Archive for the ‘Home Security’ Category

Unfortunately, burglaries and break-ins happen quite regularly in homes across North America. In 2010, a burglary took place every 15 seconds in the United States. The best way to prevent burglaries and to protect yourself is to understand where and when they take place and to secure your home with the appropriate security technology.

Renter’s Insurance recently published statistics on break ins in the United States. The information can help you understand how burglar’s think so that you are able to better protect your home, your valuables and your family.

Burglaries of residential properties accounted for 73.9% of all burglary offenses in 2010. Contrary to what some may believe, the majority of residential burglaries take place during the day, not at night. Most burglaries take place between 10am and 3pm, since most people are away from their homes during these times. Break ins take place most often during the summer months (July and August) while February has the fewest number of break ins. Weather is certainly a factor in these cases and the fact that many people take long vacations during the summer makes their homes tempting targets for burglars.

Single-family homes in the middle of a block are more common targets for burglars than homes on corner lots. This is likely because a house on the corner is more easily spotted than a house in the middle of a block. Burglars do not want to be caught commiting crimes and thus they target homes where they are less likely to be noticed.

How do burglars get into your home?

In most cases, criminals enter your home in the same way that you do, through the front door. This was the entry point of choice in 34% of burglaries. A first floor window was chosen in 23% of cases and the back door was used in 22%. Garages are used to enter a home 9% of the time.

Most criminals head to the master bedroom first when breaking into a home. This is usually where jewellery, safes, cash and other valuables are held. The most common places for burglars to look for items in your bedroom are in dresser drawers, desks and in closets. Home offices are also a major target for burglars, as these rooms usually include electronics and other valuable items.

Money, jewellery and electronics are by far the most frequently stolen items in home burglaries.

You can protect yourself from a burglary with strong home security tools. For more information or to speak with one of our loss prevention professionals about protecting your home and your valuables, please contact us today. We have been protecting people and property for more than 20 years.

There are a number of ways to prevent criminals from breaking into your home or business. Alarm systems, security cameras, window bars and gates and other security technology are vital to keeping your property safe from criminals. However, it has also been proven that proper design can reduce crime and the fear of crime in a neighbourhood or a particular property.

A combination of security technology and natural surveillance, access control and other techniques can make an area safer and drastically reduce crime. Crime prevention through environmental design is a multi-disciplinary approach to detering criminal behaviour through design techniques.

The ideas of crime prevention through environmental design have been practiced and refined for quite some time. Today these tactics are used in both residential and commercial environments to limit the opportunity for crime and to also reduce the fear of crime in a given area. Urban planners and those designing neighbourhoods and commercial areas such as office parks or shopping centres often take safety and security into account when creating a design.

There are several ways that you can use these tactics to protect your home or office. For example, a key aspect of crime prevention through enviromental design is the idea of “natural surveillance.” This means creating an environment that maximizes visibility and increases the ability to spot suspicious people or activities. This technique can be used in your home quite effectively. For example, you should ensure that your home’s main entrance is clearly visible from the street and that there are no bushes or shrubs located nearby where criminals could hide. Installing motion-activated security lighting over all entrances will increase visibility at night and make it more difficult for criminals to act without being caught.

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Safetech Security is proud to unveil its new Smart car customer service vehicle, which is now being used to service Safetech clients.

The car will be dispatched to client’s homes, offices, or businesses in the event of minor problems with their alarms or equipment. For example in the event of low battery, power failure, or other various technical issues, a Safe-Tech employee will be dispatched to deliver, install and test replacement parts or repair any equipment that requires it.

The car (seen in picture above) will be parked at Safetech’s office seven days a week and accessible to the service department and trained technicians.  The car has a 3 cylinder gas fuel efficient premium unleaded gas engine, so as a result reduces the impact on the environment each trip a Safe-Tech technician makes to a client’s home.

The car is clearly marked in with Safetech’s logos and colours so keep a look for it on the roads, and don’t hesitate to call if you have any issues and we will gladly send it your way!

While Toronto is generally a safe city, crime does unfortunately occur. Property crime is one of the most common crimes and it can affect almost anyone at any time.

The Toronto Star recently published a list of property crime by area. The top 20 Toronto neighbourhoods with the most property crime are:

• Southwest Parkdale
• Greenwood/Gerrard/railway
• Steeles/Jane/Finch/Gosford
• Overlea Blvd/Thorncliffe Park
• Queen/Dundas/Spadina/Bathurst
• Northwest of Victoria Park/Danforth
• Lawrence/McCowan/Brimley/401
• Winchester/Parliament/DVP/Bloor
• Southwest of Lawrence/Markham Rd
• Carlton/Dundas/Jarvis/Parliament
• Bloor/Dovercourt/College/Brock
• Albion/Kipling/Martin Grove/Mt Olive
• Hampton/Danforth/Bain/Pape
• Lake Shore/23rd St/lake/13th St
• Winchester/Parliament/DVP/Gerrard
• Queen/Dundas/Jarvis/Parliament
• Sheppard/Highbury/Jane/401
• Bloor/Roncesvalles/Sorauren/Wright
• Finch/Bathurst/cemetery/Senlac
• Danforth between Main and Woodbine

The crimes that were tracked in those statistics include: Breaking and entering, motor vehicle or bicycle theft, possession of stolen property, theft, shoplifting and mischief against property or causing property damage.

What these statistics show us is that, unfortunately, property crime take place in a variety of areas all across the city. It’s not confined to one neighbourhood and it’s not easy to determine a pattern between areas with a high level of property crime.

You need to protect yourself against property crime regardless of where you live in Toronto.

As per Toronto Star bellow are listed the high burglary rates:

Here are the top 20:
1 University
2 Bay Street Corridor
3 Kensington-Chinatown
4 Moss Park
5 Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills
6 East End-Danforth
7 Casa Loma
8 York University Heights
9 Annex
10 Church-Yonge Corridor
11 Waterfront Communities-The Island
12 Rosedale-Moore Park
13 Woodbine Corridor
14 Clairlea-Birchmount
15 West Humber-Clairville
16 South Riverdale
17 Little Portugal
18 Roncesvalles
19 The Beaches
20 Forest Hill South

Security cameras and appropriate home alarm systems and commercial alarm systems can go a long way to protecting your property and ensuring that you do not become a victim of property crime. Not only will these security systems deter criminals from attempting to break into or damage your property, but they will also make it easier for the authorities to catch and identify the criminals after the fact.

For more information on Toronto crime statistics, please visit the Neighbourhood Crime Report section of this security blog.

It’s not only important that you equip your home with a home security system, but it’s also important that you equip your home with the RIGHT home security system. What’s the right security system? That depends on your home.

When you’re planning on getting a security system or a home alarm system, you’ll want to take some time to discover exactly what kind of security you need. A great way to do that is to look at your house with a critical eye and figure out its weak points. Examine your entire property and look for areas that could be exploited by criminals.

The most common weak points in a home are the windows and doors. Most people secure the front door and many people secure the main floor windows, but there are several other entrances that you should pay attention to as well. Second floor windows, back doors, sliding doors, basement windows and any other entry points are potential weak points. A criminal could use any of these entrances to break in your home. You’ll want to make sure that every door is installed properly and locked with a deadbolt. You may want to place bars or gates on your windows and sliding doors. If you’re getting a home alarm system installed, make sure that all doors and windows are monitored.

Don’t forget about the garage door either. You likely have a number of valuables in your garage, including your car. Criminals will take advantage of an unlocked garage to rob you of whatever they can get their hands on.

You’ll also want to watch out for areas where criminals can hide. Trim back bushes around your home so that potential burglars cannot use them for cover. Install security lighting around your property to keep criminals in view. Use security cameras to track anyone who attempts to enter your home.

Your home security system is only as strong as its weakest point, so ensure that there are no weak points. That will keep your home and your family safe and secure.

Home security systems and business security systems are great ways to keep your property safe. Installing alarm systems, security cameras, window bars, gates and other security services can certainly keep your property secure.

However, there is one aspect of security that people often overlook: Lighting.

Having proper lighting around your home or office is a very effective way to protect your property. How? It goes back to one of the most basic aspects of security: Criminals do not want to be seen.

This is the same reason why security cameras are so effective. No one wants to be caught breaking into a building or vandalizing a property. Not only does being seen increase the risk of being noticed while the crime is taking place, but it also greatly increases the risk that the criminal will be identified and caught by police. Having proper lighting will deter criminals.

You can make your home or office safer and protect it from danger by installing security lighting in various key locations. Take a look at your property and try to get inside the mind of a potential criminal. Think of places where the criminal could hide in the shadows. Think of where he or she could plan an attack. Then light those places. If you have adequate lighting, you’ll eliminate places where criminals can hide.

You’ll also want to illuminate the areas around doors and windows. If these locations are lit up, criminals won’t be able to attempt a break-in without being noticed. Lighting also helps security cameras capture more detailed video, which will make it easier to catch criminals in the act and hold them responsible for their crimes.

Lighting can also protect your person, not just your property. Criminals often lurk in the darkness while they wait to strike. It’s important to have proper lighting near your driveway, your garage, your garden, the walkway to your home and any other areas where you could be in danger of an attack.

Two of the most popular types of lighting are motion-activated lights and lights that are activated by darkness. Motion-activated lights turn on whenever someone walks by them. These are great because they are energy-efficient. You’ll only use the lights when you need them. They can also startle a burglar if they turn on suddenly. Lights that are activated by darkness turn on  automatically during the light or other low-light times. These are great because you don’t have to remember to turn them on and off all the time.

We recommend that you use a mixture of both types of lighting. For more information on home and business security services, please contact us today.

There are over 12,392 reported burglaries in Toronto each year. These burglaries are not unique to certain neighbourhoods or pockets of the city; every home in Toronto is susceptible to the threat of break-ins. There are various techniques residents implement every day to protect their home from this looming threat, some strategies work, while others are less successful. How do you know if you are taking the right steps to protecting your home? In a recent article in the Bayview Post by Malcolm Johnston, an unnamed ex-convict and burglar visited a handful of neighbourhoods throughout Toronto and detailed what home owners can do to safeguard against burglaries.

One of the first lines of defence that many home owners use to prevent break-ins is a security alarm system. However, as the ex-convict points out in the story, an alarm system is useless if it is not properly installed. Most alarm systems are triggered by motion detectors placed throughout a home. When armed these motion detectors will trigger the alarm if motion is detected. According to the burglar in the story most of these motion detectors leave a foot and a half gap in coverage along the floor. He indicated that many times he would be able to bypass a motion detector by crawling on the floor. If he saw the monitor go red he would lay silent and still until the light turned green. There are two ways to ensure that your motion detectors provide the best possible protection. The first is position them so they cover the floor. The second is position them in places that hide them from intruders. The burglar in the story admitted that if he ever set off the alarm, he left as quickly as he could.

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The modern home is filled with various computer systems that monitor and protect your home from a variety of elements, such as breaks-ins, fire, gas leaks and floods. These systems combined make up what has become known as a smart home. A smart home is more than just a buzz word; it is a system of computers that when properly implemented and monitored can provide your home with safety and security that is unlike anything else that exists today on the market. The key to getting that safety and security though is having system monitoring; which means each element can be linked together and be monitored by a security company’s monitoring center.

The first component of system monitoring is one we are all familiar with; smoke detectors. As we all know smoke detectors are a vital part of the safety and security of any home or apartment. Smoke Detectors should be installed in various places throughout your home and should be serviced and checked on a regular basis. What many people do not realize is that you can add to the security a smoke detector provides by implementing system monitoring. This way when your smoke detector goes off it will not only alert you but the staff at a monitoring centre, who can dispatch the fire department to your house right away.

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Carbon Monoxide is a deadly toxic gas that is undetectable due to the fact that it is a colourless, odourless and tasteless. Each year hundreds of people are killed across North America in their own homes by this deadly poisonous gas known as the silent killer.Carbon Monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of the fossil fuels that are present in very common household appliances like furnaces. Because Carbon Monoxide can be generated from everyday appliances it is a necessity to protect yourself and your family by installing a monitored carbon monoxide detector. Take a look at this video to learn more about how Carbon Monoxide detectors save lives.

SafeTech CEO Sean O'Leary

I would like to thank the committee for allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of myself, the alarm industry and the many thousand of clients that SafeTech monitors and protects in this great city.

I own an alarm company called SafeTech Alarm Systems that services the Greater Toronto area. We are responsible for monitoring homes and businesses, mainly average size dwellings and small businesses, protecting people and their property.  We monitor against unlawful entry and various hazards such as flood, fire, carbon monoxide and natural gas poisoning etc…

I am here today to raise some concerns regarding the changes made in April 2010 to the City of Toronto False Fire Alarm Bylaw and state my objection to the proposed budget increase now being contemplated. I also encourage you to support Councilor Lindsay Ruby’s motion at City Council to re-instate the original Bylaw exemption of one false alarm per year.

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