If you haven’t noticed, we’re in the midst of a recession – and like all the other times when the economy has taken a dive, crime rates go up. Although spending money on alarm systems may not seem like the highest priority in a time when people are trying to be as economical as possible, you might want to ask yourself if you could handle losing $2,000 right now.
Why $2,000? Because that’s the average amount of money that is lost during a burglary these days.[1] Even if you assume that your home will be burglarized within the next year and view the $2,000 as an opportunity cost for an alarm system, most systems will still run you over that amount within a year of service. However, instead of simply foregoing an alarm system, there are still ways to secure your home without a conventional home security system and the bills that they entail. Here are a few tips to securing your home without causing your own personal great depression.
1. Focus on motion detectors
Cameras obviously are more preferable than a motion detector, but they’re also several times more expensive and unnecessary most of the time. Since any burglar with common sense will wear a mask, the only real value from having cameras set up throughout your home is to intimidate them with the prospect that you could be watching and calling the police. A much more cost effective method would be to install motion detectors in the main hall ways of your home. Also, if you’re going to use a camera, the optimum place to install it would be on your driveway. This way, there’s a chance that you will see their car (and if you’re lucky, their license plate). It also serves to deter any potential criminals walking past your home as well.
2. Secure your internet
Many people don’t realize how easy it is to extract personal information from your computer. They also don’t realize how unprotected their own computers are, too. Your PC is a virtual buffet of information for burglars, giving them access to not only credit cards numbers, but passwords (that could be used on garage door panels) and info regarding your work schedule and when your home will be unattended. Luckily, there’s plenty of free software out there that does a comparable job to the paid anti-virus software such as Ad-Aware. Also, setting your windows firewall on maximum may be irritating at times, but it’s worth the added security.
3. Milk out the yard signs
Probably the cheapest way to “protect” your home of all, simply having signs of alarm systems like these can be enough to deter someone from breaking in. Having a sign leads a burglar to assume that you have the high quality of one of these security systems without having to pay the costly monthly monitoring fees that would go along with actually having it. However, if you’re planning on being this economical, just make sure to mix in a couple motion detectors at least, since a sign can be intimidating but will do absolutely nothing if a burglar decides to break in anyway.
[1]http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/law_enforcement_courts_prisons/crimes_and_crime_rates.html
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