Best Burglar Deterrent - that is legal of course!

[GOAT]

I usually put a sign on the door.....
“Shift worker asleep- please give me a few extra seconds to answer the doorbell”

The villain might want to avoid the house if he thinks it could be occupied- could be Policeman, Fireman etc inside.

[Neil]

This is just my view and only from my own experiences in the market place I work. I'm sure there are many more valid opinions.

I've been in the electronic security industry for over 35 years now and in my experience CCTV is no deterrent. CCTV, if recorded, will give you a nice visual record of some scumbag damaging your property and nicking your valuables. You will be able to watch it over and over again while the Police will do absolutely nothing with the footage because they 'cannot' identify the suspects. For identification you'd need at least 250pixels/m at target distance and you'd still struggle as invariably they would be wearing hats, balaclava's and the like. For most normal domestic premises CCTV can even have the effect of advertising that there may be something worth nicking.

When CCTV starts to work is when it is monitored and using a decent form of detection. By alerting you or an operator in a monitoring station any threat can be visually assessed and action can be taken that prevents damage and loss. Switching on lights and using audio to tell the intruders that they are being recorded and the Police have been called is usually enough to have them on their toes.

The biggest deterrent to would be intruders is light and dogs. Powerful lights coming on and dogs barking are far more effective than standalone CCTV or indeed intruder alarms.

I have access to some of the most sophisticated electronic security that there is and for my domestic security I have a simple intruder alarm and make sure I lock the doors and windows.


Neil

[draftsmann]

Pepper sprays etc are certainly illegal in the UK. On the other hand there are plenty of perfectly legal bathroom cleaning spray products available in any supermarket, and keeping a bottle of the same in your en-suite is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

[Mr Curta]

I'm getting myself a Geronimo

[Holsterman]

Worth a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtwD-c9hn58

[dickdutch]

The best thing you can do is make sure your insurance will pay out.

[Neil.C]

Loud barking dog.

Preferably with the sort of teeth to back it up.

[Vanguard]

Please don't think you're safe because you have a large Dog, a guy I know got burgled and they killed his Doberman, the Terrier he also had survived, obviously he was more upset about them killing his Dog than anything that they took.

[BillN]

we spend a couple of months in South Africa each year and live on a Nature Reserve surrounded by a 6,000 volt electric fence - the house is alarmed and at night we have beams around the house and panic buttons in each bedroom - there is also a guy with a gun permanently stationed in a car 5 mins away - with the alarm system rigged up to his control unit

They still manage to break in - usually because an "owner/occupant" has not been vigilant in setting the alarm or even locking their door - so even if you have devices to help you need to ensure that you use them

[Mr Pointy]

Pepper sprays etc are certainly illegal in the UK. On the other hand there are plenty of perfectly legal bathroom cleaning spray products available in any supermarket, and keeping a bottle of the same in your en-suite is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

Indeed there are. I can particularly recommend an ammonia based window cleaner in a pump bottle. Jif probably isn't going to do it though & oven cleaner is a bit over the top & could get you charged. You can even have reasonable cause to keep window cleaner in the car.

[Franco]

Worth a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtwD-c9hn58

Loved the comment:

"My wife's credit card was stolen but i didn't bother to get it back cause the thief was spending less than my wife"

[Chukas]

Someone attempted to break into my house on Sunday night, not ideal when im working away and the wife is at home with a baby and 8 year old.
Getting a security system fitted with 3 cameras, costing an arm and a leg but worth the money.
A sign off the times i suppose.

[hughtrimble]

Someone attempted to break into my house on Sunday night, not ideal when im working away and the wife is at home with a baby and 8 year old.
Getting a security system fitted with 3 cameras, costing an arm and a leg but worth the money.
A sign off the times i suppose.

That's grim, sorry to hear it - what made them stop?

[Chukas]

That's grim, sorry to hear it - what made them stop?

We had a canary system in place and he was staring right into my study with a torch, i can only assume there was a noise or he heard someone.
The police have been really good in fairness to them, he's known to them and has a lengthy history.

[Carlton-Browne]

Your canary has a criminal record? You must live in a rough neighbourhood...

[Chukas]

Ended up with 3 4MP IP turret cameras and 2tb network video recorder.
Cost just over a £1000 including the cable and installation.
Have got it linked to Hik connect app all ready.
Looks a decent bit of kit.

[gerrudd]

For those that say Big dog.... there’s a few interesting videos on YT that shows a man with a balaclava walking into unoccupied houses (apart from a big dog). Non of the dogs react aggressively towards him, most don’t even bark and go into avoidance mode...

It’s probably a different story if the owners are at home.

My neighbour was burgled some years back. The burglars came in though the front window. The dog jumped out the same window. My neighbour only realised he had been burgled the next morning when he found his downstairs in disarray and the dog scratching at the front door to get back in.

- - - Updated - - -

For those that say Big dog.... there’s a few interesting videos on YT that shows a man with a balaclava walking into unoccupied houses (apart from a big dog). Non of the dogs react aggressively towards him, most don’t even bark and go into avoidance mode...

It’s probably a different story if the owners are at home.

My neighbour was burgled some years back. The burglars came in though the front window. The dog jumped out the same window. My neighbour only realised he had been burgled the next morning when he found his downstairs in disarray and the dog scratching at the front door to get back in.

- - - Updated - - -

For those that say Big dog.... there’s a few interesting videos on YT that shows a man with a balaclava walking into unoccupied houses (apart from a big dog). Non of the dogs react aggressively towards him, most don’t even bark and go into avoidance mode...

It’s probably a different story if the owners are at home.

My neighbour was burgled some years back. The burglars came in though the front window. The dog jumped out the same window. My neighbour only realised he had been burgled the next morning when he found his downstairs in disarray and the dog scratching at the front door to get back in.

[oldoakknives]

For those that say Big dog.... there’s a few interesting videos on YT that shows a man with a balaclava walking into unoccupied houses (apart from a big dog). Non of the dogs react aggressively towards him, most don’t even bark and go into avoidance mode...

It’s probably a different story if the owners are at home.

My alarm system and cameras are there to protect my dog as much as, if not more than, any other possessions. Objects can be replaced, he couldn't.

[Mr Curta]

Your canary has a criminal record? You must live in a rough neighbourhood...

Apparently he's done bird, I heard about it on Twitter. Canaries don't handle interrogation very well.

[Carlton-Browne]

Apparently he's done bird, I heard about it on Twitter. Canaries don't don't handle interrogation very well.

[broxie]

I have CCTV, a monitored alarm, automatic lights in and outside the house that go on and off at different times and the cheapest deterrent I can think of is a TV simulator (about £6 on Ebay). I’ve got one in a spare bedroom visible from the road and it does look like someone is watching TV in that room.

I have been broken into in the past (though not at this property) and it’s not a nice feeling.

[mak_35]

I have CCTV, a monitored alarm, automatic lights in and outside the house that go on and off at different times and the cheapest deterrent I can think of is a TV simulator (about £6 on Ebay). I’ve got one in a spare bedroom visible from the road and it does look like someone is watching TV in that room.

I have been broken into in the past (though not at this property) and it’s not a nice feeling.

Agree with having the tv on , close curtains and turn on some lights. unfortunately cctv is not much of a deterrent nowadays , Know of many families that have had cars robbed and houses broken into and burglar/thief just covered their face . everything helps though cctv and alarm should be bare minimum.

PVC door locks are easy to snap as well , so alot of people should look to change them as well , personally I would recommend ultion locks .

[eagletower]

I got burgled a week ago and the CCTV at the rear of the house didn’t pick up enough details as the burglar was a few meters away so the infra red was too bright and you cant make out the features enough.

Ive installed a few Mpow LED floods which are solar power so if this should again it will light up and pick it up better for what it its worth.