Home Improvement → Re: Burglar proof the house? Camera options too

Our local police gave us a good idea on how to stop fence jumpers...

Get some 1-1/2" finishing nails. Pound them in the top, then take some side cutters and cut them off at an angle, leaving about 1/4" - 3/8" sticking up. Put them in every 2" all around the fence.

I modified that somewhat. I pounded them in on the face on my side at an angle and cut them off. This way, when they put their hands over the top, they get hooked.

A great tip from the local police anti-burglary unit.

These also work great:

»www.homedepot.com/p/Simp ··· 00374920

Bulk pricing (random site):

»www.ronshomeandhardware. ··· 7662.htm

Also, talk to your neighbors. They may not be aware of the amount of criminal activity in your area. If you can convince your neighbors to do cameras, make sure that one of them looks across the street at their houses, and one of theirs at your house. That way, if the burglar takes the DVR at any place, there is a another view at the neighbors.

If you want to beat the criminal element, your neighbors and you all have to work together in a coordinated manner.

I have seen in some high crime areas where merchants desiring to keep the hoods off their roofs will lay down a couple inches of sand mix around the edge and then imbed into it soda bottles, after the cement sets up they break the tops off of the bottles leaving a nice jagged glass edge.

The there are razor blades.

I had a sub who took a hit, the thugs cut the phone line and pulled the bell cabinet off the wall.

My tech replaced the bell cabinet and instead of plastic plugs and number eights he used toggle bolts, smart move.

A few weeks later the sub took a second hit, the thugs pried the new lock off the meter room door, again cut the phone line and ripped the bell cabinet down taking a part of the wall with it.

My tech went back and I asked him this time to secure at least two of the four mounting holes to a stud in the wall and toggle the other side.

Like a broken record they came back and tried again only this time no burglary, but was my butt pulled into it, turned out my tech got a bright idea.

The bell cabinet had a door on the front hinged on the left which would close up activating a tamper switch and was secured by two screws on the right

My tech after setting the two screws installed 8 single edge razor blades between the bell cabinet and the top edge of the door and he then propped them up with snapped off pieces of a popsicle stick.

When the thug grabbed the top of the bell cabinet to pull it down he left behind a whole bunch of four fingers and the ends of the others…

I was contacted by my answering service telling me the police are demanding I get by behind down there now, I get to the store about 3 in the morning and the first question I am hit with is “do you know anything about this.”

Huh what about what and they have me go up a ladder braced against an ice storage bin where after I see the top of the bell cabinet I develop a sudden desire to get down off the ladder.

In the end the upside was the cops literally had his finger prints, the downside was he sued my company and the store for his injuries, but it was never settled due him to assuming room temperature after getting into a dispute with another thug prior to settlement.