The four-minute rule, and three common misconceptions about home security

A burglar will normally aim to be in and out of a targeted house in under five minutes.  They call this "The Four-Minute Rule." Four minutes being well below the average response time of police and other emergency responders. Unless there happens to be an unassigned patrol car idling just up the street from your residence, you can't expect a car to investigate an alarm call in less time than that.  And that assuming your alarm company is up to the task, and can pass the information to local law enforcement without delays.  And be aware that burglar alarms are normally fairly low on the emergency response "triage" list in terms of which available units get dispatched first.  Routine alarm investigations can take upwards of half-an-hour, on occasions.

Experienced thieves develop skills to minimize time spent inside, such as searching the drawers of a cabinet from the bottom up, which eliminates the need to close each the searched drawer afterward.

And be aware that not all burglars ply their trade in unoccupied homes. 

A surprising number of burglaries occur during the day, when people are busy fixing meals, playing games, and watching TV, when the odd random noise is likely to be ignored or overlooked.  If you don’t already do so, get into the habit of keeping your door locked when you are inside the house, as you do when you are away.

If you enter your house and find indications a burglary has taken place, you should remain outside, and call the police from a secure location, in the event that the burglary may actually be “taking place” with the burglar actually still inside.

If you do encounter a burglar in the act, your chances of being injured outweigh the risks of trying to intervene.  It sometimes happens that homeowners attempting to defend themselves, their family, or their property with a weapon end up having it turned against them.

 

The effects of a burglary can have devastating emotional consequences for some people.  I once witnessed a homeowner piling every single garment in her drawers into garbage bags after an intruder had rifled through them in search valuables.  The house went up for sale a week later. 

Are you prepared?

There are three common misapprehensions among homeowners that I hear all the time.

1. EXTRA SECURITY DRAWS EXTRA ATTENTION FROM BURGLARS:
This is the idea that additional security measures such as window bars on basement windows, may actually make them more a target, the assumption being, that a burglar may reason that barred windows means property of extra value may be inside.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Burglars are opportunistic, preferring to take advantage of weakness, rather than challenge strength. 

They are also lazy.  That’s why they’re burglars.

Additional security means more work for the burglar.  More effort.  More noise, more exposure time outside, and commensurately, greater odds of getting caught.

The police refer to the “Principle of Displacement.”  You just want to displace your burglar.  You just want to make him go away from your home.  Make him someone else’s problem.  You want him to look at your barred windows, and help him/them decide, “Too much work.  Lets try the next place.”

Burglars usually tend to have a minimalist skill set in terms of forcible entry.  They are very often one-trick ponies when it comes to breaking in to homes.  They are disinclined to innovate on scene but instead rely on the techniques they have found successful in the past.  Thus, a burglar with an operational methodology of kicking in doors protected with a single, knob-lock only, will probably just glance at a door secured with a solid looking deadbolt - and move on.

2. "IF THEY REALLY WANT TO GET IN, THEY'LL GET IN..."
This mindset can make a homeowner decide to forego basic security upgrades, even relatively minor, and inexpensive upgrades that can actually make a big difference.

While the statement is factually true, (your very best efforts to secure your home will not hold the fire department back forever if they decide they want in) it fails to address the prime concerns of a burglar, which are speed and stealth.

A basic deadbolt, residential grade, ANSI grade 3, is meant to withstand up to six simulated kicking attempts, under laboratory conditions to get the Grade 3 rating.   A Commercial grade deadbolt, Grade-2, is expected to hold back a few more kicks than six - roughly double that number.

If one kick is all it takes, as is frequently the case with a key-in-knob lock only, the noise may not be noticed by neighbors, or if noticed, not much notice paid. 

Just imagine your neighbors having this conversation:

(A loud BANG is heard from next door. Your door, as it happens.)

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“I don’t know.  Nothing, I guess…”

On the other hand, three, or as many as six more “BANGS” might actually draw some unwanted attention, and every kick extends the time the burglar spend exposed to view, and eats up his time-in/time-out window.

3. “OH, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING WORTH STEALING IN OUR HOUSE.”
This disingenuously modest statement is the third most common, mistaken belief/rationalization, and one that I've heard over and over again, over my over-twenty years as a locksmith.

Unless you’re a Buddhist monk living in a cave, this is factually untrue in every case.  Just for a start, among other things that you are at risk to lose, are: your identity, your peace of mind, and maybe your life.

I would like to confidently assure you, should you happen to be enjoying this misapprehension, is that your burglar, when he comes, will not be walking out empty handed.  And some of what he takes may surprise you, and some of what he takes may also break your heart.   

A SECURITY PRIMER - SECURITY TIPS

Burglars rarely “case” a property for long periods before making their move.

He/they were probably just driving by, and noticed mom loading the kids into the van and preparing to leave. Or saw some other obvious sign that the property was unoccupied.  Perhaps a big messy pile of newspapers, and an overflowing mailbox.  Or all the window curtains drawn closed, and no lights, or noise from within.  You can probably get a sense of when your neighbors are absent, and when they’re at home, from just a casual glance at their house.  (So have a look at your own house with the same critical eye, the next time you go away for a while, and make some changes.)

The burglar probably walked up to the house, and knocked loudly on the front door to see if anyone was home.  Then after a minute, walked around to the rear of the house to see if anyone was working or relaxing at the back, and knocked again at the rear or side door.  Then he did his thing.

That guy who showed up at your door last year looking for “Bob” was probably a thief.  Call the police the next time a random door-knocker shows up, and give them the best description you can provide.  It’s information that the police need, that they can use, or track, or may already have and are waiting to hear again.  

Call it in.  Don't be embarrassed about it.  This might be exactly the call your local division officers  may have been waiting for, as your door knocker may exactly fit the description of a suspect known to be active in your neighbourhood.  A live suspect, "matching the description," witnessed in the area, jumps up the call in the priority sequence dramatically, and they will respond accordingly.

And the responding officers just love it when the bad guys try that “Bob” stuff on them.

KEY SECURITY

The vendors of your new home, may have been fine upright folks, but what about their deadbeat, crack-addict, son-in-law whom you never got to meet?  Did the boyfriend of the cleaning person they used to employ make a copy of the front door key?   How about the tiling contractor who remodeled the kitchen last month?  How many keys exist beyond the ones their lawyer handed you on closing day?

High Park Lock can rekey the exterior of your new home for usually less than $100.00.  This means changing the combination of your existing locks so the old keys don't work, and providing you with new keys.  Our price varies by the number of doors/locks and whether any hardware needs replacing.  But a typical front and back door with a deadbolt on each door will cost only $69.00 for the service, plus $2.00 per key, plus tax. 

SECURE YOUR KEYS

Do you leave a key outside your house?  Many people do.  Some of these "convenience keys" help make up part of the 10 to 20 percent of burglaries without obvious cause.  The real tragedy of these robberies, is that without actual proof of a break-in, your insurer may not pay off on your policy. Take a moment and call or email your insurer for confirmation.  Rethink this strategy.  Or buy a realtor key box  
and secure the key with a coded lock.

SECURE THE PERIMETER
Make sure shrubbery and trees don't hide doors and windows. Shielded entrances can provide greater cover for burglars to enter your residence unnoticed by neighbors and passers-by.  Consider motion detector lighting. Secure any ladders you may have stored, or left outside.  Although 2nd floor entries are very rare, (less than 20%) don’t give them any ideas.

DEADBOLTS ON EVERY ENTRANCE DOOR
By Ontario law, every dwelling place requires a dead-locking style lock mechanism on every exterior door.  A key-in-knob lock (KIK) is not sufficient.  Spring locking night latches are also not sufficient, although insurance companies are not all on the same page with this issue.  Some companies, after home inspections, insist that NIGHT-LATCHES be replaced, or augmented with auxiliary DEADBOLTS, and some don’t seem to care.  
But a locking doorknob, (key-in-the-knob doorknob) all by itself, really is an invitation to a burglar to come on in and help himself.

NIGHT LATCH UPGRADES
It' not a bad idea, to upgrade night latch style rim locks regardless.  Night latch rim locks can be replaced with deadbolt style rim locks without too much difficulty.   Instead of a beveled spring latch (which can potentially be loided from outside) a deadbolt style rim lock moves a dead-locking block of metal which can't be manipulated from outside.  These can be purchased or special ordered from local hardware stores for under $20.00 and can be a relatively easy do-it-yourself project.  Or, High Park Lock can install it for you for the price of a service call. 
We can also install a new or additional cylinder deadbolt on your door for as low as $140.00 including tax.

GET A DOG (OR A FAKE DOG)
Burglars hate noise, and evidence overwhelmingly suggests they will go out or their way to avoid a confrontation with dogs. A Beware of Dog sign on your fence, a dog house in the back yard, even a loose dog chain or bowl can make a potential burglar think twice.

Some people use motion/vibration activated alarms like this one, to give the impression of a watch dog.  http://www.amazon.com/ED-50-Electronic-Watchdog-Barking-Alarm/dp/B002XITC5G

PROTECT THE GLASS

Some glass panels or windows can be replaced with Lexan, Plexiglass, or other clear polycarbonate plastics.  A window made of Lexan has many times the shatter resistance of plate glass.  A brick or a baseball bat will just bounce off.

Your local hardware store can cut you a piece to size.  For most windows, request the size to be 1/8” of an inch smaller than the original plate glass to allow for expansion due to seasonal changes of temperature.

The Stockyards Home Depot sells a “WINDOW KIT” to cover the glass window pane in older-style panel doors with a wire grid.  It fastens from the inside with screws, and prevents a potential intruder from breaking the glass and reaching in to unlock the door.

They make two versions, for the most common window sizes found in the back doors of many High Park area homes: 24” x 26” Product #175274 @ $29.69, and, 24” x 40” Product #182406 @ $39.79

Another option is to have the glass treated with 3M Window Film.  This thin plastic polymer film, comes in various mil thicknesses, and some films will render the glass actually bullet proof.   Some films provide UV protection and can be ordered with specialty tints.


You can have all the window glass in your house, including your patio doors, treated with this film for a few dollars a square foot, or just the glass in especially vulnerable areas such as on the back door.

SECURE THE BASEMENT

Basement windows on the other hand, are a favored entry point for some burglars, and window bars are an excellent visual deterrent.  Dynamic Iron on Dundas Street north of Jane Street is my go to source for top quality custom bars at very affordable prices.  And they also will do installs for you.