In Gunfighter Cast Episode GC-132, Joe Weyer of Alliance Defense Training and I talk about developing a home defense plan and offer ways to harden your home based on historical criminal attacks and burglaries.

Do you know what a good home defense plan looks like? Meyer recommends window and door preparation as well as an intentional layout of landscape and lighting. We also cover alarm systems and surveillance cameras.

But beyond preparing the structure of your home against invasion, what do you do when an intruder is in your home? Have you trained with your firearm? Does everyone in your family know the drill for such an event? Do you know your state laws and how to coordinate with dispatch and the police who come to your assistance?

Listen up and learn how to make your home defense plan.



This podcast was originally published in January of 2017.



Host: Daniel Shaw

Guest: Joe Weyer

Introduction/Timeline: Stephanie Kimmell
Home Defense | Harden Your Home and Develop a Plan
Timeline
1:08 Home Defense: When you hear that bump in the night and you realize that someone's broken into your home — do you know what to do?

2:35 Where do you start?

• You need to have a plan.

·Consider the layout of your home. People who live in two-story homes will need a different plan than those who live in ranch-style homes.

·Make sure your doors and locks are 'hardened', the windows are kept shut, and that you have a good alarm system. Even so, it's not difficult for invaders to breach any door.

·If you're going to arm yourself, make sure you have training and are able to make decisions in defense of your family. Get yourself up to speed on the Use of Force laws in your state and be able to positively identify, for sure, whether or not the intruder is truly a bad guy. Make sure the firearm is stored properly and is easily accessible.

PC: Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images

4:47 How do you 'harden' a window?

·Make sure that the locks are in good repair and are engaged. Often, windows may be shut but not locked due to forgetfulness or even swelling that resulted from humidity.

·Put film on the windows, it can help resist when someone tries to break the glass. If installed properly, the film functions to keep the glass together instead of shattering. The film offers other benefits in the case of natural disasters as well by the same function.

6:36 Maintain the landscaping and lighting around your house. Bad guys like dark, shadowy areas where they can lurk undetected.

Image Source: Safewise.

·Keep a clean perimeter around your house so the neighbors can have a clear view from the street.

·Thorny bushes by the windows aren't really effective at discouraging invaders. They can easily be cut away and most people trim them a bit away from the house anyway, providing a space for the intruder to take cover.

7:37 How do you set up a good lighting system?

·Look at other houses and take note — you can tell the ones that are well-lit.

·Landscaping lights set around the house are effective, and they don't have to cost a lot of money. Some are solar powered, and LED lights are more cost effective than mercury lights.

·Mount the lights high so they illuminate the perimeter of your house, and can't be easily knocked out.

8:54 How do you 'harden' doors? Make it so difficult that they give up or realize that they've made so much noise that they abandon the effort.

·Replace wooden doors with steel doors.

·Switch the door from inward-opening to outward-opening. Doing so alleviates the ability for an intruder to just kick the door in, even if it's set in a wood frame. With set up, they have to bring tools — it's a deterrent. It's also going to be noisier.

·If it isn't an option to switch your door from a push door to a pull door, the two screws in the strike plate are the only barrier between the intruder and you. With standard doors, the screws are small and all the bad guy has to ...