The Family Guide to Home and Personal Security- A Common Sense Approach

By John W. Henderson

The book emerged out of the experience of a veteran police officer, turned security manager who wants to make the world a little bit safer. It is a simple, easy-to-read security guide for families that is not aimed at selling expensive security systems. It covers everyday topics that will help families be safer in their neighborhoods and the book contains helpful ideas that people can implement without spending money.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483510491

Book preview

Approach.

Introduction:

Most books written about personal and home security are actually aimed at selling lucrative consultation services or expensive security hardware such as camera systems and alarms. This book has been written as a layman’s guide to family safety and reducing risk in an increasingly volatile world without emptying the family bank account to achieve it.

Many of the following suggestions and ideas are common sense and many are security industry standard and best practices. They are meant to get property occupants thinking about their environment so they can make the best decisions based on their own situation, while improving their general awareness so that they do not get caught in a situation that they cannot handle. Personal security is an individual’s own personal responsibility and only that individual can ensure that he/she is reducing general risk when that person leaves their residence.

Of course, the suggestions in this book cannot guarantee that the readers will never become victims of crime, but they are good everyday ideas to consider in improving personal awareness of situation and possible threats in the effort to reduce personal risk in an unpredictable world. Some of the advice is basic knowledge that most people already know, but do not practice. It is hoped by the author that discussing some of the these obvious ideas, and providing solid explanations for them will prompt families to re-examine their behaviors and omissions, and start doing things they did not bother with in the past.

Feeling Safe

People feel safe when they are within their own environment and can exercise control over that environment to the point where their adrenalin shuts off and they feel safe and can relax. When they leave that familiar and controlled environment, the safe and secure feeling that people require to relax will concurrently decrease as their general awareness/alertness and adrenalin increases. People must increasingly be aware of their surroundings outside of their personal environment to ensure they are not taken by surprise and become victims of crime or accidents unnecessarily. The following situations are typical of most cities and towns and hopefully will give people some ideas about their own approach to these situations and that they alone are responsible for personal and family safety.

Leaving your own home

When a person leaves their own home, either by walking or by vehicle, it is always a good idea for them to have a quick look around just to see who is watching them leave or what is going on in the neighborhood. If the aware person does not like what they see, they still have the chance to make the critical decision to either leave or stay at home. It is always possible and safer to go back inside and leave a bit later if something seemed odd or out of place.

The reasoning behind possibly delaying the departure from a secure environment is that that the occupant may happen to leave just as a criminal is walking by or driving down the street. The criminal may be out looking for a random target to perform a break and enter for example, and the home occupant may have just provided the criminal with the information that they are leaving the house and there may not be anyone there for some time. It is perhaps enough time for him/her to break in and take some items of value.

This is a good strategy to follow rather than to do what most people do, in rushing outside, jumping into the car and leaving without looking around first.

Routine: Human beings are creatures of habit and many laugh about their routines, and enjoy doing the same things at the same times every day. Unfortunately, routine is very poor security practice. When criminals and terrorists scout their future victims, they look for routine so they can plan the hit and get away with minimal risk to themselves and with great surprise to the victim. For example, if a person gets