THREAT MODEL-BASED DEADBOLT SELECTION
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A Great read for any home owner or any Civilian Operator who takes his domicile security seriously!
Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!
Tag Archives: Home Security
Armed Citizen Corner: “Burglar Meets Paratrooper”
With this installment of Armed Citizen Corner I thought I might show that it not only pays to be prepared with a firearm when trouble comes a calling, but also with a set of empty-hand skills and a PLAN as well. One Mind, Any Weapon!
“A good plan violently executed NOW is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
-George Patton
Stay Alert. Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!
Home Security: 14 Ways to Protect Your Home While You Are Away
You’ve just spent a glorious week on vacation with your family. The sun was out the whole time, the food was good, and the kids behaved. Miraculous! As you pull into the garage, though, you realize something seems amiss. The door into the house is ajar, and you’re sure you closed it on the way out. You cautiously open the door, only to realize that while you were away, burglars made off with your electronics, jewelry, cash, etc. The glee from your previous week is wiped away, and you’re left wondering, “Why me?”
It’s scenario that plays out thousands of times each year in households across the country, and world. In the days following, you’re sure to ask yourself, “What could I have done differently?” This article is here to help you answer that question.
There are of course instances where no amount of preparation would have prevented a break in. But with a few simple steps, you can lower your home’s risk of being targeted and infiltrated by burglars.
Note: I don’t mention security systems here, as you either have one or you don’t. It’s not likely you’d get one installed simply for vacation. (If you’re away a lot, though, and don’t already have a system, it’s probably worth looking into.) If you do have a system, just be sure to call your security company and inform them that you’ll be on vacation, so that any alert gets taken seriously right away.
Tips For Keeping Your Home Safe While You’re Away
Ask Someone to Keep an Eye on Things
One of the best ways to protect your home is to be a good neighbor. That is, when you get to know your neighbors and talk with them regularly, you can mention that you’ll be going on vacation and that you’d appreciate their looking out for the place a little.
Don’t necessarily ask them to do a bunch of chores (be respectful of their time and efforts), but it’s no problem to ask that they be aware of anything that might make the house look unoccupied — packages on the front step, a sprinkler system gone awry, etc. They’re the first line of defense while you’re gone, and you can return the favor when they’re away. You’ll also want to give them your vacation contact information, just in case of emergency.
If you’re not at a point of being comfortable with your neighbors, you can also ask friends and family to check up on the place a couple times a week while you’re gone. Again, you don’t need to ask them to do all the chores (unless they owe you!), but just to make sure that things look normal and lived in.
You can also actually call your local PD and let them know you’ll be going on vacation; they’ll often send an extra patrol or two through your neighborhood just to establish a presence. While this isn’t a replacement for asking someone trusted to stop by a few times, it is an additional layer of security.
Install Timers on Your Electronics
A dark house at night for a week straight is a sure sign that someone is on vacation. By the same token, you don’t want to just flip a light on as you head out the door and leave it on the entire time (yes, I’ve done that, and I know other people who have too).
Luckily, there are a huge variety of timers on the market that plug right into an outlet and turn your lights and other electronics on and off at certain times of day.
Most people only think of using these timers on lamps, but having TVs and/or radios plugged into them is a good idea too to create noise and the flickering lights associated with most American homes in the evening.
Be sure to get the variety of timer that works with random intervals. You don’t want lights that turn on at exactly 7pm and turn off at 10pm every night; if someone is watching the neighborhood, they’ll notice. Some models even pair with your smartphone so you can turn certain outlets on and off at will. (Note that many security systems offer this feature as well.)
Have Someone Mow the Lawn/Shovel the Driveway
Two of the biggest giveaways that someone is away from home are an unkempt lawn and a snowy driveway with not the slightest hint of human movement. So in the summer, find a neighbor kid, family member, friend, or landscaping company to mow your lawn (if it’s one of those first three options, paying them in some way is good form; obviously, you’ll be paying the landscaping company), and in the winter do the same with clearing your driveway and sidewalks of snow.
Also, asking someone to take care of any other outdoor chores that might arise is a good idea. For instance, if a storm comes through and knocks some branches down in everyone’s yard, and you’re the only house that hasn’t picked them up, it’s clear you aren’t home. Hopefully these incidences are few and far between, but they do happen. Neighbors are probably your best bet here, as they’ll be the ones to know if something has happened on your street.
Read the Remainder at Art of Manliness
Another Reason To Be Armed: Home Invasion Stopped DEAD In It’s Tracks
The Question raised in this incident: Is It SMART To FIRE THROUGH a BARRIER (such as a Door) When You have Not Identified what is on the other side? 99% of the time I would say NO. The reason being if you live in an urban area/neighborhood, the chance for you to MISS the perp and HIT an innocent bystander or worse yet, a stray round go through your neighbor’s home and wound/kill somebody is HIGH. But in this instance, when the HOMEOWNER asked the person several times to ID themselves and they said nothing and just continued to KICK THE DOOR DOWN, the homeowner obviously was in FEAR FOR HIS LIFE and had no choice but to DEFEND HIMSELF. The advice in this article is sound. -SF
WITN TV News reports this week (5/23/2016) in Wilson, North Carolina police say a home invasion attempt happened on Winoca Road 1:15 a.m. on Monday morning.
When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds outside the home.
The homeowner told police he heard someone trying to kick in the door to his house. He warned the intruder to stop and then fired shots through the door.
The would-be burglar was taken to Wilson Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Officers have identified the dead man as a local 36-year-old.
After consulting with the District Attorney’s Office, police say no charges will be filed against the homeowner whose name is not being released.
Comments:
Most likely a valid shooting as apparently only the bad guy was hit. That being said, shooting through something you can’t see through carries tremendous risk.
Always try verbal warnings to get some information about who is outside. If that does not help, hide behind cover across the room while calling 911.
Experience says the cops will not arrive in time but they will tape your 911 call, your warnings to the intruder and your shots if you need to shoot. Create a witness for yourself on the 911 tape!
Don’t panic, have a plan and be smart.
Read the Original Article at Ammo-Land
Training Scenarios: When the Intruder is a Cop
[Recently] at work I responded to an urgent call for backup. An armed homeowner pulled a gun on one of my fellow officers.
In the end, everything turned out fine. No one got shot. By the time I arrived at the home, both officer and homeowner had secured their respective weapons and were talking peacefully. It was a tense situation for a few seconds and could have ended tragically.
Here’s how it went down…
The officer was dispatched on a “check the well being” call. A high school student had called police to report that he had received several texts from his friend. The text messages hinted that the friend was planning on killing himself. The officer was sent to the friend’s house to ensure that he wasn’t suicidal.
It was 9 pm and dark outside. The house was lighted up inside and the officer heard sounds that indicated the house was occupied. The officer knocked on the door vigorously and rang the door bell. No one answered.
The officer could have just left the scene at that point, but he is conscientious and wanted to make sure that the boy wasn’t in danger, or even worse, had already attempted to kill himself.
Seeing lights on at the rear of the house, the officer decided to try knocking at the back door. He entered the back yard through an unlocked fence gate and was walking towards the back door of the house when the homeowner spotted him.
The homeowner was inside the house and couldn’t see well. He heard his gate open and close, then saw a man dressed in all dark clothing poking around in his back yard with a flashlight in hand. The homeowner ran to get his pistol.
By the time the officer reached the back door, he was looking down the barrel of the homeowner’s gun. The cop drew his own gun, called for backup, shined his flashlight on his badge, and verbally identified himself as a police officer. The homeowner immediately lowered his gun, then secured it before opening the back door and talking to the officer. Tragedy averted.
Let me start by saying that no one in this situation did anything wrong.
The cop was trying to make sure a boy wasn’t going to kill himself. The homeowner was legally defending his residence from a suspicious intruder approaching the back door of his house. Some frazzled nerves, poor training, or a couple more pounds of pressure on either weapon’s trigger would have resulted in a tragic outcome.
How do we prevent situations like this from going bad?
We have to start by teaching cops to take extra care to identify themselves in any ambiguous situation. Any time a cop is on another person’s property, he should be in full uniform. He should repeatedly verbalize the fact that he is a police officer. Basically, cops need to slow down a bit and look at their actions from the perspective of an armed homeowner. Would the cop’s actions be thought of as “suspicious” by the property owner? If so, it’s up to the cop to change his approach to ensure that the resident knows that the person lurking in the darkness is a police officer instead of a potential home invader.
Second, you as a homeowner must recognize that there are legitimate reasons for police to be on your property (and occasionally in your house). Not every “intruder” is a criminal. I hear a lot of talk from armed citizens saying “I never break any laws. There’s no reason for the police to be on my property. I’ll shoot first. Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six…etc.” That logic is wrong. The homeowner in this story didn’t break any laws. He didn’t have any reason to suspect that the police would be coming to his house. Despite the fact that the homeowner did not violate any laws, there was still a legitimate reason for the police to be poking around his back yard.
There are lots of completely legal situations that could result in a cop, fireman, or utility worker to need to be in your yard. Let’s use some logic here. What is the more likely explanation for a strange man to be in your yard at night? Is it more common that that stranger might be a first responder of some sort, or is it more common that the stranger would be a home invader? Speaking for myself, I’ve never been the victim of a home invasion, but I’ve seen utility workers in my yard dozens of times…even at night. I’ve had firefighters walking through my yard trying to find the source of a brush fire. I live in a relatively safe neighborhood. If I play the odds, it’s more likely that anyone on my property is a neighbor or first responder than it is that the person is a criminal.
We all just need to calm down a bit. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t defend your property or yourself. Just make sure that the person you are “defending” against is a real threat. Shooting the policeman who is trying to ensure your son isn’t trying to kill himself doesn’t create the outcome you are looking for.
Cops need to make sure their actions don’t appear criminal. Armed citizens need to ensure that they practice good target discrimination and take some training about how to adequately address threats in a low light environment. Both groups need to be calm and clear thinking, without the automatic “I am right” egotistical response that is commonly seen.
Cops don’t want to get shot. Armed citizens don’t want to mistakenly shoot a cop who is trying to help them. Both groups want the same outcome. But it is only by understanding the other group’s perspective that we can safely achieve it.
Read the Original Article at Ammo-Land
