Archive for the ‘Home Security’ Category

For two years, a staff member had a trusted, long term, "friend of the family" babysitter watching her 10 year old son for a few hours after school. The baby sitter was reliable, always on time, was an honors student at a local high school, came from a family with caring, involved parents, and got along well with the son.

Then her husband told her that cash he had put in the envelope in a bedroom drawer was missing.  She told her husband that he must have put it somewhere else… saying that he didn't remember to bring home milk, so he probably didn't remember putting the envelope somewhere else. He said he would definitely remember where he put an envelope with $1,200 in it.

Only the babysitter had access to the home, but she insisted that he could not have possibly taken the money. Our firm set up two hidden cameras with a recorder in their home, and the very next night, our staff member watched the screen in horror as the babysitter rummaged through clothes pockets in drawers and closets, stuffing his pockets with whatever cash he found.

I found it difficult, but necessary to leave my house for two hours while 5 workers from 3 different trades were providing various services in my basement and on the 1st floor. Even though I trusted the owners of each firm, I chose to arm only my bedroom motion detectors, as the workers had absolutely no reason to go to the second floor.
Upon returning home, central station informed me that my bedroom alarm had triggered. Since I was only a few blocks away, I nixed the police and confronted one of the workers who stated that he went upstairs to get a cup from the kitchen and water from the bathroom, along with other statements that made no sense. He acted upset that I questioned his integrity (my wife actually felt sorry for him as I questioned him with the utmost skepticism). After he left, I realized that my camera system would reveal the truth. Bottom line: he had made a beeline to my bedroom without so much as glancing into the kitchen or bathroom.

I chose not to prosecute the worker (who has a wife and children), but I did show the video to his employer. However, without such video evidence, I'm sure his employer would have believed his lame excuses as being stupid actions as opposed to criminal actions. As I've learned after 9 years of police work and 33 years in the security industry:  "Trust but have a back-up just in case."

Solutions: Of course, a camera system with a recorder triggered by an alarm prevented this theft, but, other, more affordable solutions exist.

1. For about 1/3 the cost of a camera system, "Videofied" offers a degree of protection. A completely wireless system which consists of motion detectors with built-in video sends us a 10 second video clip for visual verification. We can email the clip to your PC or cell phone immediately for your verification.  Keep in mind this does not record, but sends the clip to us, we can save it to our central and provide it to you, the customer. This system also has a keypad with 2-way voice. When an alarm signal is received by us, we can communicate via the keypad for verification.

2. ALWAYS protect the master bedroom. In 99% of residential crimes, this is the thief's target. Keep valuables in another room, invest in a good lock with a key and use the lock whenever you have visitors, workers, your child's friend(s), etc., in your home, and place motion detectors in places where any approach to the master bedroom will be detected.