Break In at S13's home....thwarted.

[Scythe13]

Okay, this sucks, but has had a beneficial knock on effect.

Neighbour came round because the dogs were playing about in the road. Turns out the back gate was open. Had only recently fitted a new bolt to the door, so it wasn't the wind that would have opened it!!! When we looked closer, 2 of the panels were damaged, as if someone had pulled back hard on them to open the gate. The wife also found some cable ties dropped on the floor. Seems like the dogs scared them off. Good job we have over friendly pups that would have been jumping up on the gate to see who was making the noise.

Well, this has suitably freaked the wife, and I was unable to do my nightshift. Not good!

The knock on effect is that the wife now wants her shotty cert and FAC (Fire Arms Certificate). We're going to get his and hers cabinets too! Happy days.

Okay, so that's the situation so far. Let me just give some ideas for securing the house.

First off, we're getting another bolt for the door. This one will be much lower down so that it'll be impossible to reach over the gate and open both latches. Actually, thinking about it, we might just get 2 more bolts.

Secondly, a nice sized piece of wood to act as a barricade. Will be easy enough to have it like a castle log style door security thing. You know the kind medieval castles have in the films?

Thirdly, a PIR (motion sensor) floor light. Some are adjustable to varying degrees of darkness outside. It's a good idea to have these set to work from dusk to dawn, and not just when it's damn dark.

Forthly, solar powered lights. It's a stupid one, but if your garden is light enough, it'll deter some people. Who wants to walk through a garden that is bright enough to be easily seen in?

Fifthly, I might have accidentally lay some VERY SHARP thorns at the top of the gate, just above the bolt. That way, if anyone reaches over the top of the gate top open it, they'll have a sharp surprise!

Sixthly, I'll be reinforcing the gate and looking into setting up a bollard style device, as I spoke about in NR's Front Door Security thread.

Seventhly, recognise that at most these are deterrents. All anyone needs to do is drive a car through a fence post, and they're into your garden. Same principle can be used with a stolen van or bus and through the front of your house. We do our best, but need to recognise that if they want to get in badly enough, at most we can make it difficult for them to do so.

Oh, forgot to mention spot lights. These are always going to be a bit of fun. Well worth putting up to frustrate people.

Speaking of putting things up, what about that "Beware of dogs" sign you have? This sign works whether you have dogs or not.

Hope they help.

Enjoy.