As discussed in several other posts, your security goal, in terms of protecting your personal belongings, should be to five minute proof
your valuables. When we tell clients this, many then ask about what
they should do to protect themselves in the event that they are home
during an attempted burglary.
In my experience, the vast majority of brglaries that occur when people are home are the result
of the burglar mistakenly assuming that no one is home. (Here is a link to a recent post about the typical Westside burglary). However, a burglar’s intentions do not lessen the risk that is posed to your family should you be at home when someone tries to get in.
What should you do to protect your family?
Always answer the door when someone knocks or rings.
Should your alarm trip, DO NOT disarm it.
Consider installing a deadbolt on your master bedroom door, or if you have small children, on their door so that in the event that you hear someone trying to get into your house, you can immediately run to the ‘saferoom’ that you have set-up. One of the most important things to ensure is located inside the saferoom is a portable telephone so that you can call 911. A portable landline telephone is superior to a cellular phone because when you call 911, they will know exactly where you are calling from and can send help even if you are unable to talk. A cellular phone, obviously, does not provide an exact address. However, because of the chance that your phonelines could be cut, it’s a good idea to have a cellular phone with you as well.
If you have small kids, it’s a good idea to turn the ringer off so that the phone can always be left inside the room. Many manufacturers now sell portable phones that have extension handsets that do not require a physical phone line for each base station. This means that you do not need to have a phone jack in the room that you want to ensure always has a telephone in it…It only requires an electrical outlet.
While some of our clients have built actual ‘safe’ rooms that are protected by large vault doors, in most cases, a strong deadbolt and phone are all that are required. Ideally, the door itself should have a solid, rather than hollow, core to increase the level of security offered.