to get a broad view of what the intruder is doing. The strength of the cameras’ night vision should also be known, and of course night vision tech should be in place, since plenty of burglaries do happen at night.
The cameras can be either battery-powered, so they can be installed anywhere, or they can be wired. A USB or Ethernet cable allows the camera to transmit data to the storage unit without relying on the router or wireless internet, although a wireless connection is also feasible if the home WiFi is strong enough. The data can be transmitted to a private server or to Cloud storage services for later viewing.