Protecting your home.

More hints for protecting your second home

We hear it in press conferences with basketball stars regarding the outcome of a game. It is chanted on Sundays from the sidelines of football arenas across the nation. And what baseball fan could forget when we all saw how a faulty one would ruin the hopes of a pennant for a 'cursed' team when a baseball rolled straight between the legs of one baseman (who will remain nameless here, for the sake of all of you BoSox fans out there still waiting for redemption).
Defense. The act of protecting that we, like the aforementioned groups, depend on for fortitude. Basketball teams utilize the height of superstars like Jermaine O'Neal to tower over opponents trying to appropriate his basket. Football teams utilize the strength and mass of guys like Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher to protect their quarterbacks. And likewise, baseball clubs vying for a chance in the playoffs strive for error-free fielders to protect their chances. So while these strategies may differ, they all come down to what tools are being used in order to ensure protection.
What tools are you using to protect your home, or in many cases homes, while you're away? According to an FBI report in 2001, on the average, a burglar enters a U.S. home every 14 seconds. So if your answer is 'nothing', you may want to reconsider.

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
Before we saunter too far into what technologies are available to protect your home, it’s a good idea to brush up on the freebies--common-sense precautions that can prevent break-ins.
First, we need to identify the thieves that may be lurking around your property, waiting for the right time to pounce. Chuck Guerin of Control Products in Chanhassen, Minn., has become a little too familiar with second-home assailants. As the Business Unit Manager for Innovation Home Products he has heard his share of horror stories, both from customers and from the local police department.
He says, "For cabin owners on remote lakes, the most likely perpetrators are kids looking for a place to party or for some liquor to steal. In many cases, these kids are also looking for things of value that they either want for themselves or that they can easily sell to friends. Most are not professional thieves and they are likely thwarted by simple security measures that deter them from even trying to get in a home."
Guerin goes on to describe another genre of potential robbers, a more ill-intentioned group who are looking for specific booty in their attempts. "They may be searching for boat motors, firearms, or other items that have a high resale value and are fairly easy to sell. They are not as easily deterred by simple security measures as they have experience on how to identify a home that may or may not have a security system installed."
In either case, it is always a good idea to take some precautions that make it difficult for thieves to even think of your house as a suitable (and profitable) prospect, worth their time without much chance of getting caught.
!Terri- this may work well as an off-set to the article.
There are some general techniques that can help to ensure safety as well as peace of mind. Most of these tricks are just a matter of forming habits, so they have little to no effect on your pocketbook. Guerin used his expertise on security to put together a list of painless precautions that work well for both primary and secondary residences:
• Shut all shades and blinds. Thieves won’t steal what they can’t see.
• Inform neighbors of your absence and give them numbers where you can easily be reached.
• Don’t leave alcohol at your lake home. It’s the biggest thing kids want when they break in. I’ve even heard of people putting up a sign that says, “No alcohol inside” to help keep the kids out.
• Never leave firearms in a vacation property. If you do have firearms at a home, it is preferable to trigger lock and hide the firearms than keep them in a locked gun cabinet. Some locked gun cabinets, however are extremely hard to move and can’t be broken into easily, as are gun safes, which both seem to work well.
• Keep shrubbery low so windows can easily be seen from a distance. If someone does happen by your place, they can more easily identify if an intruder is present.
• Keep the lawn mowed, the flowers watered, the driveway plowed and sidewalks shoveled. Anything to illustrate residency will help keep away the most likely of intruders. Having a service or a neighborhood kid do this is an excellent way to accomplish this task.
• Install heavy-duty dead-bolts on all doors and put lock-bars on any sliding doors.
• Have ONLY solid core doors for all exterior doors – even the one to an attached garage
• Use timed lights inside your home. Many timer lights offer random on/off frequency so lights can turn on at different times of day each day of the week.
• Put up security signs and decals in windows that indicate you have a security system installed.

THE PRICE OF SECURITY
Companies such as Control Products specialize in affordable protection solutions geared toward vacation-home owners, but can certainly serve primary residences as well. The company provides options under the umbrella of both passive security systems--those with a primary function of deterring without an explicit connection to follow-up -- and active systems without professional monitoring --systems that notify victims using a device built in to the alarm. One of the principals of employing these particular systems is to provide a relatively inexpensive route to home protection.
The third class of security systems is what is most widely advertised -- an active system with professional monitoring. These are the alarm systems that will contact designated authorities when set off.
Studies of criminals have shown that in most cases, criminals are not interested in getting caught (surprise, surprise). While in some cases, they are intrigued with the adrenaline that accompanies illegal activity, most are interested in the end product. They are most compelled with whatever benefit they will receive from successfully completing the crime, namely, your possessions. This is the theory behind passive systems. This variety includes products such as faux video recorders with flashing lights, stickers and decals that advertise security companies, motion detectors, and alarm boxes that run off of batteries. The alarm boxes dissuade invaders by making loud, unbearable noise and broadcasting flashing lights. They are effective to the extent that they can alert neighbors, but do not actually contact anyone outside of the range of the high-decibel pitch.
If this still ceases to provide peace of mind, you may want to step up to an active system. Both professionally monitored and non-monitored systems are designed to alert specified parties of a security breach. Professionally monitored systems notify a number of parties, and usually charge a monthly fee for this service. These systems also often require contracts with the companies that monitor them. Systems without professional monitoring will contact the phone number you designate, which eliminates the extra fees. Both systems typically sound sirens and have a variety of other options available, depending on vendors.
Another innovation under this variety combines elements of some of the more effective structures for protection. Control Products' Guerin describes how the CAMit device works: "The product is designed to detect motion in a room and automatically begin taking pictures. The camera then dials your remote computer and begins to send you the images it is seeing. It can even turn on an external light or an optional infrared light that intruders can’t see so that the images it takes can easily be seen in the dark. It comes with all the required software and cables that make programming and installation user friendly."
But the advances don't stop here. With recent innovations in technology, the market of security systems is extending to include comfort in addition to security. This seems a natural progression, after all, comfort is a byproduct of most home protections systems as they allow you to vacation worry free with the soothing notion that your valuables are guarded while away.
Temperature and power monitoring products helps to protect against 'natural' assailants--freezing temperatures, windy conditions, and blatant heat-- that can damage your household. Consider having a warning system that will tell you when your pipes are going to freeze. You could easily stop problems before they require professional solvents like expensive plumbers and carpet cleaners.
Even better yet, imagine sidestepping the all-to-familiar torturous ritual of leaving the heavenly heat of your car only to step into an ice-cold cabin. No more jumping jacks and piles of blankets. This innovative FreezeAlarm allows you to turn on your heater from your own phone. More about FreezeAlarms

WORRY FREE SOLUTIONS
It never hurts to be fully aware of the possibilities of intruders and break-ins, but don't go overboard. Published crime rates are not intended to cause anxiety and unnecessary stress, but to raise awareness and call for cautionary measures. Instead of letting paranoia set in, find a system that makes you comfortable, both in peace-of-mind and with your budget.
So while football coaches may utter the cliché, "The best defense is a good offense," you can sit back and enjoy watching their defensive lines crumble to your favorite team with the sanctity that comes from knowing your personal defense is working hard, no matter where you may be watching the game.