I was looking for ideas and was wondering how people on this forum go about securing their houses?
My own house also has blade-topped fences, I have an electronic gate which requires a 6-pin entry pad and a thumbprint. I have 3 dogs, double-plated steel doors and retractable window bars.
Some fucker broke in through the ceiling last week while I was asleep and stole my iPhone and wallet.
The reason we do this in South Africa is because of safety. Home invasions, car jacking, mugging, kidnapping are everyday occurrences here. I know of 3 people who have been killed during one of these engagements and everyone I know knows someone who has died.
If you worry about your kids wandering the streets in America, Canada, New Zealand.. Come to Africa and get some context.
Possessions are meaningless, your health and your friends are what counts. That's something some people learn the hard way in this country.
I hate my government, the corruption, violence, bigotry.. But this is my home. I love the people, the culture, the food, my friends and family.
I've traveled and I've lived in other areas in the world. But this place is my home.
People wonder why anyone would want to live in the Middle East; Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gaza Strip? Because this is my land, these are my people, my tribe.
I will stay, and I will fight and protest for a better life for everyone in this country.
Sorry I feel this is too offtopic for HN, but I couldn't help but reply.
Based on impressions created by Hollywood movies, people I've spoken to in South Africa express opinions that Mexico is some kind of hellhole. Here's a sobering comparison:
https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=mexico+south+africa
In most measures, Mexico is way ahead of South Africa.
I'd feel a lot more hopeless if things were stagnating or getting worse. I can't imagine being a Syrian right now, for example.
I think the biggest change we've seen recently is English becoming more popular among the youth. That and technology which brings about education and positive influence from developed countries.
I'm very supportive of subsidized and ultra-low-cost smartphones and laptops. I think a lot of our issues won't be solved in the next 30 or 50 years, but as the world becomes more connected and social issues are democratized, ideas and efforts are spread through passion and action rather than advertising budgets..
Money will eventually no longer run this government and people will start to think for themselves.
Look at China, they employ hundreds of thousands of people to save their public image, they have a walled garden which they pluck and trim to fit their needs. But only half of their country (excluding rural and unregistered jurisdictions) has access to the internet. Is that going to be feasible long-term?
This is why things like Reddit, albeit very American-centric, have such a positive affect on the world. I want to see more countries get their "own" Reddit which is free of corporate interest and censorship. A medium that everyone has access to and uses.
That's not really what it's about for us. South Africans have become experts at making the most out of a bad situation so things are always "good" in a way that's hard to describe out of context.
When you ask if South Africa is improving you have to qualify that with: which class? Anything that the government controls is going backwards. The middle and upper classes, however, have in a way created their own functioning infrastructure.
* The police force is complete ineffective. Solution: build a fortress and hire private security.
* Continuous controlled blackouts because the power infrastructure is inadequate. Solution: buy a generator.
* Hijackings, muggings. Solution: lojack all cars (car insurance now requires it) and don't walk anywhere.
As I said, we make it good.
Couldn't stop my brain from reading it in a SA accent. :)
However, I don't want to diminish what others have experienced - I just want to put it into perspective. It is still a dangerous country to live in. Even though I lived in a 'safe' area I had to travel through 'unsafe' areas to get to friends, family, and work. On top of this the judicial system is a shambles due to corruption and incompetence. Apathy and burnout is extremely common in the police so they don't really care anymore because why should they? They bust their balls off investigating, arresting, etc only to have the court case thrown out because, for example, important court documents go missing and no one is arsed enough to investigate why :/
There are thousands of people looking to get into any country that is considered "safe".
Asylum seekers are being denied every day at borders, whether they're crossing the border into the Southern US, or floating ashore on a raft in Australia.
Your qualifications are meaningless, ask your next 10 taxi drivers where they're from and what they studied. More than half will have a degree from their home countries.
One only needs to try to move to a safer country.
As a species, we've become very tied to our original locations. Stability had its advantages in the early days of agriculture. Today I wish we'd make our borders more porous, legally and bureaucratically.
Why should a remote worker be paid less for the same created value, simply because they live in a "cheaper" country?
I was only able to move the UK because I found out I could get a British passport (so I did) plus my company paid for most of the relocation.
* Big, heavy solid doors. These things are bulletproof. It's a bit ridiculous, because I think smashing down the front door is probably not the most common burglary technique, but still, here you won't find any of those doors with the doorknob right next to a big plate of glass.
* Serious shutters. They're called 'rolling shutters' in English, and standard on houses here. http://www.topsystem.biz/wp-content/gallery/tapparelle/pvc4.... - these are not the wimpy 'venetian' blinds in the US, but sturdy things that will keep out the sun in the summer, cold in the winter, and when locked at the bottom, anyone but the most determined intruder, who would still likely need some good tools and time to boot. I wrote this a few years back: http://blog.therealitaly.com/2007/08/09/window-technology/
You don't do anything and just file an insurance claim. In fact, if you got a break-in and call the police, they come, but only to issue a report for your insurance company.
My wife was chased through her parents house at knifepoint by burglars. She locked herself in the bathroom and was on the phone with 911 as the burglars tried to kick the door in. They had almost gotten in when the cops showed up with sirens blaring. They left.
Two weeks later, they broke into a house a block away and killed two residents.
At my last apartment, I didn't think much of the cheap-shit door locks so I added a hotel-style locking bar for something like $20 - something I'd never bothered to do in the past. When I was out of the house and my wife was home alone, a pair of men in masks (she peeked out the peephole when the battering paused) started trying to break the door down. My very sweet, loves-everyone, 50-pounds-soaking-wet 6 month old puppy let out some very uncharacteristic and very intimidating-sounding barks and they booked it.
These are statistically unlikely occurrences in most safe countries but they still happen. A bit of security doesn't hurt and doesn't really cost much.
I doubt anyone in particular has it in for my wife, but she is certainly not short on bad luck!
The real damage in a break-in for us would be the feeling of being violated and feel unsafe in our own home, and that's not something that an alarm or guard will be able to repair.
People may complain about the high taxes I have to pay in Germany, but at least I never really have to fear for my personal safety or invest a ton of money in heavy home security systems.
It's actually better in that case not to have any alarm system.
So these people have benefitted by having a lower premium because they have an alarm and then not used it / found it inoperable in the event of a burglary.
Stay safe.
"I'm terrified of someone stealing my $400 TV and $600 computer, so I'm going to spend hours and hours of time and lots of money on an alarm system, guns, reinforced doors, new locks, better windows, and a goddamn bubble from The Prisoner."
[0]Pretty sure I heard something like this recently. One factor postulated was that since the price of consumer electronic items and whatnot typically targeted in burglaries has been falling, the risk/'reward' calculation of what a burglar would find in an average house versus the risk of being caught and going to jail is serving to deter potential burglars.
One thing to note is that burglars don't fixate on a house or apartment. They are looking for the easiest, lowest-risk house. Dogs immediately upgrade your house to "harder than the next house over."
I'm not worried at all about someone breaking into our house while I'm away. They can have my shit. I'm much more concerned about someone trying to invade while I'm home, because that's what gets people perforated. Dogs are an immediate deterrent to that.
Other than that, we have a couple guns from when my girlfriend worked at a prison and had psychos threatening her life on a daily basis. She keeps a taser in her center console of her car, I keep a heavy tire iron in the door of mine. That's about it.
- Dogs. Obviously this won't work for everyone, as you may not like dogs or be allowed to have them or able to afford them. Also not all dogs will be effective alarms; one of mine starts growling if she hears a butterfly down the street, while the other one would unlock the door for a burglar if she could, just hoping he'd pet her.
- Lighting on all points of entry. I have time-controlled lights on the doors and motion-sensing floodlights on the detached garage. All are LED so they're fairly efficient and long-lasting.
- Simplisafe security system. It's self-installed, wireless, and no contract. Depending on your subscription you can get monitoring only, or monitoring plus a mobile and web app. I really got this more for the 24/7 smoke and carbon monoxide alarm monitoring, but the entry and motion sensors are a nice addition. (If you do have dogs, you might consider declining police dispatch though.) And there are little stickers / signs to try to scare off burglars.
- A large can of pepper spray (stream, not spray). I don't own a firearm (and I'd really rather not use it in the house even if I did). I think someone breaking into the house would most likely be a burglar and would rather flee than get in a fight, so I think a non-lethal solution is good to have.
- Cameras. I have a mix of brands of wireless cameras and iSpyConnect, watching the entrances. This is more for me to check in on things remotely, but the recording could be handy too.
- Neighbors. I'm not super-close friends with mine, but I'm neighborly, and we look out for each other.
- Insurance. If you're renting, make sure you have renter's insurance. A security system may get you a discount on your home or renter's insurance also. And an automatic offsite backup system is a good idea, of course (I use CrashPlan).
Many people have internal gates separating sleeping areas from the rest of their homes, as well as CCTV and electric fences. If you live in a gated estate with security, you can afford to forgo some, but not all of these.
There'd be a low risk of minor burglary in my area, but the risk of anything violent would be almost nil.
I lock the doors and cross my fingers.
How do the companies in South Africa convince their customers they're worth paying for, and that they'll show up in a timely manner if the alarm goes off?
Plus, since incidents do happen more often, presumably the security guards are more prepared and alert, and competition keeps them on their toes.
There are also passive sensors inside the house so if I am not at home, I activate everything using a remote control. The system is pet friendly so my cat can move around freely.
I built a CCTV camera and installed it above the outside gate. It's more of a DIY camera than anything else, but it looks pretty good. I used a halogen light fixture to hold a Logitech web camera, and I've created my own adapter to convert the USB output to an ethernet cable setup, and back again to USB before it gets to my home server (which is in the garage). This was the cheapest way to do a USB webcam over such a long distance (8-9 meters).
I'll write a blog article about the camera project if anyone's interested in the details.
- magnetic contact sensor: http://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Sensor-Window-Warning-Switch/...
- raspberry pi: http://www.raspberrypi.org/
Wired up all contact sensor and connect to gpio on pi. Use pi to detect circuit break and send messages or phone calls via google voice.
Other than that, I have a Raspberry Pi with a camera running motion; it records video when movement is detected and offloads to a remote server. I have it in my room, pointing at the door, and I have a script that alerts me with Pushover whenever:
* Movement is detected and my phone is not in range.
* Movement is detected and an unknown WiFi device is in range (it sniffs WiFi probes).
That path is a dead end, and the last section is around 50 m (~165 feet) long and not even accessible to cars or wheelchairs; too narrow and with steps. The gate to my place is the very dead end.
That's why people have a hard time finding my place. Now, I feel like talking about security a bit more.
After the gate you have other 20 m (~65 feet) to the door, and most valuables are upstairs.
Basically a burglar would have to take multiple trips, up and down inside and outside stairs, to load up a car/van parked before the narrow end, with faces and plates invariably captured by cameras. Or do the multiple trips for maybe 300 m (~1000 feet) each to a parking spot across the busy main road (there's no space to park on my side of the road; you'd block it).
In case of break in while I'm out, after I get the notification on my phone I'd call a neighbor to block the path with his car and wait for the police to arrive and do the rest.
There are other possible break in spots, but they involve wall jumping, so damage would be way more limited. Somebody could jump into my garden over the 2 m (~6.5 feet) wall from my neighbor's, but they have to break into the (wealthier) neighbor's before.
The rest of the garden is surrounded by a concrete wall, 2 m (~6.5 feet) high on my side, 3 m (~10 feet) on the other side, that separates my house from a residence complex with its own security and all. But you can't really see this wall; it's hidden by thick foliage on my side. Once I got my quad-copter crashed into this residence and it took me 30 minutes worth of branch cutting (saw and hatchet) just to reach the wall, and I tried to grab it for a while, with a hook and hung from a tree, before even considering jumping that high, getting hurt, and possibly be unable to jump back in again.
So a burglar would rather steal shit from any not as logistically messy target.
TL;DR: my house can't be accessed by car and I'm surrounded with other houses and apartment blocks that are not as much trouble to burglarize.
Security is a process, and it depends on the situation how far you want to go. You can buy / build / rent a home security system & service. You can establish good security practices like not allowing location services data (or your own big mouth) to broadcast or otherwise tell the world where you are or when you are or are not home, not placing valuable items in window view, keeping your doors and windows locked, doing regular lock checks, switching your door deadbolt lock so that former owners/renters/etc can't get in, etc.
- No monthly fee
- A loud alarm
- Not necessarily calling the cops, I just want to be contacted, I can call the cops myself if needed.
I have found only two systems I like:
- The most expensive one: SmartThings, about 550$ for what I want, looks easy to set up. The only mentioned inconvenience is the wiress range of the hub. I have a pretty big house so I need to consider this.
- Skylink SC-2200 security system on Amazon. This is much cheaper 187$. But requires a landline (I don't have one). You can make it work using an "OBi100 VoIP" (also on amazon). The Obi100 can connect to google voice (free account but only in the US), it has a landline phone port which allows you to make the skylink system work. From what I have read you also need a cheap (8$) landline phone to make test calls at first.
Now I prefer the SmartThings system because it's simpler, and also you can control everything from an app on your phone. Skylink all it does is placing a phone call to your phone when something gets triggered ("door X has been opened"). Both systems used in this way have a failing point, your cable connection. If someone goes outside my house, and cuts the cable, my system is ineffective. With Skylink I think you can set up a sim card, and other system too. But that ends up costing a monthly fee, which I don't want.
I still haven't decided, I don't have much extra money for any system right now as I've spend so much for the house.
http://www.amazon.com/PiSector-Cellular-Wireless-Security-Qu...
You can program what numbers to call. I had one similar to this in a building I leased along with some IP cameras. It went off a few times by itself and woke me up in the middle of the night and I drove down to find nothing.. maybe the window vibration sensors or a mouse or something.
We moved recently, but I haven't put it up at the new house. My main security at home is two dogs and a short barrel pistol grip shotgun with a blinding light. Everything irreplaceable is in a fireproof gun safe that is bolted to the floor.
That said, if you want extra security in your house you could use deadbolt door and window locks. Those are very hard to get through. You could also buy a gun. Get a dog if you will be a responsible pet owner.
Cultivate a healthy attitude towards your possessions° - don't let them own you, and remember that it's just stuff at the end of the day.
° Incidentally, in my first draft I wrote relationship, not attitude, which is exactly the problem!
The thing is: the vast majority of burglaries are spur-of-the-moment things. Here in The Netherlands at least. Sure, if they know you have a lot of cash at home they might actively target you, but most of the time it's much simpler: they see an open window or 'easy' door lock and they act upon it. Burglars are extremely opportunistic. To fend off most burglars, you don't need to have the best security, you just have to have better security than the least protected.
If you read the crime reports in the US, this rings true. I can't tell you how many times you read 'phone stolen from unlocked vehicle' or 'entered house by slitting the screen door'. Common sense can go a long way.
For countries like South Africa and some countries in South America it's a whole other story I guess.
You already living in an apartment in a secure building. Who do you think is coming for you? The Ocean's 11 squad? ><
You can get a bunch of motion detectors and controllable outlets for cheap through Insteon/Smarthome. BestBuy has a decently priced starter kit with a hub, which uses both X10 and wireless transmission for redundancy. I've seen reviews of more expensive home automation systems that aren't as reliable because they use only one mode of communication, so I'm happy I chanced on the right choice. The system also works with ultra-cheap X10-only devices if that's good enough for you.
I have a couple controllable outlets with sirens attached to them that I can trigger remotely if my motion sensors and foscams show me something undesirable, and control the hub with Perl-based Misterhouse software. I think I saw Python and Java interfaces out there as well.
We were broken into last year while we were asleep. We were only alerted after a few minutes when one of our Dogs freaked out and started barking. They ran away.
The cameras will be useful in terms of potentially identifying future burglars, but it's also more about feeling violated. They actually made off with very little considering what was just lying around but I'd love to know exactly what they were doing while they were inside. Pretty scary with a newborn sleeping upstairs and we were non the wiser.
I add CCTV just to expedite any insurance claim. Socially, nothing beats tight-knit neighbors.
And if your toilet have one of those airduct/vent. Make sure the size is no more than a feet.
Sensors can trigger video camera, then images uploaded to cloud. Or just use the sensor built into camera (not as good).
The same sensor can alert your phone, and send image after which you can choose to alert cops or take more pictures or trigger alarm or even talk to the intruder all from your phone.
Some security cameras have "alarm out" and "audio out" for connecting optional alarms and speakers. I like Lorex IP cameras, but there's plenty of choice.
BUT
One thing I think a lot of people underestimate is a relationship with their neighbors. We don't have a neighborhood watch but we do communicate with our neighbors about shady activity and are always looking out for each other.
Depending on how easy it is to tell if you are home it might be helpful to install a doorcam. That way when thieves knock to see if you are home you can answer remotely.
The best possible outcome is nobody ever testing the measures that you have put into place.
Myself, I have a dog. I got to test the dog recently, when a locksmith was replacing the ignition switch on one of our cars. I kept waiting for him to finish. Finally, I gave up waiting for him and went to use the can. Of course, that's when he finished, and came in looking for me to pay him. The dog made it very clear that the locksmith was not coming any further into the house. It didn't attack him, but it drew a clear line on the floor: you go no further.
So, we lock our doors, and there's the dog. Anybody who gets past that has to worry about whatever I find handy. Lime-Away? Really good chemical warfare agent in a handy spray bottle (but it's almost like a gun, you can blind someone, so you'd better be sure before you pull the trigger). That tool for unscrewing supply hoses from the bottoms of sinks? (Good for jabbing or clubbing, light enough to get good velocity, heavy enough to do some damage.) Even a cat can be thrown, and will hit with claws out looking for some traction. Think. You've got way more weapons in a house than you might expect.
Now, would I consider that adequate in some situations like Mandatum's in South Africa? No way. But for where I live, it's probably good enough. (Or maybe I'm just cocky because I've been lucky.)
Is it personal safety from intruders? Or safety of possessions from burglary or damage?
If the latter, do you really own anything that cannot be re-purchased? Any works of art or otherwise irreplaceable high value items? If not, just get insurance and do whatever the policy requires (window bolts, certain grade of locks for doors, etc).
It's wireless, which is great. It's super simple to stick the sensors where you want and not have to worry about wiring anything up. I think my total setup time was somewhere in the range of 20 minutes, which included signing up for their monitoring.
It's fairly inexpensive, too. I think I paid like $150 for my set? It came with almost everything I needed (no glass break sensor and I needed an extra entry sensor).
All of the sensors seem to work well, with only minor issues occurring every so often. There are rare times that it simply doesn't register a sensor has been tripped (I can open my door, for example, and it doesn't think I have). Other times, the sensors trip for no reason at all. I've gotten calls about tripped motion sensors, but it has never been legitimate.
The entry sensors that go on the window don't have any glass breaking capabilities. There is a sensor that "listens" for the sound of breaking glass for about $35 on their website. I haven't tried it, so I can't speak to how well it works. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with impact sensors, though.
The monitoring service seems to be top notch. I have had to communicate with them 2-3 times. The first time was a little confusing, because they ask you for your master password, which I assumed (incorrectly) was my code to turn the alarm off. They don't tell you that you got it wrong for obvious reasons. The police went to my house, cleared it, and then billed me $300 for a false alarm (which they later waived). The other times I have spoken with them they have cleared everything up in seconds.
The online management is great, I can disable/arm/check the status of my alarm all from their website. The only thing that doesn't seem to work is the temperature sensor. I'm not sure if I have that or not, but their website makes it appear like I do.
My only major gripe is that for several days my base station lost connectivity with their monitoring station. Because of this, it acts only as an alarm, and can't alert the police if it goes off. Rebooting it, etc. did not help. I had to go through a lot of troubleshooting with them to get it to work again. That being said, it's the only time I have had to contact their support, and my e-mail at 1 a.m. was answered within minutes.
I would suggest this if you are looking for a low cost solution that isn't guarding a pot of gold or something. If you just want the piece of mind that you can turn it on and get alerted if someone or something trips a sensor, then great. If you are looking for advanced protection it's probably best to invest more into a professionally installed system.
Most people are poor shots with a handgun, especially if woken up in the middle of the night. A shotgun is a point in the general direction and shoot kind of thing. It also has a lot more stopping power than a handgun.
Also, with a shotgun, you can use larger gauge bird shot or something like #4 buck shot and it is less likely to penetrate walls and hurt someone you didn't intend.
A 12 gauge pump shotgun is also an intimidating looking and sounding weapon. Much more so than something like a 9mm handgun. Finally, the laws regarding shotguns for many area of the US are likely to be much less restrictive than on handguns.
I understand your comment about the unwieldiness of shotguns, but in my particular case, my shotgun has double pistol grips and no stock. I would be much less concerned about loosing control of it than I would a pistol. I have a top mounted light that triggers when the front pistol grip is grasped. It is (almost) as short as the law allows... the entire weapon is just over 2 feet long (28 inches to be exact). I hope I never have to use it in defense or worse yet, shoot to kill someone. For this reason I have 5 shells in the chamber. The first two are birdshot... deadly at close range, less likely to be so at a further range. Then I have two rounds of #4 buck, then a slug. I have 5 more rounds of #4 buck in holders at the top. I've considered having the first two rounds rubber like the police use.
Now, I have to admit I haven't patterned any shotgun at close range, but everything I've read and seen says at home defense ranges you have to aim them with almost as much care as a rifle, the pattern expands rather slowly, even with cylinder choke (no choke). And I know from too much wingshooting that at range you have to be pretty precise as well.
A quick check with Google came up with http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-3-the-shotgun-me... which doesn't fill me with confidence in the lack of interior house construction penetration of #4 buck. Note, per the above, that the pattern at 12 feet was 3.5 inches, which matches pretty well the 1 inch spread/yard metric I first read about in Patriot Games. And #4 buckshot is not a good perpetrator; if you're a Facklerite you want 16 inches (in case you have to shoot thought an arm to reach the vitals). Birdshot is obviously much more iffy.
As for intimidation, well, some people don't intimidate worth a damn, although I agree a Europellet dispenser is not a good choice unless their are other constraints; me, I stick with .45 ACP in M1911s (primarily because the gun has fit my hands like a glove since I was a teen).
It's true, in some areas of the US a shotgun is your best option because of restrictions on handgun ownership, but this is not true for the vast majority of the country, land and people. Like, outside of Hawaii? and several of the Northeast states.
No stock == not very accurate in most people's hands, negating the aiming advantages there while indeed mitigating to some degree the issues if it gets up close and personal. Me, I keep my police configuration with full length stock 870 in my safe, loaded with #1 buckshot, which all things being equal is 40% better than #00 (lots more pellets with sufficient penetration). I bought it while living in Massachusetts, one of those states where getting a handgun is difficult to impossible in the more urban areas, now I've got it mostly in case I need a literal riot gun.
And if, like in most of the nation (although absent a saving throw with the Supremes it looks doomed in California), you can carry concealed, there's a lot to be said for learning well only one type of gun, i.e. not just a particular semi-auto handgun model, but ones in a family that are more and less suited for carry and home defense, that have the same controls, ergonomics, etc. E.g. there's lots of models to choose from in the Glock family.
1)Notice the drywall collapsing? That's what is going to happen to a person getting shot at close range with a 12 gauge.. even with birdshot. It would be something like getting smacked with a sledgehammer. I'm less interested in penetrating vitals than flat out knocking the person down. A person who's arm, or even lungs are penetrated cleanly by a high caliber round might still be functional for a bit... functional enough to shoot back.
2)Even though the #4 buck did penetrate multiple layers of drywall in this guys test, what is the lethality after 2 or 3 layers? You say yourself that #4 buck is less likely to penetrate vitals in the first place. Your 45 on the other hand will likely easily penetrate multiple layers of drywall, then completely penetrate the person on the other side.
Anyway, different strokes and all that. A firearm is a good home defense weapon in general. Always nice to meet another person who doesn't feel owning a firearm makes one a Neanderthal of some kind. Where I live, I wouldn't be without one in the home. I sleep much better at night and feel I could protect my girlfriend and our belongings against invasion.
I also have a number of other firearms including military type rifles, hunting rifles and some handguns, but the shotgun is the one I keep in bedroom for defense.
I don't believe the kinetics you're posting will work on a human. F = mv^2, force = mass * velocity squared, so velocity is a big factor (although much less so on the target unless it usefully dumps energy before exiting). The recoil you feel will be significantly greater than the impact the target gets unless at contact range, because in addition to the lead, higher velocity gasses exit the muzzle (although a muzzle brake will mitigate that at a cost of visual and aural ergonomics, see Obama's famous shooting picture). The target is only going to get the impact of the lead. The only mitigating factor is that the recoil you feel is spread across what's initially a larger area, although it won't take many yards for the areas to be equal, following the ~1 inch spread/yard of distance rule of thumb.
And you're welcome. I grew up hunting and shooting, and after going to college in fact got my first guns after getting a girlfriend to protect in the Boston area, which was and still is pretty high crime.
- renter's insurance
- off-site backups
Sometimes it's best to focus on mitigating risk. If someone were to break in and steal something, would you be able to replace those things?
In 2011, there were an estimated 2,188,005 burglaries
Victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $4.8 billion in lost property in 2011
Seems pretty high to me.
Additional factors just from the linked page are:
1.) Burglaries of residential properties accounted for 74.5, of which the OP specifically mentions
2.) 60.6 percent of burglaries involved forcible entry, and 6.3 percent were forcible entry attempts.
So naively (without additional data on if forcible entry is less or more common for commercial or residential properties), then one could assume that a more realistic number is 2.2M * .745 * .669 = 1.09M which is about half the chance given the "totals".
This is also compounded if the OP is actually living in a "safe" area (or if it just feels that way)
200X comparisons: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Burglar...
2012 (p. 8): http://www.civitas.org.uk/crime/crime_stats_oecdjan2012.pdf
A higher burglary rate than the US in both rankings are Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, New Zealand, and Australia.
(In fact, that makes me wonder a little whether these numbers might be a mix of both "burglaries" and "whether the citizenry even bothers to report" – with other countries having more burglaries that people don't report because it doesn't help...)
One thing I'm surprised by is the ridiculous level of assaults committed in Britain. What's going on there?
Scotland used to be the most violent nation in the developed world according to the UN.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6415504
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-streets-of-sc...
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/apr/11/ukcrime.lornamarti...
Things have got better over the last five years. It's still pretty bad. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22276018
In the US, if you're going to assault someone, they may well be packing. It makes you think twice. But in the UK, you know they're not (with close to certainty), so the only question is whether you're tougher than them.
US per 100000 people: 715 Netherlands per 100000 people: 428
For reference, England is 986, Sweden is 1029, Australia is 1017, Belgium is 891, and Japan is 117.