Above: Get a deadbolt lock and get a higher level of security. Image by Nenad Maric from Pixabay.
Pundits — looking for ratings — offer opinions based on no personal experience, other than what fits the agenda or what they think will shock people into listening. Regardless of what controversy is on the table for today’s blame game, eventually, it has to filter down to you and your family.
So let’s make things simple. First, I’ll offer up my analogy, then some statistics that may interest you.
If you didn’t know, life imitates baseball. It’s true, keep reading, I’ll tie it in. All great baseball hitters have their own unique style of hitting, yet they all do one or more of the same things consistently, in order to hit the ball effectively.
The batter’s stance, balance, weight shift, bat-speed and so on, all come together in an effort — not to collect hits, but rather to put the ball into play. The more baseballs put into play, the larger percentage of hits. Therefore, the goal is to increase the percentages.
Those things done consistently, in order to increase those percentages, I call absolutes. Things done the same way over and over to yield effective results.
Here is the “tied-in” part. Employ that same mindset, simple absolutes done consistently, in your personal and property security, and it will move you over to that smaller group of unattractive potential victims.
Let’s apply this to a potential burglary.
You can control only what is controllable. You cannot control a crook’s decision to select, for instance, your residential community, be it apartments, condominiums or single-family homes, but you can control his decision to bypass your house by creating a first impression.
Let’s say there are three levels of security for you.
Level 1
Perception. Alarm sticker or sign. There is no rule that you actually need to have an alarm in order to display an alarm notice. What about a Neighborhood Watch sign? Although the sign is good, the program is better. Contact your local police or sheriff department’s community affairs unit. Post a notice that the area is under video surveillance.
Want old school perception? Try a large dog dish and size 18 dirty work boots at the doorstep next to the latest issue of “Guns & Ammo” magazine.
Level 2
Hardware. Dead bolt. Your local crime-prevention officer will come to your home and do a survey, along with good suggestions for increasing your security. Front and back door deadbolts should have two-inch throws, (the part that inserts into the doorjamb.)
Window locks. They may not keep the burglar out, but they will deter many because they don’t want to break the glass. Sliding doors will secure with a stick between the sliding part of the door and the doorframe.
Level 3
The alarm itself — use it! Video is inexpensive, $300 or so for a two-camera set with monitor and online access. These are two great deterrents.
There is a Level 4, which, if the burglar gets past the first three, are sure to do the trick. They include large ball python snakes, a borrowed junkyard dog, an angry mother-in-law and, if all fails, a guy sitting on the sofa who says, “Hi, I’d like to talk to you about a wonderful new product that can be yours for only 16 monthly payments of $29.95.” Any burglar will be out of there with skid marks.
Oh yeah, the statistics? Here are a couple.
0.3% of Canadian road accidents involve a moose, and 40% of women have hurled a piece of footwear at a man! *
Find your absolutes, create that impression, talk to your police crime-prevention officers and put the ball into play.
*Chronicle.com