Just a note for those of you that put some faith in alarm systems... I've responded to hundreds and hundreds of burglaries in my career and one of the first questions I ask while I'm on the way is "what's the turnaround time from the alarm companies time of alert to the call to law enforcement?" It would piss you off to know how much I hear 10 to 15 minutes. And that's been across the board as far as companies, commercial and residential. I don't think it's a bad idea to have one, but it's not going to be your saving grace in any case.
I'm sure I'll sound paranoid to some, but I've seen up close what it looks like for those that lay down and choose to be a victim. That will not be me or my family.
I've installed thousands and worked on thousands more. Alarms were my thing before the army and for a little while after. When the alarm goes off, it contacts the monitoring station right away and sends a burst transmission of all the data really fast and it pops up on the screen of an operator, flashing, and click on it. All they have to do is click on the numbers to start down the customer's call list. If you get no answer or no password from the home owner, next thing to do is click on the police and dispatch. I worked in a monitoring station too for a few months when I started university.
I can see ten to fifteen minutes with some of the fuckups and larger entities even, but the ones that are wired tight don't do this, they're pretty fast. We monitored our own alarms at the last place I worked and depending on the type of alarm, we'd either dispatch right away or try calling the customer first. Depends on the code. If an alarm comes in and other operators aren't busy, then they'd pull up the same screen and work from it simultaneously to speed things up. Basically, if we don't get the password from the first number or two they give us, depending, the rest of the list is just to meet the police there.
So a good alarm installed PROPERLY (and this takes either money and time, or if you're skilled enough, you can do most or all of it). All the entry points, doors, windows, ideally need to be contacted. Motions in all the rooms and halls. 30watt siren outside or tucked in above the soffet. I like a siren and strobe in a steel box mounted high up on the side of tallest part of the roof. All this hardwired if possible, or as much as possible, with four conductor wire ran to all the 2 conductor switches. An additional 2 conductor wire ran to all the motion detectors and keypads and sirens. Those get spliced in series at the panel and form a tamper along all the wires. Smoke detectors will reduce your homeowner's insurance by as much as 15% or maybe more, put one in each room and hallway. Stickers, signs.
Motion lights are great. Get some for all around. If you can install fence beams, you can tell if anyone is coming up a long driveway. Or proximity sensors buried under the driveway or next to it.
Cameras outside, some inside, these you can maybe get from Costco if they still sell a quality setup like a Sony. Hide 'em, but let one or two show for a deterrent. Secure the recorder.
RFID tags. This is new but hopefully catching on. Basically you buy these tags and hide them and install them in valuables. All around the house. Then if anything is stolen and it passes within range of a computer or phone that has the application, it logs the GPS coordinates and alerts. It's been around a few years but I don't know how well it's caught on. If it does, it'll make theft almost impossible. The other option to this is to get active transmitters that go hot when they cross the threshold of the house or leave the property. They cost more of course so you'll only be installing a few as opposed to 50 RFID tags.
Vaults/safes. Go to a safe superstore or like a Costco for safes. Every city should have one I'd imagine, look around. They sell all sorts including scratch and dents. Forget the gunsafe, get the scratch/dent, and talk him down, on the biggest TL30X6 jewelry vault they have. They'll hold up against fire better and for longer and are practically impregnable. These are the safes they recommend jewelry stores to use, though they're seldom the big ones. Most stores still have the older TL30 or TL15 safes and are turning 'em in for the X6's for insurance. If you can get the TL30X6 that will suit you, get a used TL30 or TL15. Still better than a gun safe. Shoot for dual locks if you can, a combo and a key. Get the big one, then if you need another later, bide your time and find the right one for the right price on CL or at the superstore. Good for smaller things, pistols, SBR's, parts, etc. Or ammo.
Dogs are great for pets and make good friends but don't rely on them for security. You don't want your dog getting killed. Now if he give off the special bark that someone's there, well, check it out. "Fuck the dog, beware the owner" applies here.
I don't know, those are always my recommendations. And of course your firearm but that's not mentioned because here it's a given and up to the individual. I like to keep my 340PD on the table next to me, it goes everywhere, and the G27 in VM2 rig when I'm carrying the pistol, and my trusty .300BLK SBR and suppressor.
