Which Side of The Home Security Approach Are You on?

GG57 on 23/02/2022 - 14:10

According to this report: https://www.theage.com.au/property/living/aussies-ramp-up-ho…

  • one in six homes are now monitored by CCTV cameras
  • one in five has an alarm
  • about one in six households use a video doorbell

But:
- one in five people still do not lock their doors
- almost 40 per cent of people did not have or use window locks
- only 25 per cent of respondents relied on deadbolt locks

I am certainly in the second group, but I'm very lucky to live in a safe area with few other people about.

I did notice this in the article:
- about 15 per cent of people felt they had a dog up to the task of guarding their home.
I'm pretty sure most people have a dog for reasons other than security. Ours barks a lot, but is hopeless at instilling fear.

Home & Garden Security System

Comments

    • SoapyWooder on 25/02/2022 - 11:09

      What's your weapon of choice?

      • Bing0 on 26/02/2022 - 15:10

        Garden gnome

  • jaimex2 on 25/02/2022 - 00:02
    +2

    None. I have a German Shepherd who is happy to end your life. This thing has serious hatred towards any living thing it doesnt recognise.

    I never got the point of CCTV or alarms. They'll be long gone before any response.

    Bypassing locks is trivial.

    • theskyhook on 27/02/2022 - 13:46

      Having CCTV at home has its pros:

      1) Deterrent
      2) Evidence of Break-In (for smooth insurance claim and to assist in police investigation in identfying the perp)
      3) Post clips of CCTV in social media for public awareness
      4) Lastly for me, i used it all the time just for activity monitoring when i am at work. I just want to know whats going with the missus and the kids at home without having to call ask them.

    • rinco on 27/02/2022 - 16:09

      It is better to redirect the criminals to your less-caring neighbours using a fake CCTV, than it is to risk pain to said criminals or more likely your German Shepherd.

      • jaimex2 on 27/02/2022 - 19:07

        Its pretty clear CCTV doesnt detter them or provide anything useful for Police. All I see in my neighbourhood FB groups is people posting videos of criminals checking door handles on cars or taking packages while wearing masks. This happens to them repeatedly.

        I've never had a single incident because criminals knows you can't negotiate with a vicious dog thats well fed and has complete access to everything. It'll come flying round a corner.

        Whats really cool to see is when my sister has her GSD over. They hunt in packs and take opposing sides.

        When camping some guy approached our site and they went in the bushes on opposing sides ready to do a pincer ambush. Had to intervene quickly and it was a bit awkward but my god do we feel safe.

  • gromit on 25/02/2022 - 07:00
    +3

    The reality is locks on windows and doors do very little, they will stop an opportunistic thief is all. However if they are already going to the windows and want in they will just break one anyway or kick in/bust the lock on the door. Been robbed twice in 30 years of home ownership in Canberra, One time they busted a locked window the other time they used lock on pliers on the back door and basically busted the whole deadlock out of the door frame. If a thief wants in they are getting in. alarms and CCTV are at least decent deterrents (well at least it will make them hurry, as long as it isn't a druggie that doesn't give a shit).

    FYI, I have locks and security screens on all doors, locks on all windows and cameras and alarm, but I am under no illusion that that will have any effect on a determined thief.

    A window lock is only as strong and secure as the glass blocking their entry
    A deadlock is only as strong as the doorframe it sits in (95%+ of houses a solid kick will break the door away from the doorframe leaving that nice expensive deadlock undamaged.

    • DemocracyManifest on 25/02/2022 - 17:39
      +2

      With a standard work boot on your will easily make your way into most houses 😂

      • gromit on 25/02/2022 - 18:24
        +2

        Hell a sneaker will be sufficient for a lot of the crap quality doorframes out there. a work boot is like a skeleton key.

  • Herbse on 25/02/2022 - 08:10

    "living in a safe area" unfortunately doesn't mean you won't get burgled. Crims will venture out to safe areas who have let their guard down and left doors opened, alarms not armed and valuables left out.

    Everyone should at minimum have a sensor alarm with indoor ear piercing and outdoor sirens. This reduces a crims time rummaging through your stuff down to a few seconds or minutes versus potentially hours going through each drawer, nook and cranny to look for anything valuable or information to use for cyber crimes.

    Security cameras are fun to have but a lot of the time can be a bit useless. If the crims cut the power, which is easy to do, and they're not on a battery, then it's pointless. If the camera catches them on video, then that's great but then someone has to know or recognise them. So it's a shot in the dark, or use social media to help..

    Front doorbells help with knowing when packages are left out but I don't think it's much of a security feature for break ins. Crims look out for them and won't use the front door if they see one that looks like a camera.

    You can get security doors on the main entrances but they'll probably just break a glass window. You can get roller shutters on the windows, but then they can get in through the roof tiles..

    Every step you take, helps reduces the chances but won't completely protect you. So do your best to help reduce the chances, don't leave valuables and spare car keys lying around, and make sure you have good home insurance.

    • DemocracyManifest on 25/02/2022 - 17:38

      Petty criminals surely won’t do cyber crime besides I guess buying crypto? Majority of them are too stupid to do that and will use the card in person at the bottle shop and appear on CCTV

      • Herbse on 25/02/2022 - 17:42

        People to rummage through hard rubbish for documents and use break ins to get info for themselves or to sell online. Had it happen to a family member recently. They didn't have an alarm and they went through their documents and took the info

        They now have to monitor their credit score file to check for accounts/credit cards being created in their name every few weeks.

  • mctubster on 25/02/2022 - 09:36
    +1

    Retired neighbours both sides. Get a report if anyone even approaches the property, including a full transcript of any dialog. Not to mention the drug dealer on the street so we have a lot of police cars passing through. lol

  • Bren20 on 25/02/2022 - 09:40

    I live in a relatively 'safe' area, but definitely in the suburbs.
    I've accidentally left my car unlocked a few times, and it's been rifled through twice in the past year, once while parked on street, and once when I had it on my property behind a gate.

    About a month ago I was working on my house and left a ladder up overnight, got woken up at 2am to noises on my roof, caught a bloke with spray cans up there.

    I've now bought a security system but am yet to install it.

    • GG57 on 25/02/2022 - 10:16

      Out of interest, what will your 'security system' be comprised of? (e.g. CCTV, monitored or audible alarm, etc.)

      • Bren20 on 25/02/2022 - 10:44

        Yeah, sorry for being vague! Just a couple of CCTV cameras, they've got person detection and speakers so can in theory be set up as an alarm but I don't have that much faith in technology.

        At the moment I've gone for a fairly bare bones solution, a few 720p PoE cameras with SD cards that record when there's movement. I might upgrade in the future to include more or better cameras, and backup of the SD cards, probably using a raspberrypi ftp.

    • DemocracyManifest on 25/02/2022 - 17:36
      +1

      Lock your car lol. The house ladder one is a wild one but I never leave shit in view, learnt that from living on a main road and around the corner from pubs. Someone stole my wet shoes one night

      • Bren20 on 26/02/2022 - 20:22
        +2

        Yeah, the car normally gets locked, the fob had stopped working one of the times, and the other time I was working on it and forgot to lock it

        Sorry to hear about your shoes :(

        • ProlapsedHeinous on 27/02/2022 - 02:12
          +1

          My brother was working on his car, and left the keys in the ignition. goodbye car! Then a few days later the cops found it abandoned and didn't secure it or anything. by the time we got to pick it up it had been re-stolen…

  • richmond12 on 25/02/2022 - 10:38
    +4

    Just be mindful even ‘rich’ or ‘quiet’ areas a get robbed. Burglars target the weak…

    • DiscountForThee on 25/02/2022 - 11:31
      +2

      It's also likely that they won't target homes on weekends when people are home. It's more likely when people are at work. Burglars target the week…

      • GG57 on 25/02/2022 - 13:06

        And 'noisy' nights apparently (e.g. storms, windy, etc.)

    • Kamsi on 26/02/2022 - 17:09

      Real burglars go for the riches , drug addict burglars go for the weak :)

  • adgnetworks on 25/02/2022 - 10:48
    +2

    I've got an inside dog ready to say hi at any moment.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/kEQN4Jt3a2hqrKtH9

  • grr1701 on 25/02/2022 - 11:17
    +2

    When we had our new house built, the builder wanted us to have security cameras as our only home security. We had to be very clear that we wanted good quality security screens as well. They accepted my argument that security cameras, alone, might at least be able to identify who murdered us in our sleep (if it ever came to that).

  • Franc-T on 25/02/2022 - 11:20

    Lol alarm doorbell dogs and two unlocked doors.
    Then again I wfh

    • pandadude on 25/02/2022 - 11:39
      -1

      Insurance will not cover if there no forced entry.

      • Franc-T on 26/02/2022 - 15:29

        Im at home - if I am out ill be locking the doors.

        Whilst I am at home I have quite a few of cameras and google nest cams on the two entrance doors, i think im fine.

  • MrFunSocks on 25/02/2022 - 11:21
    +2

    I've got security cameras with mobile notifications and recording inside and out (outdoor ones with spotlights too), a monitored alarm system with mobile notifications, and smart sensors with notifications on all doors including the garage door. All doors are always locked when there's no one home, and most are even locked when we are home.

    There's really no such thing as a "safe" area. There are thieves and criminals everywhere, they aren't just restricted to where they live.

  • pogichinoy on 25/02/2022 - 12:40
    +1

    I'm in the first group but it's all provided by my apartment building.

    Parents are in the first group for their house.

  • Dreamcast on 25/02/2022 - 14:59
    +1

    I know when I buy a house, it's going to have bars on every window. Hidden security cameras. Basically to the point that it will be as secure as possible, if someone breaks in, they've earned it!

  • ribze1 on 25/02/2022 - 15:20
    -1

    I don't mind people having cameras, i just hate it when they are blatantly pointing at the street/road - that is a bridge too far and creepy.

    • Hangryuman on 25/02/2022 - 17:13

      that's right - you tell them what you think about their right to do what they want with their private property, with CCTV equipment that is totally legal to install facing the street/road - you tell em cowboy !

      • ribze1 on 25/02/2022 - 17:50

        The cameras should have a light of sight with your property, if it happens to see the road then so be it.
        I've seen cameras placed up on the roof of the second storey facing the road.

        • nfr on 26/02/2022 - 16:10

          That's not a bad idea really, as long as the camera is aimed at the road not someone's windows.

    • Motek Benzona on 25/02/2022 - 17:23

      Maybe they should point them up to the sky just in case Jeebus tries to break in? ARE YOU FOR REAL?? Where else are they meant to point???!!!! I have a 7 camera set up and you can bet your sweet sweet can that if you come to the end of my street i will see you (cul de sac)

    • DemocracyManifest on 25/02/2022 - 17:24

      Had a forensic cop say never do that - someone will get the shits one day and break them. They might even just be dummy units.

      • Motek Benzona on 26/02/2022 - 09:29

        The cop was talking bullshite then.

        • DemocracyManifest on 26/02/2022 - 16:51

          Depends on the temperament of your neighbours

  • lonewolf on 25/02/2022 - 15:32
    +1

    I have deadbolts, security doors, window locks and bars on all my windows and back sliding screen door has bars as well as a security sliding door in front of the sliding screen door. The robbers still broke in (inside job, they were some tradie refugees i was trying to give some extra help for and they came back after seeing what i had and where). Anyway, The mistake i made was not having an alarm as well as i was in between dogs. The thing about dogs is, being a living being, people arent sure how the dog will behave as well as what kind of attention it will bring. So a lot of times it is a bigger deterrent than people think, although i get pets because they are like my family, not for security. But I am pretty sure most robbers just dont want to consider having to deal with another living being in the house so they will move on.

    • StalkingIbis on 26/02/2022 - 09:01

      What did they do to gain access?

      • lonewolf on 26/02/2022 - 11:22
        +1

        Sorry I should have added that part. Little did i know how flimsy the locks are on Glass Sliding doors as well as security screen / doors. I had them both locked up (but what some people do and i didnt, is to also put a wood block or something on the glass sliding door rails so that you cant even slide the door open if the wood block is there) anyway, these guys with their hands (according to the cops and the NRMA Insurance repairer who came to repair the locks) just broke the locks by pulling the door open. Basically just yanking back and forth till the locks broke off from the wall.. Apparently it wouldnt take that long either, Basically the only part of the house that couldnt have stationary metal bars because people need to come in and out. But still I thought having 2 locked doors, one of which is a security door would mean its hard but apparently those locks are not that hard to break.

        Basically I needed a deterrent like dogs and alarms, Locks and bars dont keep criminals out if they really want to get inside.

        • StalkingIbis on 26/02/2022 - 19:27

          Thankyou! Good to know!!

  • Taggrip on 25/02/2022 - 15:54
    +1

    I don't even have a key for one of my doors.

    14 years so far, no problems.

  • Hangryuman on 25/02/2022 - 17:16
    +2

    a friend lived in a house full of museum piece valuables and antiques

    but outside the house looked shabby and rundown

    it was 100m from a high rise housing commission block

    and he was never burgled - he said 'they take one look and keep walking !'

    • DemocracyManifest on 25/02/2022 - 17:22

      And in that case you would only be burgled by someone in the know. Reminds me as a kid of a bloke who lived up the road and had a jungle surrounding his house, turned out they were rare plants from the Amazon, someone came and dug it out of the ground, he had CCTV. I’ve never forgotten, pretty sure he was a photographer too for a media org

  • DemocracyManifest on 25/02/2022 - 17:21

    I’m surprised the amount of rentals I’ve lived in where the security door key is literally missing. I always sort that. It’s something small but it’s harder to kick in a security door then a wooden door. No point bothering with cameras for most people because if they are in sight they will be damaged

  • Hvrd on 25/02/2022 - 19:11

    I have 3 guns and a couple of claymores

  • gimli on 25/02/2022 - 19:19

    12

  • StalkingIbis on 26/02/2022 - 09:00

    What I think is pointless is the crimsafe that covers only 1 window! Yeah they cant jimmy the lock, but when i got robbed they just smashed through a window.

  • CalmLemons on 26/02/2022 - 09:29

    I have nothing of value to steal in my home. Not sure why someone would want to rob me.

    The criminals make more profit stealing bitcoin than robbing grandma.

  • PriceSensitive on 26/02/2022 - 10:45

    First group here.

    It's a small investment for a great deal of reduction in risk. Even a cheapo fake camera from ebay is better than nothing.

    Also its a good deterrent to keep my darn neighbours from dumping their old furniture in front of my house

  • solidussnake on 26/02/2022 - 12:10

    Yeah locking a door should be a must, something happened to my friends at Cleveland he left the door unlocked while his partner was sleeping, guys sitting in the street waited until he left opened the door and the keys were on a rack right beside the door, took the car her purse was in the car and was used in a ram raid on the Goldcoast total write off lucky insurance paid it

  • buckerooni on 26/02/2022 - 16:46

    for starters, make sure you're not the weakest target on the street i.e. our neighbour hand an old front door while everyone else has better most with an additional security door, they just straight kicked in the front door!

    I've got cameras, but more for monitoring, the security comes from deterrants to entering the property with fences/gates etc.

  • aussieprepper on 26/02/2022 - 17:51

    Do locks even work? Lock picking lawyer makes it looks like every one is welcome in my house with little to no effort lol.

  • Hearthstone on 26/02/2022 - 21:16

    I got everything hooked up CCTV, Camera Door Bell, Lights, Speakers, Aircon, TV, all hooked up and can remote control and monitor the house
    from any where.

    If I go on holiday I randomly turn on lights and open the garage and play music etc … remotely

  • seenandunseen on 26/02/2022 - 23:07
    +1

    Any self respecting burglar would be able to bypass a lock, and if they are confident nobody is home then they may be quite happy to break a window to bypass one altogether.
    The article doesn't really discuss smart lighting, which I think is great as a deterrent.
    Automating lights to imitate the behaviour of someone at home will send an opportunistic burglar to another property - if lights are programmed to come on at dusk when you are away from home, and maybe a bedroom light or two switches on and off as if someone has gone in and out of the room, these staged activities will discourage a burglar.

    • GG57 on 28/02/2022 - 09:39

      Smart lighting has always been a thing, since they invented timers for power points. We had multiple, in different rooms, all with different settings.
      TBH, the lights in our place go on and off in the same routine pretty much every day, so I don't need any random on/off.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 27/02/2022 - 10:27

    someone tried to rob my when i moved into my house the 2nd night so i got cameras and alarm security doors etc but prior to that i was very relaxed about my security

  • Commander Shepard on 27/02/2022 - 10:38
    +1

    Ring door bell and security screen on the front. Standard patio locks everywhere else.

    The Bunnings Hartman Doggy door I have is the main security concern. The thing could easily be kicked in. The neighbour also built up heaps next door, meaning you can literally step over the fence.

  • Mr Random on 27/02/2022 - 11:05

    Got the lot at our place as we come and go.
    Eufy system with all the smart locks and doorbells to remotely allow people we know in if need be.
    Homebase has a high pitch alarm and can also enable cameras alarm.

    As a precaution, I setup the modem and homebase on a PSU incase of a power outage. Plus I am able to offload that storage to the cloud as a fail safe when notified, as an intruder could easily just the the storage containing the evidence with them.

  • Godric on 27/02/2022 - 18:29
    +1

    How about people with roller shutters ?

  • tomcat83 on 27/02/2022 - 20:44
    +1

    But of both actually….. Have doorbell camera and 2 outside nest cameras; but often forget to lock an outside door or two! At least we will have footage if anything happens; but hey we just really need to look like a harder target than our neighbours yeah?!

  • OzDayZee on 28/02/2022 - 03:45
    +1

    It's been found that 70% of all surveys produce unreliable results so need to factor in that to the percentages.

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