Why Layered Security Is the Best Defense
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When you’re putting together your home security system, it’s difficult to know where to start, especially if you can only afford one or two security measures at a time. Or, if you’re ready to install as much security as you need, how do you know where to focus your attention? The answer is simple: plan your security in layers.
Here, we are going to talk about what layered security is, why it’s important, and how to go about setting up layered security for your home. Home security is vitally important, and thankfully, there are many resources available to help you build it. Layered security is the best defense against a break-in.
What is Layered Security and Why Is it Important?
In a simple sense, layered security involves securing your home at every possible level. The goal? Make your home safe enough that no one would even consider trying to enter without permission. It’s not just cameras and alarms; it’s creating an environment that is safe and a security system that is fool-proof on any level.
Layered security is much better than just bits and pieces of security here or there. While sparse security might be enough to deter a thief for a short period of time, they can usually find their way around it. When you layer your defenses and use a variety of different security resources, it will keep your home and ideally the rest of your neighborhood free from crime and other security risks.
Community
The first layer of any security system should be the broadest. From there, each layer should be progressively smaller, helping to protect your home. The broadest security system you can create for your home is most often free, which is a huge benefit. It’s the community you live in.
How can community act as security against thieves? For starters, it’s important to know your neighborhood so that they can keep an eye out for any suspicious persons entering your household unannounced. A trusted neighbor can check your mail and turn on your outside lights in the evening when you’re away from home. This helps spread the idea that you are still home, even if you’re not. Those who would steal from you or attempt to break in to your home will often watch for small signs like that to know if you’re away. Having a neighbor check on your home can be a layer of security and defense that, while broad, can help protect your home.
Going a step further, you can set up an official Neighborhood Watch. This is where neighbors organize and get on the same page about keeping watch on things, plus connecting with local police. Read our post about how to set up a Neighborhood Watch in your area.
Additionally, when a neighborhood becomes a close-knit community, you can each work together to add that broad layer of security to each other’s homes. It’s a step in the right direction for everyone involved. To top it all off, making friends with your neighbors doesn’t cost a cent.
Exterior Security
Once you’ve secured the broadest layer of defense, it’s time to crack down on your home’s exterior security. This could involve a range of measures, including outside lights, security cameras, and alarm systems. But let’s start with the easiest part: what can you do to protect the exterior of your home for free?
To start, it’s important to keep your landscaping in mind. Take good care of your landscaping; this makes it apparent that you are home often and not away for long periods of time. Make sure that if you have basement windows, you are taking defense measures to keep them safe. This involves a lot of different factors, including planting thorny bushes around your window wells and making sure you don’t plant shrubbery that offers a potential burglar too much cover. Also, make sure that when you’ve been working in the yard, you put away your tools. The last thing you’d want is to leave a potential thief with a helping hand. Exterior security measures are vital to your home defense.
Other ways to protect the exterior of your house include installing both obvious and hidden security cameras. Doorbell cameras are increasing in popularity and there are dozens of good security cameras on the market today. Once you’ve protected the outside of your home, it’s time to proceed to other layers of security.
Interior Security
Now, it’s time to protect the inside of your home. What resources are available to you? What security is most effective defense in your home’s interior? As the last defense, this layer is potentially the most important. There are some simple measures you can and should take that are free of charge. These include moving your valuables to safe locations that cannot be seen from your windows, covering your sliding glass doors if you have them, and making sure to lock your doors and windows every evening. If you’re looking to invest more into your interior security, which we recommend, there are multitudes of resources and options. These include window film to prevent your windows from being shattered, strengthening the locks and hinges on your doors, and installing an alarm system that will go off if an intruder enters your home. Layered security includes the inside of your home, ideally making it so that you don’t have to worry at what point the person breaking into your home gets caught.
Layered security is by far the best defense you can construct against a potential break in. By strengthening each layer, you can keep your home and even your neighborhood free of crime. The resources available to help you protect your home are extensive and with layered security, you can confidently know that you’re using them as effectively as possible.
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