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Blog Entry: The New Wave of Kick-in Burglaries: How to Protect Yourself
The Washington Post recently reported on an increase in a certain type of burglaries in the Takoma neighborhood of NW DC. The burglaries are more brazen than most and involve burglars announcing the crime and kicking open the front doors of homes while people are still inside.
This type of attack, in broad daylight, involves the greatest amount of risk because your family is unprotected and your greatest asset--the burglar's fear of being caught--is not important to this type of intruder.
Many longtime residents of this neighborhood, who experienced a similar series of attacks three years ago, have invested in metal front doors. Though this has been an effective countermeasure, residents could also consider revamping their security strategies:
1) Consider eliminating your alarm delay time (normally used to give you time to get to the keypad and disarm the alarm system) by using a key chain remote to disarm the system before you enter the home. By taking this precaution, your alarm siren will sound immediately and your alarm signal will be sent 30-45 seconds earlier, which is a substantial amount of time during an intrusion.
2) Switch to IP and/or SNAP Radio Monitoring. By utilizing Urban Alarm's IP or SNAP mesh radio network you will regain control of your land line during an alarm and your alarm signal will be received by the monitoring center in 1-2 seconds, instead of after the customary 15-45 seconds.
3) Install panic buttons in your upstairs bedroom and/or bathrooms. Aside from being able to send an alarm signal quickly the monitoring center will treat these signals as a higher priority dispatching the police immediately and bypassing the alarm verification call to the house.
4) Consider installing a video intercom system. This will take a picture of anyone who rings your doorbell and let you see and communicate with visitors without opening your door. Had the first vandalized house been outfitted with a video intercom system and the owners given the captured image to the police, the next two intrusions may have been prevented.
Though you cannot control an intruder's behavior, you can control how you react to it. For more information, give us a call.
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