ᐅ Burglar Protection: Planning Outdoor Lighting with Sensors

pagoni2020 schrieb:

"For a Safe Home – Traditional and Smart Video Intercom Systems".

This topic is being brought up constantly now. I keep wondering what exactly is supposed to be safe when the person ringing the doorbell can easily figure out that no one is home.

ypg schrieb:

I use that before every vacation, and then I feel comfortable.

But if it just stays inactive for 2-3 days, isn’t that more of an indication that no one is home?

Mycraft schrieb:

The issue is being brought up all the time now. I keep wondering what’s supposed to be secure about it when anyone ringing the doorbell can easily figure out that no one is home.

But if it just stays inactive for 2-3 days, isn’t that more of a sign that the house is empty?

It’s better to control the lights via an app and have them turn on and off at irregular intervals in the evening when you’re away.

Simulated occupancy is almost ineffective. During planned break-ins, the property is monitored, so it quickly becomes clear whether someone is home or not. It doesn’t matter if the lights are on or the TV is running.
It’s just as much a myth as the idea that shutters provide burglary protection.
Only mechanical protection (doors, windows, frames, locks, etc.) and increasing the chances of detection (lighting, motion detectors, light barriers, cameras, dogs, neighbors, alarm systems, etc.) help—up to the point where the risk of success is so low that it’s not worth attempting.
You need to be a harder target than your neighbors.
However, you should also be aware that living in what feels like a prison is certainly no fun. The more complex the system, the more likely false alarms become or that a resident or guest accidentally triggers it.
Areas that are out of sight should be most strongly protected. Almost no break-ins occur through the front door.

rick2018 schrieb:

Occupancy simulation does almost nothing. Planned break-ins are observed. It quickly becomes clear whether someone is home or not. It doesn’t matter if the light is on or the TV is running.
It’s just as much a myth as roller shutters providing burglary protection...
Only mechanical protection helps (doors, windows, frames, locks...), increasing the chance of detection (lights, motion detectors, light barriers, cameras, dog, neighbors, alarm system...), to the point where the risk of success is too low and it’s not worth it.
You have to be a harder target than your neighbor.
However, you should also be aware that living in a prison is certainly no fun. The more complex it gets, the more likely false alarms occur or a resident or guest triggers it.
The areas that lack visibility should be most strongly protected. Almost no break-ins happen through the front door.

There are not only burglars of type A who plan everything and work professionally. There are also opportunistic or spontaneous burglars who decide to break in on the spot that evening. And if the light is on and the car is parked in front of the house, it is very unlikely that they will break in.

For that reason, I would disagree with your general statement.

Mycraft schrieb:

But if it then lies motionless for 2-3 days, isn’t that more likely a sign of absence?

A burglar doesn’t come twice. Maybe by chance 3 years later... They are abandoned near residential areas, one rings the front doorbell while the other stays out of sight... three hours later they are already in another district, and three months later they are swapped out. The thief from 30 years ago who used to sneak around the neighbor’s stereo system and wait for the right moment no longer exists. Initiation dares or petty theft for getting by have also largely disappeared. Much of it happens digitally now: bank cards, account data... But as I said before: everyone has to calm their own worries—what’s the point of the best security measures if the inviting sliding patio door is left open and you’re working in the basement?

ypg schrieb:

But anything that subjectively feels safe should also be done.

Yes, the personal "feeling of safety" is just as important as actual security, because feeling unsafe greatly impacts my quality of life, regardless of whether that feeling matches reality.

ypg schrieb:

For example, we don’t have much in terms of security except for mushroom locks, a visible dog food bowl, and on the terrace there’s a coffee cup, shoes, and garden tools placed in front of the terrace door that make it look like we just quickly went inside. I set this up before every vacation, and that makes me feel comfortable.

I see the "mushroom locks" or similar technical devices as useful security measures against break-ins, and the other things give you a good, secure feeling and might even work in specific cases. So THAT is right for YOU. I also always ensure my own sense of well-being alongside technical measures, whether others understand that or not; even a partner might have a different view and should definitely consider their own feeling of security.

Ybias78 schrieb:

Better to control the lights via an app and have them turn on and off at irregular intervals in the evening when you’re away.

...if it positively affects your personal feeling, definitely yes. Whether it actually helps... cannot really be determined.

rick2018 schrieb:

Planned burglaries are surveilled.

The big difference is whether you become a victim of the more common "opportunistic" residential burglars, who mostly roam neighborhoods in the colder months from late afternoon trying to find a quick and easy target, or whether you might be targeted by specific burglars who deliberately and carefully choose certain properties or people because they expect or actually know there's something valuable there (expensive car, artwork, large amounts of cash from a business, etc.). Therefore, it’s very important to know exactly what or whom you want to protect yourself from. That’s why generic, haphazard ideas or flashy advertising promises are often misplaced.

rick2018 schrieb:

You have to be a harder target than your neighbor.

Exactly! That applies to 99% of all cases. Anyone who spends days scouting and observing a target will not bother with my single-family home anyway.

ypg schrieb:

They get dropped off near residential areas, one rings the doorbell, the second moves out of sight... three hours later they're already in another district, three months later they are replaced.

Yep... people know what they’re doing! This is exactly how it happens in 99% of cases, and you can protect yourself relatively well with simple means, as @Joedreck and @rick2018 wrote—to make it harder or more difficult, strictly following the principle “Saint Florian’s principle / Spare my house, burn someone else’s!”

There is no universal protection, no matter what I pay or install. I have to adapt it to my own situation and person. Whether I want protection from a pervert who might even break into the upper floor for sexual reasons, from a car thief after my Porsche, from annoying doorbell ringers/beggars, from the “normal” typical 99% residential burglar, from a child abuser (who is often much closer than you’d think), from prying neighbors’ eyes, or from a thief who wants to take my firewood, winter tires, or bicycles.

We lived for a while in an absolutely safe country that, however, has an extremely exaggerated feeling of insecurity among the population. Sirens were constantly going off everywhere we went; in the end, no one responded anymore, it just whistled and screeched all the time... with or without a thief.

Many houses had electric fences and several purposely aggressive shepherd dogs on the property, families mostly lived in gated communities and were afraid of everything and everyone... except the church, their phones, and kilograms of sugar they consumed.

Let’s see how long it will take until it’s the same here. We are definitely well on our way already... and despite all my understanding for home security, THAT is what scares me the most!