Author: Kris Quinby

Vehicle Security

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 30, 2020Tags , , ,

Vehicles are common targets of thieves. When thieves are checking vehicles, they are looking for something they can steal where the risk is less than the reward. If you leave your vehicle unlocked, thieves will open the door and search for something of value to take. If you lock your vehicle doors, but leave something of possible value visible, a thief will likely take the risk of breaking a window to steal that item. Laptops, GPS units, cell phones, briefcases or even your music CD’s are all potential targets. Even high end shopping bags are tempting targets, even if they don’t contain anything from those stores. The thief cannot tell if that Nordstrom’s bag contains a new handbag or dirty gym clothes.

    Today, most new vehicles have ignition intervention systems that prevent the engine from being started without a programmed transponder key near the vehicle. That will prevent your vehicle from being driven away unless you leave a key in the vehicle. If a thief finds a key consider your vehicle gone. If the police may find your vehicle, it will likely be missing a lot of parts. It will likely be headed out of the country within hours of being stolen. Don’t leave spare keys in the glove box, center console or above the visor in your vehicle. You may also consider not keeping vehicle keys near the door in your home. You don’t need to make it easy for a burglar to steal your TV by letting them take it away in your SUV.

Using Your Deadbolt Lock

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 30, 2020November 18, 2020Tags ,

 Open one of the doors on your home. Look at the latch that keeps the door closed. That latch holds the door closed by protruding into a hole in the door frame. Of course that is nothing new, you already knew that. How much force do you think is required to push that little latch through that portion of the door frame? Now, with the door still open, lock the deadbolt. How much further will the dead bolt bar protrude into the door frame? That extra length likely extends past the first board and partially into the second board of the door frame. That distance makes the amount of force required to break open the door significantly higher than when only the doorknob latch is used.

Another benefit of using the dead bolt lock is that you know the door is fully closed and secure. Changes to your home like foundation settling or the swelling of doors & door jams can affect the fit of your doors. Securing the dead bolt lock ensures that the door has closed completely. When you pull the door closed without securing the dead bolt, it is possible that the door did not latch properly and might be opened by the wind, a difference in air pressure or an animal. The end result is that you return home and don’t know how the door was opened or if it was opened by a criminal or even if there is still someone inside. Setting the deadbolt lock will only take a few seconds and is an easy step to help give you peace of mind.

Sliding Door Security

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 30, 2020Tags ,

When installed, sliding glass doors let a lot of light in to our homes and allow for a better view of our property. Unfortunately, sliding doors are also the greatest weakness to the security of our homes. To secure sliding doors, we need to address a few different things: a weak standard lock, the ability to remove the door from the rails and in the case of glass doors, the inherent weakness of the glass. The standard lock installed with glass doors is usually a thin metal hook that can be easily broken if the appropriate force is applied. There are several replacement locks available for purchase, but I don’t think replacing the standard lock will solve any of the other weaknesses, so let’s keep looking.

A common additional protection used to secure a sliding door is any variation of a bar to prevent the doors ability to slide open. Bars work as long as they stay in place, but are easily defeated by reversing the installation process. Sliding doors are installed by inserting the top of the door in to the top rail and lifting the door, then putting the bottom of the door over the bottom rail and setting it down. To remove the door, you just need to lift the door out of the bottom rail of the frame and pushing it in to the house. Now the bar used to keep the door from sliding on the rail is useless. Another downside to the use of a bar is that they are not visually appealing.

To have a secure sliding door, we need to keep the door from sliding open and keep it from being lifted out of the track. Two ways to keep the door from being lifted include opening the door and inserting some screws in to the top of the frame, leaving enough space for the door to slide under the heads, but preventing the door from being lifted high enough to come out of the track. There are also “jimmy plates” that can be installed in the space above the closed door that will provide the same function. You can ask your door installer or search the internet for “auxiliary sliding door locks” and find several companies that sell stronger locks that attach at the top or bottom of the frame and prevent the door from sliding open. These locks are smaller and less obtrusive than a bar.

Of course the large panels of glass in a glass door can be broken rendering any locks useless. Fortunately there are products that help solve that problem and have some great additional benefits. There are likely other manufacturers, but I know 3M makes a laminate that can be applied to windows. This laminate is used in areas of the country prone to hurricanes and other large storms to protect the windows from the strain of air pressure differences and flying debris, but will also protect your home from a burglar attempting to gain access by breaking the glass. Some variations of the laminate also protect interior contents from the sun’s UV rays that can cause color fading of furniture and carpeting.

Just move in? Time to re-key your house.

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 30, 2020June 30, 2020Tags , ,

When you move in to a home you get a key from someone, but did you get all the keys? Is there an unknown person who still has access to your new home? Too many circumstances could lead to outstanding copies of the key. The previous occupants could have given a key to a house cleaning service or a babysitter; were copies of those keys made? You will never know that you have all the keys to your house unless you have locks re-keyed. It is better to have the peace of mind knowing access to your home has only been granted to people you know and have given a key.

Reducing Unwanted Phone Solicitations

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 30, 2020

Do you receive unwanted sales calls at home or on your personal cell phone? In 2007 a federal law was passed requiring telemarketing companies to subscribe to the “Federal Do Not Call” list and remove registered phone numbers from their call lists. After registering your personal phone numbers at the Federal Trade Commission’s www.donotcall.gov/ web site, you will stop receiving most telephonic marking calls within 31 days.

There are exceptions so you will still receive calls from companies you have an existing business relationship with, political organizations, charities and telephonic survey companies. You can stop calls from companies you have an existing relationship by contacting that company directly and asking them to stop calling.

Garage Door Security

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 30, 2020June 30, 2020Tags

Think about what you store in your garage. You might store vehicles in your garage, but you likely have other items of value as well. Garages are often used to store lawn mowers, firearms, bicycles, sporting goods and other items that don’t have a place inside the home. Garages are a convenient place to store things, but they are easily accessed by intruders.

    The standard installation of an electric garage door opener appears to have an added benefit that the door will be held in the closed position unless a coded signal is received from a remote or keypad, but there is a weakness that you should address. There is a rope hanging down from a lever or latch attached to the top of the garage door. That lever is meant to be a manual release so that you can still open and close the door in the event of a power outage. That same rope can be accessed from outside the garage door by anyone with a wedge and a coat hanger. There are several videos on YouTube that demonstrate this security weakness and at least one shows you how your garage door can be opened from outside in six seconds. Here is a video demonstration.

    There are a couple of easy steps you can take to make opening your garage door from the outside more difficult. The first is to remove the handle at the end of the manual release rope. Also ensure there are no other knots tied in that rope. That will eliminate the possibility of an intruder reaching in and pulling that rope with a hook type of device. You will still be able to grab that rope from inside the garage and disengage the door from the electric opener should you need to open the door manually. Now look at the spot where the rope is attached to the manual release. If that release has a lever that a hook grab, you can use a zip tie or some twine to prevent the lever from being pulled. After you have completed those steps, someone would have to reach in from outside to cut the zip tie or twine before pulling that lever and lifting open your garage door, making the task of breaking in more difficult. There are also products designed to prevent direct access to the emergency release latch as shown in this video.

    Does your garage door have glass panels? You might consider covering those panels with something that prevents someone from looking in to your garage; if a thief can see high value items, they are more likely to attempt entry. A spray type of “frost” or light paint would make the panel opaque, but still let light in from outside. Another step you can take to add additional security to the glass panels would be to purchase a safety film and apply it to your windows. Here is a link to 3M’s web site for residential safety films.

    Does your garage have a pedestrian door? Of course, like any exterior door, you should use the dead bolt lock to secure that door and consider covering any glass panels. If the garage is attached to your home, there is likely a door that provides access between the interior of your home and the garage. You should consider that door to be an external door and secure it with a dead bolt lock.

Door-to-Door Solicitors

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 22, 2020Tags , , ,

When I need to purchase something, I don’t hope that someone will walk up to me house and knock on my door to sell it to me. Today’s door-to-sales seem to revolve around magazine subscriptions and household cleaners. The State Attorney General’s Office, the Better Business Bureau, municipalities and local chambers of commerce annually receive thousands of complaints regarding the behavior of the salespeople and the poor customer service provided by the represented companies. Unfortunately, Multnomah and Clackamas Counties do not require a permit for door-to-door salespeople so the only “defenses” are to post “No Soliciting” signs, don’t answer the door for solicitors or telling them that you don’t buy anything at your door. Unfortunately, when you tell the salesperson that you are not interested, the high-pressure tactics come out. The salespeople will appeal to your softer side to help them out even if you don’t want the product. When that doesn’t work, they often blame your lack of interest on your “racism”. Unfortunately when your neighbors become victims and purchase products or subscriptions, it encourages these groups to return. I encourage you to read the articles at the web site links listed below.

“The Atlantic” magazine has a long article describing how the industry works and the pressure placed on the people sent to your door.  The Portland Tribune had a two part story about the companies that lure young adults in to a situation nearly equivalent to indentured servitude. The Portland Police posted an article describing violations of law commonly committed by these groups and the State Attorney General’s Office published a press release that also describes some of the crimes that one particular group committed while they were in the state. You can also use Internet searches for complaints about door-to-door sales groups. The bottom line is that you should not give any money to these groups and be firm when you tell the salespeople that you will not be buying anything from them.

Web Links

Direct mail (Junk Mail)

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 22, 2020Tags , ,

Are you tired of receiving unsolicited catalogs, special offers and other advertisements in your mailbox? You can register your name and address with the Direct Mail Association to be removed from the “prospect” mailing lists of nearly 3600 companies that send mail to prospective customers via the postal service. After registering at the web site http://www.dmachoice.org, you can be removed from all prospect lists or select specify which companies and organizations are allowed to send you mail. If you have purchased something from one of these companies, you will still continue to receive mailings from them as a customer. If you would like to stop receiving mail from companies that consider you a customer, you will have to contact them directly and the web site has links to their member organizations to help you contact the appropriate departments.

Did you lock that door?

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 22, 2020Tags , , ,

Have you ever been in bed or away from your home when suddenly that question enters your mind? If you’re in bed, you have to get up and check the lock or you won’t be able to fall asleep. If you are away from home, that nagging question will distract you until you return. One technique you can use to reduce and possibly eliminate your concern is to always keep the doors and windows of your home locked. Obviously if you have the window open to allow for air flow, it won’t be locked, but as soon as you close the window, lock it. Likewise with doors, when you close the door, lock it. Over time you will build a habit and the muscle memory that locking the door is just a part of closing it and you will “automatically” lock your doors and windows.

Alarm Systems

Author Kris Quinby Posted on June 22, 2020Tags , ,

“Should I get an alarm system?”

Frequently I am asked for advice about the value of installing burglar/fire alarm systems. During my career in law enforcement and private security, I have responded to hundreds of alarm activations. As of this writing, four alarm activations have been the result of criminal activity. I have also responded to a fire alarm activation where we discovered a small fire the occupant was not aware as well as several fire alarm activations resulting from overcooked food. While emergencies are a small fraction of total alarm activations, I still recommend having a system installed. Using an alarm system gives you peace of mind in several circumstances. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Why is that door open?“

Coming home to an open door can send your mind racing. Why is that door open? How long has the door been open? Did someone break in to my house? Is there someone still in my house? Is my family safe? Are my pets safe? These are just some of the questions you might ask yourself. If you have an alarm, you would know that door was closed when you armed the system. If the door had been open when you attempted to arm the alarm, the system would notify you that the home was not secure. You could then close the door and arm the alarm system. If the door was closed enough to arm the alarm, but not properly secured, and was later opened by a burglar, or something innocent like a gust of wind or an animal, you would be notified. You would know exactly when the door was opened and it could be investigated by whomever you have asked your alarm company to contact (police, security, yourself, a family member or trusted friend).

“My neighbors watch my house when I am away.”

You may have great neighbors who watch over your house and would call you or the police if they saw something suspicious; but can they see the back doors and windows? When the police are performing deterrent patrols in your neighborhood, can they see the back of your house? If you have a long driveway, is your house visible from the street at all? When you depend on others to observe suspicious activity and notify you or the police, there is significant opportunity for a criminal to work without being detected, or a fire to cause devastating damage to your home. A working alarm system can be your ever-present sentinel ready to detect trouble and alert responders.

“An alarm won’t stop criminals from entering my home.”

In the event a criminal illegally enters your home, a working alarm serves two main functions. You’ve read about the benefit of notifying responders in the above paragraph. Another important benefit is limiting the amount of time a criminal spends in your home. Criminals don’t want to get caught. Home burglars attempt to remain undetected. An activated alarm makes a lot of noise. When a criminal hears the siren of an alarm, they know their time is limited. They have to assume someone will be notified or a neighbor will investigate the noise. Burglars may decide to leave immediately without entering the house or may enter and only spend a very short time in the house. If they stay for any length of time, they risk being seen by someone who can describe them or being caught by responding authorities. In the four criminal alarm activations I mentioned above, the burglar was gone before responding parties arrived to investigate. Burglars that enter homes without a working and armed alarm system don’t worry about leaving quickly. Victims without an alarm often come home to find many items missing and a huge mess left by the burglars after they opened drawers, rifled through closets and overturned mattresses looking for valuables.

Insurance Discounts

If you already have a working alarm system installed, call your insurance agent or the insurance company that carries your homeowner’s insurance policy. Most insurance companies will provide a discount (usually between 10% & 15%) on your insurance policy because the risk of loss is lowered by early detection of fires and burglaries. That discount will help defray the initial and ongoing costs of monitoring your alarm system.

I think these benefits provide enough peace of mind to justify the investment. If you are thinking about installing an alarm system, talk to multiple companies. Get information from your neighbors or friends and family about their experiences with their alarm systems and choose a company with which you are comfortable with. The alarm company is a trusted partner in securing your home.