by Ken Clarke

Created on: February 07, 2009

"Home Safety and Security,

Without Guns"

Ok, where to start.. I guess there is some prep work you need to do to understand and prepare your home to be the safest and most secure environment possible for you and your family.

Walk through and pictures.

1.
Grab your digital camera and let's take a walk. (Figuratively that is.) Go out to the street, aim towards the left corner of your property and start taking pictures. Pretend you're a criminal who is checking out your house and take pictures of everything you can see and areas you can't. Regardless of where you're standing, focus your camera on your yard and home and how the area is seen by your neighbors and the general public.

2.
Now concentrate on the points of access. Your front door, side doors, garage doors, windows and gates.

3.
Last let's enter your home. Start with the front door and walk inside continuing to take pictures as you go. Then go to your side doors, and garage doors doing the same thing on every point that you can walk into your home.

4.
Once that's done I want you to take pictures of everything in your home. Try to take at least 8 pictures per room, with at least one picture per window and door.

Now let me tell you why you just spent the last hour walking around your home, snapping pictures of the inside and outside of your home. Because it's just what a professional criminal would do and it's just what your insurance company will ask you for if your home is robbed or invaded. Take the photo's you've just shot and put them in two different places. One copy, on a thumb drive or CDROM, needs to be in a fire safe or in a bank safety box and the other we are going to use today then delete off your computer or laptop.

Ok, let's look at your pictures. On the outside, there are five key features that you should have or shouldn't have that we are going to cover.

1.
Security lighting.

On each corner and near your front, side, and garage doors you should have motion sensor activated lighting.
These are single or double spotlights or floodlights that automatically turn on when a car enters your driveway, or when someone walks towards your front door. These are called "Theft Deterrents". Something designed to deter criminal activity.

2.
Security Signs.

If you already have a home security system that is remotely monitored, great. If you don't, get one. If you can't, then fake it. Go to your local hardware store and just buy the security signs. As a matter of fact, buy two. Put one by your front door and another

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