Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2019

What the LA Ram Superbowl Game Plan Teaches Us about Home Security


What the LA Rams Superbowl Game Plan 
Teaches Us about Home Security





First, I have to admit I had hoped the Rams would win the Superbowl.  It would have made my blog sound allot better.  I could have boosted about how Sean’s crew had analyzed their adversaries and implemented the perfect countermeasures and protected the home front (after all they were the home team).

Then secondly, I admit I’m not a football buff and understand everything about the do’s and don’ts of the game.   But I can with confidence make some comparisons and analogies that I believe most of us can understand.

So, anyway, congratulations to the New England Patriots on their win.

The more I think about it the more I realized that the Rams loss actually teaches us more about sizing up the threats than I first thought.  It teaches us, that not only do we have to look at the attacking forces from our perspective but we also must consider how they see themselves and will adjust.

In security design, we call this the design basis threat or DBT.  In other words, what you’re trying to protect your asset (thing of value) from – whether it’s a natural threat; such as, wind, fire,  rain or a man-made threat; like, graffiti, burglary or theft of property.

The Rams coaching staff had to analyze what the Patriots were capable of (their modus operandi [MO] and then figure out how thwart it.  They also needed to formulate a plan that covered the entire field.  In essence, defense in depth – the front line, the linebackers, the safeties.  We’ve all heard, “The best defense is offense”.  How true.  Ask the Patriots.

Unless, you have a comprehensive plan for the protection of your home, the attacker, be it a burglar, tagger, etc. will circumvent your security by finding the weak spot and exploiting it.  Remember, just having a security camera or system is not enough.  You have to have security built in to every facet of your daily routine. 

For home security that starts with your on-line social media presence.  Don’t give too much information away.  I laugh when I think that someone couldn’t believe she was robbed while in Paris.  Like duh, if you brag about how expensive the stuff is that you have there’s a very strong likelihood that someone also sees the value and will try to take it from you.  There was a case this week in Los Angeles were a rapper was flashing a big wad of cash and posted it on social media.  Well, guess what, he got robbed. 

Next, are you doing other things that tip off those with bad intention?  Do you put boxes out on the curb the night before the trash truck comes by?  Do you put papers in the trash that someone could take out under the cover of darkness and open-up credit card accounts in your name?  When you got that big screen to watch the Superbowl on, did you mount it on the wall so that someone walking on the sidewalk in front of your house could see it through the window?

Your plan has to be comprehensive.  It covers not only what you do but also where you do it.  Start from the roadway and work your way inward, assessing what the bad guy is able to see.  Make sure all lights work and all gates, windows and doors lock.  We lock our car even when it’s parked in the garage and the door from the garage into the house.  These little things delay the perpetrators actions and may possibly give us enough time to call 911.

I few years ago, I posted that the best home security system is actually a plate of cookies.  I still believe that, if you take some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to the neighbors.  They’ll thank you for them and inadvertently watch out for your stuff because now they think they owe you.  

Maybe if the Rams would have taken some cookies to the Patriot’s locker room before the game things would have turned out differently.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Question You Should Ask Before Getting a
Home Security System For Christmas


Is a home security system on your wish list from Santa?  If so, here are a couple of things you need to ask before Santa puts your system in his bag.
The first two questions to ask yourself are, “What am I going to protect by buying this type of system?" Then, "Will it do what I want it to do?”  These sound like no-brainers don’t they?  Most of us would say, “I want it to catch the bad guy”.  Well, not really, because it won’t catch a bad guy.  It will let you know when there is behavior inside of your house or when your perimeter is breached. But it won’t tell you if the behavior is good or bad.  YOU have to do that.  YOU have to assess the behavior and determine if it's good or bad.  So, you want to be able to analyze the behavior, like your kids coming home from school or the mailman delivering a package and determine if it is friend or foe.  Which brings us to the next question, which is, “Who will monitor what the system 'sees' and who will respond when there is unwanted behavior?”
If you are relying on your local 911 or a police department response, then you need to find out what the local policy is for home invasion.  Some departments don’t respond immediately for a variety of reasons; sometimes due to competing priorities and sometimes because they don’t want to get there when the bad guy is still on the premises which may cause a “stand-off”.  They don’t want that and neither do you.
If you are relying on a service provider for response, you need to ask, “What is the guaranteed respond time?”  If it’s less than seven minutes the good guys will catch the bad guys.  If it’s more than that, the bad guy will get away with your stuff.  Actually you don’t want the good guys to get there while the bad guy is still there, as it increases the likelihood that someone is going to get hurt.
The National Institute of Justice reported a couple years ago that perpetrators of housebreaking/ burglary usually stay on site less than seven minutes.   I doubt it’s changed much in the last couple of years.
DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY) SYSTEMS
Many professional installers will swear up and down that home owners cannot do this alone.  But let’s face it.  Just about anybody can do just about anything, given the right tools and knowledge.  Most home kits include instructions, so they’re pretty simple.  Tab A goes into Slot B.  If you can put together IKEA furniture you certainly can install a couple of cameras and sensors around your house.  That’s the tools part.  Now for the knowledge part – where to put cameras and where to put sensors?  Think of your house as an onion.  Start on the outer skin (property line) and work your way in.  Use a combination of sensors and camera that overlap so that all areas are covered by at least two components of your system.  Say a sensor and camera, or two cameras.  By using a combination of different technologies and creating an overlapping system you will, in all likelihood, get notified that something’s going on.  The chances of both systems failing simultaneously is very low.  Make sure you get "real time" notification.  The ability to talk into the system and tell the perpetrator that you're watching him or her (sorry ladies) is a plus.  However, it also let's the bad guy or gal know you are not at home.  So make sure you system covers the perimeter and you can engage before they ever get to the house.
HOME DELIVERY SERVICES
When Amazon recently announced that they would place your parcels just inside your front door if you signed up for this service many security folks cried “foul”.  They cited this service as basically allowing an intruder to enter your house.   Well, not really.  Amazon vets their delivery folks/employees during the hiring process.  If Amazon trusts them then why shouldn’t you?  Sure, there are always a few bad apples, but I see the risk of the delivery person rummaging through your house as a very low possibility since they don’t know if you’re going to come home suddenly and find them in the bedroom.  That just doesn’t make sense.  There are really two factors that are in play here that make this a good idea.  First, Amazon vets their employees and secondly the door lock and code is specific to your home. Additionally, the kit comes with a closed circuit television camera that you can set up to see if the person does more than deliver the package(s).   Plus there’s an electronic record of when the lock opened and when it closed.  Anything more than a minute or two, the amount of time to place the packages inside, would be cause for alarm and indicate something out of the ordinary happened.
If I ordered stuff on line and wasn’t home all day I’d use this service.
NO SYSTEM IS FOOL PROOF
Just remember that no system no matter how sophisticated is fool proof or offers one hundred percent protection one hundred percent of the time.  There will always be some risks involved.  The goal is to reduce the risks as much as possible and accept some risk.   




Sunday, January 17, 2016

What Makes Great Space?

What Makes Great Space?
Making Smart Buildings Wise

With the explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the push for interconnectivity of devices we've been concentrating on making buildings, transportation, and every other facet of our lives "Smart".  Many conferences or symposiums are being held all over the world to discuss this phenomena.  In fact, I participated in the Smart Cities India 2015 Conference and Expo and provided input to the IFSEC Security Conference this past December and will again participate this coming May at the 2nd Smart Cities India 2016 Conference and Expo in New Delhi, India. 

Our discussion centered on the technological ability of connecting devices to more efficiently and effectively manage systems  - transportation, food supply, energy, etc.  I think we can go a step beyond that and say, "Efficiency is nice but what I really care about is the ability to raise my family somewhere where I don't have to worry about them being safe".

By shaping the built environment and integrating solutions, both physical and technological, that are transparent we can create neighborhoods where people actually want to work, live and raise their families- not because they are efficient but because the are safe.  As urban centers of the future increase in population so will the demand for functionality on a multitude of levels. 

One clear local example of the effective and efficient use of space is "The Collection" located at River Park area in Oxnard, CA.  The neighborhoods, both residential and retail, are vibrant with dynamic examples of "Great Space" usage. 

We'll discuss Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) and other design principles that define "Great Space" with a 2 day workshop on  May 2nd and 3rd at the River Park Executive Suites, in Oxnard. Please join us. Click on https//hainessecuritysolutions.com for the latest details.



Sunday, November 22, 2015


8 Tips for Do-It-Yourself
Home and Small Business Security Alarm Systems


There are lots of alarm companies that will tell you, that you need their alarm system in order to monitor activity in and around your house or business.  They will sell you an “all-inclusive package” of X number of cameras and sensors.  The reality is, whatever X represents is in most cases not going to be enough the cover your entire building or home.  They make their money when they sell you additional equipment.  They include X but what you really need is X more to provide complete coverage. 

New alarm systems allow the homeowner/business owner to monitor activity via an IP connection.  So you can monitor your system from anywhere there’s an internet signal.  With that in mind, alarm companies now have the owner monitor the activity and notify them instead of the old way where they would monitor and notify the owner when sometime seemed amiss.  In either case, if the responding patrol car doesn’t get there within 10 minutes chances are very high that the perps will be gone and all you will have is evidence on film that they stole something.  Don’t be fooled by what you see played out by Hollywood and on TV shows – Fact: 98% of crime captured by video surveillance does not result in an apprehension.

Now that you’ve been warned, here’s the other side.  Nowadays, relatively inexpensive systems are available for do-it-yourselfers.  Eventhough surveillance cameras are an assessment tool they can provide some deterrence, if there’ visible and especially if there’s a warning sign in the yard or at the front entrance.  Actually, the sign is the deterrent not the cameras or sensors, but you get the idea.  Additionally, if properly placed, electronic security along with an appropriately equipped and trained response force can be effective.  Here are ten things you can do to make sure your alarm system benefits you and provides the protection you seek.

  • Place outside cameras so that they view avenues of approach and can detect people as they come up to the front door or entrance.
  • Placement of cameras internal to structures is a little trickier.  They have to be able to capture the entire room and high enough so that the bad guy can’t knock it down or spray paint the lens.  Discreetly placed “nanny cams” can help but it seems they are always pointing in the wrong direction or covered up by something.
  • Perform regular maintenance by cleaning the lenses and housings.  Nothing worse than getting burglarized and find out that your camera system captured Charlotte building her web.
  • Test the system regularly.  Find out from the monitoring company how often you’re allowed to test the system without a charge.  I would recommend, at least twice a year.  More often if necessary.  Find out the priority for response.  If you live in a high crime neighborhood guess what, they’re not coming – unless the perps still there and in that case you shouldn’t be.  Police departments maintain these types of stats.
  • Check the cameras field of view.  Is it viewing what you want viewed?  Sounds pretty stupid doesn’t it, but how often have the camera angles changed because of high winds or by being bumped by a cat or other critter.
  • Insure you have the latest software available.  If password enabled, make sure you change the factory installed password once you start using it.
  • Get an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) that is capable of running your security system until the power can come back on.  The UPS should be able to maintain the system for at least a day.
  • Don’t rely solely on one type of electronic security equipment, if you have cameras augment them with sensors and vice versa.  Chances of both systems failing at the same time is pretty slim.
  • Place volumetric sensors so that the beams shoot out across a room and not directly at the door or windows.  These sensors work by detecting variations in the beam, so as a person walks between one beam and another they get detected.  Think of it like your hand with the fingers being the beams radiating across a room.

Don’t forget that just because you have an alarm system it doesn’t make you invincible.  If the rest of your security posture sucks, they’re gonna get you.  It’s just matter of time!

More common sense tips available under the Technology Improvements Tab on our homepage or here: https://hainessecuritysolutions.com/Technology_Improvements.html