How to Keep Your Valuable Items Secure
The presence of valuables in the house is a sure magnet for burglars especially if they somehow know something about their presence. If you have valuables in your house be informed that burglars will try to zip into your home unseen and zap out again as fast as they can. This is the hallmark of burglars and they use it so successfully many get away with their loot long before you become aware that your valuables are missing!
The first blockade you can place in their path of entry and their planned exit is a warning system of your choice. This can be an alarm system that automatically raises the alarm when the circuit is interrupted, a CCTV surveillance camera system that can both raise the alarm and take images on film or an access control system that can alert you if there’s someone at the front door. All these security systems are highly effective in carrying out their intended purposes and you’d be helping yourself if you installed one or two of these systems in your house.
While installing your chosen system would be an added benefit for protecting your family and valuables, you should not ignore the importance and effectiveness of other measures that you can put in place to thwart burglars. They include the following:
- There’s nothing more dangerous and revealing than advertising the fact that you have valuables stored in your house. Don’t display you high-end items for all to see such as the new Apple laptop or wide screen plus the speakers and operating deck accessories. Making your valuables seen by passers-by is really inviting trouble and be assured that you automatically become part of “burglar territory” when you do so.
- Even the smallest valuable is worth hiding in a safe place! And don’t use the freezer because its value as a security place is overrated simply because it’s known to burglars. If you have valuable jewellery that are small and you lack a safe for keeping them, provide yourself with a makeshift box you made yourself and store it in a safe place where you know burglars won’t look.
- It’s always wise to leave some mark on the larger valuables that you keep in the house such as your video entertainment equipment, computers and even bicycles. When you do this by engraving for instance your driving license on the surface of these valuables, you are hardly preventing burglars from doing what they normally do. However it does help when the burglar who stole them is caught and you can easily identify what belongs to you from the engraved license number.
Is Your Home a Burglar Proof Haven?
The idea of forging together an environment that will safeguard the safety and freedom of self, family and valuables from fellow human beings may seem farfetched. But for your sake it’s an investment that must be done with due diligence and total commitment. The availability of security systems is not the problem as there are numerous systems that can be easily found in both conventional and online e-stores.
The range in pricing varies with the type of system and make with some systems attaching somewhat high-end prices. However, if safety and security against possible accidents and damage as well as loss of valuables are really your priority concerns, then prices shouldn’t be a hindrance. For instance in the long run, it may be more worthwhile to purchase an updated and highly efficient system that will safeguard the wealth you hold in your home.
The most obvious need for a reliable and efficient security system is when you are planning not to be in your home for an extended period of time such as going on a month long vacation. This is the time when your home and valuables are at maximum risk and equally a time you’d want to make your home less exposed to burglary activities. These scenarios are not a problem if you really care about your wealth and solutions galore are available for you to acquire and use.
Are you immediately thinking alarms, CCTV surveillance cameras, intercoms and access control solutions to your security issues? If you are then you are putting the right foot forward. Buy let’s say you’ve definitely set you mind on purchasing and installing a CCTV surveillance system. This is a fantastic choice and one that you won’t regret one bit but even if you’ve made the decision, there are other aspects which you can take care of to bolster your security system further.
These additional precautionary measures will augment the security given by your CCTV surveillance system and include the following:
- Ask a neighbour to bring in all your deliveries such as papers, mail and others
- Have someone trim the lawn so it doesn’t act as a give-away sign that you are not at home.
- You should leave your car parked in the driveway to make intruders believe you are about.
- Leave the lights and radio on automated timers to discourage intruders.
- Don’t leave any evidence on your answering machine or voice mail and make sure someone deletes the messages to prevent overloading.
Safety in your garage or parking lot
A Dangerous Place to be Alone
Some of us have seen films of lonely indoor parking lots where a woman or man are accosted and robbed in these dangerous places. The films actually portray what actually happens and never fool yourself that it won’t happen to you especially this Christmas when the bad elements are in their elements. There is very little you can do if you are attacked with a gun or sharp instrument but there are ways of mitigating the incidence and severity of these attacks by thieves and their compatriots. You must first realize that the indoor parking area is a dangerous place to be anytime!
Know the interior car park intimately
Make a habit of studying the interior of the car park so you know where everything is located. Know where you may hide when under pressure and not be seen. Be familiar with where the security cameras are placed as your incident may mean life and death to you. Never take your safety lightly and always remember you can augment your personal security by forming alliances with people in the block, with a co-worker for setting up some kind of signal code that only you and he/she knows. Build a bond with the security guard to enhance your safety and security.
Never show your weakness
Perhaps you cannot avoid using you cell phone so often but it is this kind of habit that burglars look for in their victims. They know that the minute you pick up the phone and answer it, your focus is on the incoming message and lose control of your situation. These are times when you are most vulnerable and burglars and assailants can launch their sudden attack. And who’s to interfere? It is late at night, no one is in sight and your car is a good 30 meters away along the indoor car park way. When you take a call go near a security camera and never take your eyes away from your environment.
Look for the bright side
When you are on your way to your car after work late at night as usual, don’ lose focus but immediately become alert and swerve towards the brighter side of the car parking area and never lose where the security cameras are. If an incident occurs near the elevator, remember it has a security camera so do your best to lure your assailant to the camera so their picture can be taken that can be used for follow up action on the suspects. It is very important for your security and safety never to lose focus while on the move. You can relax once you get home!
Contact us
If you want more information about security precautions while you are moving between workplace and home, ring us on (02) 8734 3250 and we will provide it for you.
Keeping Your Staff Safe Over Shopping Season
Anti-social and criminal activities can expose retail and hospitality staff to a situation of higher risk this Christmas. Unfortunately, burglars, muggers and assailants view the holiday period as a time for really easy pickings. Shoppers and sellers alike, they reason, will throw caution to the winds and leave many things unattended, including their focus on safety precautions. At Serious Security we try time and time again to warn shoppers not to drop their guards down and become victims of alert and greedy burglars and their like.
Lack of security causes lack of confidence
The situation is all the more serious when a recall is made of a recent research taken on the way Australian employers feel about their security in the workplace. The ‘Small Business Crime Index’ has revealed that around 1 in every 4 employees or 23% of the total workforce believe their leaders aren’t doing enough to ensure their security by minimizing the crime rate that is spiralling at the workplace. These security risks, they relate, include robbery, shoplifting, pickpocketing, break-ins and physical assaults.
Not much attention paid to security issues
Many methods of enhancing the security of retail and hospitality staff such as drawing up a roster for staff members to act as security guards and patrol the workplace or intensifying staff training on expanding their understanding of security systems and procedures. Employers could also address the problem of late night and early morning stints that frequently result in a great deal of concern from staff members about their safety and security at work. Some complain of working lone shifts and others are actually assaulted during work.
Not doing anything about it?
At Serious Security we were totally taken by surprise when the survey revealed that 14 % of small business owners owned up and said they had done nothing to address the issues. Still more unbelievable was the disclosure that 37% admitted they never bother to train their staff on security procedures while fewer admitted they only provided staff training whenever new systems are introduced or when the staff was going through an induction period. Needless to say this is totally unacceptable and something needs to be done about it.
Contact us
If you are encountering the above problems in your business, we can provide you with just the right security system and we will train your staff on how to effectively use them. Ring us now on (02) 8734 3250 for our free quote and see us improve the security and confidence of your staff.
Budgeting For Security You Shouldn’t Save On
It Doesn’t Pay to Skimp Security
With business security, it is not a matter of counting the cash and deciding to use as little as possible on security systems. Rather it is a time for calculating the amount that will ensure the security of staff, assets and ultimately, profitability. Adopting this attitude this Christmas may well take the security of your business to ten years hence, but if you are on the stingy side, your business may take a beating from the clandestine doings of burglars. Christmas season is not only a time for spending on goods; it’s also a time to spend generously on the security of your business.
Review you security needs
A wise business owner will take the security of the business seriously and will conduct continual reviews of security needs over time. Such reviews will ensure that the system has been properly installed, that it’s operating efficiently and has been updated to allow the introduction of new inventions. At Serious Security we are enthusiastic supporters of continual monitoring and reviews of security competency by business owners that do not wish to lose their goods or valuables to marauding burglars.
Some security tips to ponder
If you adopt a serious outlook for the welfare of your business and everyone that works in it, the following security risks may just send the right message to you for doing what you need to do for the security of your business. Your business may be exposed to the following:
- Armed robbery and burglary
- Stealing of valuable items
- Threats to the safety of your staff members
- Unsafe workplace grounds that occasions accidents to staff and visitors.
- Incidents of harassment and assaults
- Use of drugs in the workplace during working hours
- Serious theft of intellectual property
- Acts of sabotage or espionage to your business
- Disruptions to the operations of the business
- Acts of blatant vandalism to your premises
The logical solution
If your business is exposed to several of the above risks, the only logical step to take for addressing them is by conducting a whole review of your whole business operation and attempt to address these shortcomings by introducing the most appropriate solutions to your situation. Always remember that Serious Security will be at hand to assist you in your efforts. Think about installing a CCTV security system with many security functions that are likely to address most of the problems itemized above. The more review you conduct and the more solutions you introduce to address your issues the better for your business.
Contact us
We are here to help you make a success of your company and will help you carry out any reviews you may care to make and provide the security system you need to address your security issues. Ring us now on (02) 8734 3250 for a free quote of our services.
A reminder to Small Businesses That Crime Doesn’t Holiday
Any business premise left without any protection against unwanted intruders over an extended period of time is an invitation to be ransacked by burglars. It’s worthwhile noting that burglary is the most common form of thievery that plagues the small business sector and there’s no signs of easing off in the foreseeable future. At Serious Security, we are also concerned about this state of affairs and constantly urge our clients to pay special attention to the security of their business premises. A burglary incident can set you back thousands along the pain and anxiety of it all.
Checking premise security is indispensable
This Christmas season, accept the idea that while everyone will be out on a spending spree, burglars will likewise be on a thieving spree and it may be just likely that you will be their next victim. But don’t be unduly disturbed as there are ways of fortifying your defences and frustrate the efforts of burglars trying to steal your valuables. The most important aspect of your defence is in identifying all the weak security spots of your home which thieves also look for as their point of entry into your house. After identifying them you should them systematically address them one at time.
The perfect solutions to your security issues
Some of the most common solutions applied to thwart the efforts of burglars are:
- Fitting deadbolt locks on each exterior door.
- Receiving and overhead doors secured by strong padlocks
- Placing of strong grills on windows that are covered with safety glass.
- Making sure locks on every window are so placed they cannot be accessed and unlocked when the window is breached
- Ensuring that all exterior entry points are suitably lighted up with the right fixtures that burglars can’t reach. Complementing these with sensor lighting can further deter unwanted intruders.
- Changing keys after moving into a new house.
Never tempt burglars with your valuables
Some home owners can become so careless and lackadaisical about where they leave their valuables that they literally invite thieves into their house. Cash, valuables and all electronic gadgetry should be hidden from sight and you start making enquiries to experts at Serious Security about installing the most appropriate security system in your home.
Contact us
The best security system we have is our CCTV security system. Ring us now on (02) 8734 3250 for our free quote and our professionals will install the right system for your house.
Designing and Building a Secure Home
Designing and Building a Secure Home
Security concerns are the right sentiments to entertain when you are either renovating your home or have decided to build a new dream home for you and your wife. You’ve probably decorated your new home with the latest trends and gear such as a leather lounge from Demir. They may well deter burglar activity in the future and spare you the pain and trauma of a burglarized home. At Serious Security we take security very seriously and we are at the vanguard of a general security mobilization that seeks to curb the otherwise unrestrained activities of burglars on our beloved houses. The damage that these unwanted visitors cause is astronomic but there are ways of thwarting their advance.
Be familiar with crime statistics
Before you give the go ahead to build your dream home, take the trouble of finding out the kind of crimes that occur in the neighbourhood and their frequency. This will provide an insight into a house design that will factor in and allow for these types of information. Many people in Australia especially in the city of Melbourne are taking these steps when they plan to rent or buy a home. The information will help you decide on the type of design that will offer maximum security against burglaries when they do happen.
Helpful security tips to enhance your security
When you are renovating or building a house, be sure to factor in the following security tips to enhance the security of your dwelling:
- Make sure balconies and windows are built away from external fixtures that may be used as potential climbing aids such as drain pipes or gutters or well away from tall trees.
- The house front and all entry points should be clearly exposed for viewing at a distance and are also well-lit as intruders can easily be detected by your neighbours.
- Deadbolt locks should be standard for every door and should be positioned to prevent the unlocking of the doors from the inside by unwanted visitors who manage to break a window close by.
- Room designing and power outlets should be geared to allow the placing of expensive appliances such as TVs and electronic devices away from the line of vision from outside the house.
- You can be selective in applying security by installing zoning alarms for rooms that accommodate expensive assets such as the living room and kitchen. This will do away with the need of installing a monitored alarm system for the whole house.
- Be sure to install a security system that is easy to access and operate,
- Mount cameras in visible places, as this will be more likely to deter intruders. For improved security, these should be in protected enclosures to make them difficult to tamper with.
Contact us
For more information, ring us now on (02) 8734 3250 and we will provide you with what you need.
Strobe Lights – The Unappreciated Element of Alarms
An Important Component
Light switches and power points are important components for providing light in the house. The strobe light is likewise an important component of a security alarm system. With it, the user can establish the occurrence of an incident as well as the aftermath, during which time the house owner is given the opportunity to act in response to the emergency. At Serious Security, we are staunch supporters of alarm systems that include a strobe light that emits an intense blue light that flickers on and off at regular intervals to attract attention.
Activation causes a chain reaction
Once the alarm system is triggered a series of coordinated events take place in your alarm system that all focus on one thing – the safety of your house. All the internal screamers and exterior sirens immediately start announcing their urgent message to both the residents and nearby neighbours. The blue strobe light also goes into action by emitting a blue light that flickers on and off alerting bystanders a breach of security has been instigated by unfriendly elements. If your alarm system is monitored, an automatic dialler will alert the monitoring station to take appropriate action.
What happens after the alarm goes into action
As suddenly as they started, the blaring sound of the sirens suddenly cease after about 2 to 5 minutes depending on the type of alarm system you have installed but the strobe light continues to flicker on and off informing occupants or who have just arrived after an evening out that an incident had taken place and that the alarm system was activated successfully. The flickering strobe light tells the arrived home owners that the culprit may still be in the house or on the premises and they can take action as they deem necessary.
It serves an important function
The reason why the strobe light is an indispensable part of an alarm system is when it is not flashing a signal by the time you arrive home, it means that the system as not automatically activated itself, meaning that no incident happened during your absence and everything is as normal as when you left the house. If it is flickering when you arrive home, it immediately warns you that the system has been triggered by an event that took place during your absence. It also hints that the uninvited guest may still be in the home going about their business.
Contact us
We can supply and install the perfect alarm system that features the indispensable strobe light for your house. Ring us now on (02) 8734 3250 for our free quote.
Christmas – A Great Time for Businesses and Customers
With Christmas just around the corner, businesses and customers are both busying themselves in conjuring up a caboodle of sales and buys that would stagger the imagination. Estimates of sales would run into the hundreds of millions, really juicy pickings for burglars who will definitely be on the prowl looking for opportunities to pounce on merchandise and cash under the care of unwary shop attendants. Christmas is no time for complacency but should be a time of heightened alerts against thieves and at Serious Security we are all set to help.
Daylight vigilance is a must
Most of the Christmas shopping will naturally take place in the daylight hours and for business owners, this is the time to focus all of their attention by doing the following:
- that all CCTV Systems and alarm systems are inspected by professionals from Serious Security to make sure they are fully functional before the first Christmas customers start pouring in the front entrance.
- Make changes wherever necessary to change the position of cameras and alarm systems for maximum security monitoring and effect. This may necessitate a recall of past camera and alarm system performances but it will maximize the effectiveness of your security systems.
- That the centralized monitoring room is fully manned throughout the festive season especially at the peak of the shopping spree to guard against clandestine activities.
- Enlist the help of extra security guards if needed, to keep an eye on things especially in the larger stores and supermarkets. The deployment of guards to strategic sectors should have the effect of reducing theft and preventing the escape of culprits that are caught red-handed on camera.
- Enlist the assistance of police in mounting regular patrols around your business premise to form an extra barrier against the entry of criminal elements inside your store and in preventing the escape of thieves who succeed in eluding the clutches of the security guards inside your store.
The security systems must perform
The most important aspect of security during the coming Christmas is that you have the proper security systems in place well before the shopping starts as well as other security measures that need to be taken so that your security needs are fully covered. The assistance of police and security guard services are important but the proper functioning and placement of your CCTV and/or alarm systems are indispensable.
Contact us
We are the only security providers that can really secure your business premise this coming Christmas. Ring us now on 8734 3250 for a free quote so you can experience risk free selling.
How to Really Secure your Home at Christmas Time
Christmas is that time of the year where we tend to let go our usual caring attitude and put on a more lackadaisical outlook. It may be no cause for concern but there is always that warning note telling us that the merriments of Christmas can also attract the spoilers – burglars! They will definitely not let up and so shouldn’t you. With Christmas time just a couple of months away, the time is ripe for you to take stock of your security situation and prime it up.
Security tips
The security tips are not exhaustive but they do make up the main precautions that you should take to secure your house.
- The fence: this is the first line of your defence set up. Make sure that gaping holes or loose posts are patched and made firm. If you are really serious you might want to add a string or two of barbed wire along the top of your fence.
- Foliage: trees and bushes will definitely offer hiding places for would be burglars. Clear them altogether from the side of the fence and trim the rest of the plants on your grounds that may provide hiding places for thieves.
- Front and back doors: these doors, especially the front door are notorious access points for burglars. Most burglaries happen because the front or back doors are left open during the day. Make sure your doors are solid with strong locks and always lock both doors when you venture out for a while
- Windows: insecure windows or those left open at daytime or during nights are sure entry points for thieves. Secure all windows with strong locks that can hold the windows in the locked position. Make sure sliding doors and windows can be locked in position.
- Lights: a well-lit ground area surrounding your house is a very strong deterrent against burglars. They hate being caught and lights that light up their approach path is one sure way of detecting them.
- Install an alarm system – we find that a visible siren on the front of your home acts as a great deterrant.
- Install a CCTV system – a burglar will likely fear being captured on camera and go to another home instead.
Contact us
We can help you install the perfect security system to augment your security efforts. Ring us now on 8734 3250 for our free quote on our latest CCTV and alarm systems.
