While solid home defenses are important no matter what is going on in the world, during times where we worry about civil unrest, truly assessing our efforts toward home defense can put us into a better mental state as well as position our family for safety.
Here are some activities you can practice daily to help ensure you and your family are not easy targets.
Lights
Turn on the lights. Outdoor lights during dusk and nighttime can deter potential crime. A parking area or driveway with bright floodlights is not appealing to someone who wants to pilfer through vehicles.
It is important to keep entryways well-lit, clear of clutter or obstructions, and make sure that neighbors and those in your community can see your door. While most people don’t enjoy nosey neighbors, most would be grateful if neighbors informed them when suspicious activity is occurring outside of their houses.
Indoor lights on timers can also be a deterrent. Varying your timer, especially if you work a predictable schedule and arrive home after dark, can be another layer in creating an unpredictable pattern for anyone trying to assess whether you make a good target.
Cameras
Security cameras are no longer gadgets just for the wealthy. Many camera systems are available online, like “Ring,” for example, which feature a doorbell camera. Setting up alerts on these can help you secure your home.
Alerts also help establish a pattern of activity around your home. Even if you don’t want to be bothered by an alert from an app, it is better to be alerted than not. A notice that a stranger has walked up the driveway and knocked on the door—likely trying to ascertain if someone is home—tells you someone might be casing your house.
I was traveling out of the country with a friend who has alerts set up on her family’s Ring camera. Two men came to their house during the evening hours, and my friend was able to speak to them in real time through the app and tell them that they were not interested in whatever they were selling. Additionally, she also gave them a little finger-wagging about knocking on their door after dark.
It is also absolutely acceptable to not open your door to anyone after dark. It’s acceptable not to open your door for any stranger or person with whom you do not have an appointment. Too often criminals bank on other people being polite to the point that they put themselves in danger. If you don’t know the person outside of your home, do not open the door. Teach your children the same thing. In fact, tell children not to engage with anyone outside of the house when they are not with you.
Teaching children to come inside if a stranger approaches is another strategy families should adopt. If the kids are playing in the yard and a car stops or a person approaches them, teach them NOT to stand still. Teach them that they should run directly to the house and shout, “Dad, mom, there’s a stranger in our yard!” Starting with “dad” can be a deterrent to anyone who doesn’t want to encounter a man wondering why his child is shouting. It also might also alert nearby neighbors.
Action
On the action end of keeping yourself safe, think about strategies people have adopted for a long time: Have a dog, build relationships with good neighbors, have security systems. Consider all the layers in your security around your home and add as many as you want.
It’s fine to let your dog bark and alert you of strangers. They don’t have to know if your dog is a big softy who will gladly sit for a treat. Let them think that your dog is the biggest, scariest dog on the block!
Another action to take is checking the locks on all your doors and windows. Most people have a particular door they use. But if you have children or frequent guests, it is reasonable to check your doors. Taking the action to check them every night before bed or before you leave the home is another simple activity to add to your home defense.
Obviously, owning a firearm that is properly stored, and for which you have proper training, is another layer in home defense. Ensuring that you know how to use it, where it’s stored, how to access it, and what state it’s in (loaded or unloaded), are all other parts of a home-defense plan. Daily or weekly activity to make sure that the home defense firearm is where it’s supposed to be, and in the state it is supposed to be in, is another step.
Because we keep chickens, we go out at dusk every day and do a little “round” of the property. Pets and animals are another layer, offering an opportunity to do a daily assessment of your home and property. It is very easy to build “walking the dog” and “checking the locks” into your final step in the evening or before leaving your home for the day.
One last facet of action that I would encourage homeowners to consider is that if your dog or you hear something suspicious, grab that home-defense firearm and keep it in your hand while you go and investigate. It’s simple enough to set it down if you realize it’s the FedEx driver. But if you really needed that tool to defend yourself, you already have it in your hand.
The same goes for your cell phone. If you need to call for help, if you need to video somebody who has just walked up your driveway and looks suspicious, and you don’t plan to open the door for them, having that phone in your hand or pocket, and the firearm in the other, positions you to call 9-1-1 and be ready to defend yourself without panic.
For those that think this over the top, then simply consider wearing your concealed carry while around your house. If you do that, then all you think about when you hear a strange sound or figuring out what the dog is barking at is bringing your cell phone with you.
Some of these steps might seem completely unnecessary for someone living in a gated community in a “safe” neighborhood. But for someone who lives in a high-crime are or if they are very isolated, these are reasonable steps to take and activities to incorporate into your daily life.
