Is Your Home Safe With CCTV?

Vihaan has heard of breaking-in and burglary in the neighborhood and that it happened during the day.
He is concerned for the safety of his belongings.
Nobody is in the house during the day.
Therefore, he opts for video surveillance of his property.
As a bonus, he could even check inside and outside of his house when he is on the move.
If there is an intruder, he will get an alert on his phone, and he can sound an alarm from wherever he is or inform the police.
Of course, he knows it is done through internet, and he is smart enough to keep anybody from gaining access.
Also, he has a battery backup in case they try to cut off the main supply.
The whole system is a bit expensive, but he is happy that now he can breathe easy.

Do you think he can?

Story Time

Last week, the ‘happy people’ broke into the temple, took down the cameras (wires and all), took the monitor, and the recorder along with a musical instrument (dholak).
In the same week, the ‘happy-go-lucky’ dropped by at a neighbor’s house.
They again took down the cameras along with wires, monitor, and recorder.
This time they went further and peeped into the kitchen.
They cooked, ate, drank and enjoyed themselves as they had the whole day to themselves.
The couple as usual returned home in the evening, and found their house in a mess.

What Did We Learn?

1. 

This will not keep them away!

2. Remember that once the electricity is disconnected, the internet will not work until you have a backup plan for the whole house, which most of us cannot afford.

3. There will be no proof of the theft without the recorder.

What Can We Do?

Like in good old times:

1. Employ a security guard.
It will provide an employment, but the guard can be harmed, if the miscreants are more in number.

2. Like Sherlock Holmes or as in Home Alone, arrange for a silhouette of a man to be seen through the curtains.
They will think somebody is inside but they will eventually notice that it is not moving.

3. Use burglar bars

Good for security but not very aesthetic.

4. Wire your windows and doors with an open or closed circuit, and anybody trying to force them open will activate the alarm.

Will alert neighbors and the police station, but it will also go off in the event of no electricity supply or if a bird pecks on the glass.

There are numerous other anti-theft methods like

    • motion detector light

    • motion detector alarm

    • auto-dialing and prerecorded message delivered to police station via a phone

    • pressure-pads below the doormat

    • infrared alarm system

    • hidden cameras, etc.

Even if there is a foolproof alternative hidden system, a simple jammer will prevent any signals to be transmitted.

Where Technology Fails, Common Sense Works   

    • Best CCTV is the nosy neighbor or the over-friendly old couple, who lives next door. Make friends.

    • Arrange for community policing.

    • You can team up with your neighbors and employ a guard for the whole area, so that the guard can be sitting anywhere quietly and warn you, if needed.

    • Also, you can approach the security agencies, who can look after individual needs and even the neighborhood.

    • You and your neighbors can install at least one camera pointing at the neighbors’.

    • Make it a point to socialize with your neighbors to be updated of any stranger passing by or if anybody is expecting visitors.

    • Keep the boundary wall low between houses and towards the road. You can keep the back wall high to prevent escapes.

    • Leave the curtains open for some windows, and if you are returning home late, arrange for solar lights that will switch on after sunset.

The above won’t work if your house is isolated, say if your neighbor is at least 5 minutes away.

An Australian story

As the bush fire raged and there was smoke everywhere, this family was forced to leave their house in search of a safer place.

The children rode their bicycle towards the seaside.

The woman was on horseback, and as she could not see anything depended on the horse’s instinct.

The horse led her to safety, where she waited for things to calm down.

As soon as she was reunited with the family and it was safe, she returned to her house.

To her disbelief, the house had been broken into.

Her son’s new bicycle, mowers, chainsaws, a leaf blower, and a water pump were stolen.

She went to lodge a complaint at the police station the following Monday, and was accompanied by a police officer when she returned.

To her dismay, her house was again broken into.

They had ransacked the whole place, and have taken her cash box and some personal stuff.

Safety Measures in Rural or Secluded Areas

1. Keeping a dog or dogs is a good idea – like German Shepherd or Doberman Pinscher.

2. Building a strong fence around is another.

3. The old tried and tested method: Jam the door with a table or heavy furniture and leave through a window, which can be locked from outside. (You have to push your way inside, when you return.)

4. Burglar bars can help to deter the culprits.

5. If possible, never leave the house empty.

6. You can set up booby traps as extreme measures but have to check whether they are legally allowed. Innocent people might get hurt unintentionally.

7. Taking cue from Home Alone (the film), you can keep heavy objects over the door or set up a hammer to strike anybody who has already entered the house.

To be noted: The Australian family had just shifted to the new house, and they could not get insurance due to the region being at risk of fire.

The Australian lady’s experience was outrageously inappropriate.

In the context of people living in densely populated area, here are my 2 cents.

My Two Cents

    • Do not invest in things that might attract attention.

    • If possible go for local manufacture rather than international branded item.

    • Rooms accessed by outsiders (guests, plumbers, electricians, painters, or domestic help) should not be a statement of your financial worth.

    • Better to invest money on things (land, housing, or stocks), which other than immediate family members will not be aware of.

    • If you have to indulge in some luxury in your home, play it down and avoid boasting.

    • When buying a car, choose the one, which is most efficient and reliable rather than the only one in the neighborhood.

    • Dress appropriate to the surrounding rather than being the only one with the $2000 tag Prada bag.

    • And lastly, apartments have a common security system and hence are safer than an individual unit.

A state-of-the-art security system is installed by a guy, who knows how it works.

It takes a casual conversation over a beer to know the ins and outs of the system.

Conclusion

          • Take a leaf out of Warren Buffet’s life.

      He endorses no brand but still is one of the richest men in the world.

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 © Indrani Pudaruth 25/01/2020