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| (Image courtesy of Pixabay) |
In this article, I will discuss the security measures in protecting your home and keeping your family safe from intruders, as well as screening your household staff and selecting party caterers and repair men.
1. Leave a “courtesy light” at the porch or front door from dusk to dawn. A light with a dusk-to-dawn sensor is highly recommended.
2. Consider the use of other types of security lighting system for use in emergencies. Lights placed in strategic areas around the house would make it difficult for the would-be-assailants or robbers to hide in the shadows.
3. Keep the boundary fences in good condition and make sure they block the rooms in the house that are often used.
4. Remove or trim shrubberies around your house, particularly shrubs near paths and driveways to make concealment of persons or devices difficult.
5. Make a safety check each night before retiring to ensure that all doors and windows are locked.
6. Treat late callers with high suspicion.
7. Consider keeping a dog. A barking dog will warn you of strangers or trespassers.
8. Know your domestic helpers. Let them fill out a Personal History Statement (PHS) or other similar forms. Take their pictures yourself, if not, ask for their current pictures. This will serve as a deterrent to those who have criminal plans.
9. Conduct due diligence. Verify the information declared by the helpers on their PHS.
10. Avoid walk-in helpers or helpers dropping names of an acquaintance who are not available for verification.
11. Schedule the works/repairs in your residence and never leave the workers in the house on their own.
12. Exercise utmost care when holding parties or gatherings at your home. Workers, helpers, and caterers should be properly checked before the function. Be wary of those last-minute substitutions.
13. Prepare an action plan or emergency plan in case of intrusion or other threats. The plan should involve the protection of family members as well as the helpers in the house and also of the household pets.
1. Leave a “courtesy light” at the porch or front door from dusk to dawn. A light with a dusk-to-dawn sensor is highly recommended.
2. Consider the use of other types of security lighting system for use in emergencies. Lights placed in strategic areas around the house would make it difficult for the would-be-assailants or robbers to hide in the shadows.
3. Keep the boundary fences in good condition and make sure they block the rooms in the house that are often used.
4. Remove or trim shrubberies around your house, particularly shrubs near paths and driveways to make concealment of persons or devices difficult.
5. Make a safety check each night before retiring to ensure that all doors and windows are locked.
6. Treat late callers with high suspicion.
7. Consider keeping a dog. A barking dog will warn you of strangers or trespassers.
8. Know your domestic helpers. Let them fill out a Personal History Statement (PHS) or other similar forms. Take their pictures yourself, if not, ask for their current pictures. This will serve as a deterrent to those who have criminal plans.
9. Conduct due diligence. Verify the information declared by the helpers on their PHS.
10. Avoid walk-in helpers or helpers dropping names of an acquaintance who are not available for verification.
11. Schedule the works/repairs in your residence and never leave the workers in the house on their own.
12. Exercise utmost care when holding parties or gatherings at your home. Workers, helpers, and caterers should be properly checked before the function. Be wary of those last-minute substitutions.
13. Prepare an action plan or emergency plan in case of intrusion or other threats. The plan should involve the protection of family members as well as the helpers in the house and also of the household pets.
