Burglary Statistics

When it comes to burglary many people tend to overlook the statistics by labeling this crime as a lesser offense; however, this is hardly a fair assumption. While burglary does not generally result in assault it is a crime that results in a significant impact upon the victim. Certainly in the grand scheme of things when burglary is compared to rape and other violent crimes there is a difference in severity of the crime, but on a lesser scale crime is crime and regardless of severity crime is never victimless. For burglary victims having their home broken in to and their possessions rummaged through not only leads to fear that it may happen again but it also leads to feeling of violation in knowing that personal possessions have been handled by a stranger. Unfortunately, according to the statistics, within the United States, one in every six homes will be burglarized in this year alone, resulting in an average loss of $1,675 per burglary and this doesn’t even take in to account the trauma caused to the owners of the structure that is being burglarized.

The rates of burglary within the United States are particularly high when compared to other nations, but before delving in to numbers and statistics it is first important to understand what burglary actually is. By law, burglary is defined as the unlawful breaking and entering of a structure with the intent to commit a crime. Most commonly breaking and entering is conducted in order to thief items from the structure; however, this is not always the case. When a structure is being broken in to with the idea of theft in mind there are many different instances that can fall under this umbrella definition, for example, breaking in to a car to steal CD’s, breaking in to a home to steal jewelry or breaking in to a commercial building or building site to steal copper pipes. When a structure is not being broken in to with the idea of theft in mind the resulting crime could fall anywhere along the gamut of criminal acts including: burglary with the intent to kidnap, burglary with the intent to rape, burglary with the intent to murder, or burglary with the intent to vandalize. When a structure is burglarized and the resulting crime committed is not intended to be violent or confrontational, the chances of actually catching a burglar in the act are slim to none. Robbery, however, is a different story.

Many people use the terms burglary and robbery interchangeably; however, when it comes to the legal definition of these crimes there is a significant difference between the two. As discussed above, burglary is the breaking and entering of a structure with the intent to commit a crime. In contrast, robbery is defined as the theft of property or money by using the threat of violence and as such there must be a victim present in order for a crime to be considered robbery. Also while burglary deems it unnecessary for theft to be committed, robbery requires theft to take place for a crime to be classified as a robbery. The typical bank holdup scenario is considered to be a robbery, and like this scenario, many robberies involve the use of weapons and violence in order to intimidate a victim in to giving up items of value. Not all robberies must use violence; however, because frequently only the threat of violence is needed in order for the robber to get what they desire. Whereas robbers go in to a situation knowing that threat and / or violence will be involved, burglars very seldom intend to be confronted with their victims and as such generally do not act violently.

In the United States burglary is prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony. What determines whether a burglary is categorized as a misdemeanor or a felony is the state in which the crime was committed since every state has its own rules over what determines the severity of a burglary. Strangely enough; however, burglars do not tend to think ahead of the game and find out the potential punishment for the crime that they are about to commit. Were a potential burglar to find out that in the state where he or she intends to commit a burglary his offense would be considered a felony, he or she may be prompted to think twice before committing their crime. Why would a burglar think twice over a felony rather than a misdemeanor? Not only is the punishment much more severe for the commission of a felony, but after the commission of three felonies an individual receives a much harsher punishment regardless of what that third felony was. It is not only the punishment that should be scaring these criminals straight; however, but taking in to consideration the necessity of work and living arrangements, individuals with a felony conviction on their criminal record have a considerably low chance of obtaining gainful employment or even renting a moderately decent home. Almost everything done in today’s society is done utilizing a criminal background check and for the convicted felon this spells doom and prevents advancement in society even after a sentence has been completed.

It is particularly difficult to put the severity of a problem in to perspective without providing concrete numbers by which to measure the occurrence of the crime so here are a few numbers to clarify the extent of the problem that the United States faces with burglary. According to the Eight United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and Operations of the Criminal Justice System (2002) the United States led 68 countries in the frequency of burglaries. The United States formed 26.9% of burglaries recorded, more than twice that of the second place nation, Germany who compared with 13.2% of recorded burglaries. The lowest incidence of recorded burglaries was found in Oman, where there were absolutely no recorded incidences to speak of. The 26.9% of American burglaries recorded include only those which were reported to the authorities and fall at exactly 2,151,875 incidences. Certainly this data may seem a little outdated, so to turn to a more recent and specific source of data we look at the Bureau of Justice Statistics to follow trends that have taken place between 2002 and 2008.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics the incidence of burglary in the United States in 2002 was 27.7 households out of every 1,000. Surprisingly to many, this rate has declined, albeit moderately, over the years and in 2008 data returned showing a steady hold of the incidences of burglary at around 26.3 out of every 1,000 homes. This decline may seem somewhat insignificant but in the grand scheme of the entire United States population, even a small drop in criminal activity per 1,000 households is significant. By expanding the data range from 2002 all the way back to 1973, the declining trend in burglaries can be seen with more accuracy. In 1973 the reported rate of burglary fell at 110 out of every 1,000 households and in comparison to the 26.3 out of every 1,000 households reported in the United States in 2008, this is a considerable and noteworthy statistic.

There are various speculations behind the decline of burglary statistics since the early 1970’s, but one thing is for sure, the four measures of serious violent crime are rather telling. The four measures of serious violent crime include the total violent crime rate, the victimizations reported to the police, crimes recorded by the police and arrests for violent crime. When comparing these four significant measurements over the decades the figures tend to point towards increased arrests for criminal behavior and an increase in the amount of crimes recorded by the police. Ironically enough, though, as the amount of crimes recorded by police have increased, the number of victimizations that have been reported to the police have declined. Burglary is not one of the crimes that comprises the serious violent crime offense category (these are homicide, forcible rape, robbery and assault), however, these trends are still rather significant as they show a growing reluctance to report victimization to the police in addition to an increase in the amount of individuals arrested for violent crime. As the arrest rate has increased and the number of victimization reports have decreased, the total numbers of violent crime have decreased and one cannot help but wonder about the strength of association between these elements.

As mentioned above property crime rates have been on the decline since the early seventies, but one has to wonder whether the increase in arrest rate and the decrease in reporting crime to the police are to blame for this decline. According to recent reports the United States has a prison population larger than that of Russia and China; could it be that with such a “crack down” on arrests and convictions for criminal activity that criminals are avoiding the urge to burglarize? Looking at the data cannot determine the cause for increased arrests but it can prove without a doubt that arrest rates have increased. As far back as 1920, American prisons held under 200,000 individuals who were convicted of illegal activity, in 1970, this rate can to around 265,000; however, as of 2006, rates have skyrocketed to a mind blowing 2.4 million. So is it this increase in incarceration rated or could it be that people in today’s society are becoming increasingly reluctant to call the police and report criminal activity? It seems as though the second option is more likely, but one can still hold out hope for a reformed criminal population or cleaner streets; however, it is unlikely that the entire criminal population of the country remains behind bars.

As has been the case for a while now, the media controls what we do and do not see, and questionable police activity certainly makes for a good news story. Every week there is a story on the news covering an officer shooting an unarmed individual, an official who didn’t respond quickly enough to an emergency situation, a classroom being taken by storm by a rogue gunman…all of these things lead those who are easily led, to believe that officials should not be trusted. This sort of mentality points to a possible explanation for the decline in criminal reports; however, without unbiased evidence this assumption can never be substantiated.

Some point to the legalization of certain crimes as a factor behind declining rates of reports of criminal activity. Incidences such as the legalization of abortion are said to have had a significant impact on the level of crime because something that was once happening behind closed doors all over the country and resulting in arrest, was now made legal. While this fact may stand true for certain criminal activity, it does not hold any water in relation to the declining rates of property crime since no significant legal changes occurred in relation to burglary during this period. The only change that could considerably have affected all rates of criminal activity is the implementation of the three strikes law which made its appearance in 1993. The trouble is, though, that even with this three strikes policy in place, the bottoming out of burglary statistics did not occur until many years later so it seems that this is not a likely scenario either.

There is a possibility that technological advances have played a large part in the reduction of the rates of burglary throughout the nation. As home security systems came on to the scene in 1969 they were unreliable and unaffordable; however, as time marched forward and more technological advances were made they became increasingly affordable and much more reliable. With time companies like ADT, Alarm Force, and CPI moved in bombarding the general public with scary statistics on the chances of their homes being broken in to while they were or were not there. As this type of propaganda increased and the American public were more willing to pay for these types of advances, they became a feature that was built in to the average American home. Certainly, before these large companies took over the market, there were alternatives to keeping the home secure; however, the cunning burglar is much less likely to be able to deter the alarm system with a nice piece of steak. With the advances that came with home security systems as well notification systems went from notifying neighbors with a shrill and annoying alarm, to directly notifying police who are able to respond to the situation in much less time than they previously could. Perhaps it is the very existence of these home security systems that deter burglars? Or perhaps it is the idea that burglars would be less likely to get away with their crime with the police en route as soon as the alarm sounds? As it happens, current data states that homes that do not have home security systems are 2.7 times more likely to be targeted by a burglar, unfortunately these statistics do not tell why burglars choose not to break in to these homes and sadly they are not likely to share their reasons with the general public.

Whatever the reason for the declining burglary statistics in the United States, law enforcement remain hopeful that it is a sign of things to come and seem happy that they can actually speak of a decline in criminal activity. The reality of the situation though is that the media influence on how we, as a society, view our city officials is perhaps one of the most likely culprits in this “decline” in criminal activity. When taking an overview of the entire situation, perhaps it is beneficial that we do not know the precise reason for the decline in criminal activity because were we to prove that it came from a lack of confidence in city officials crime rates would likely begin to creep upwards again. Maybe it is better for the criminal population to think that the implementation of the three strikes law is the reason for living in an era of lower crime rates, and perhaps it is a better thing for the public to believe that as well, but the chances of either happening are about as likely as the Earth grinding to a standstill.

View the original article here

Upcoming Technologies in Home Security

When it comes to modern society nothing seems to move quite as quickly as technology and due to the way in which we live this advancement touches most, if not all aspects of our lives. Certainly the medical advancements that technology have made possible stand above the rest; however, there are many fields that technology has touched that tend to go unnoticed except for those interested in the field. One of these often overlooked fields in which technology has played a significant part is the home security and surveillance niche. Most homes in the United States that have been built in recent years are equipped with some variety of home security system whether it is a smoke alarm, a sprinkler system or a top of the line security alarm.

The mention of security alarms generally conjure up the image of television commercials of anthropomorphic alarm systems that see all and hear all that happens within the premises. Perhaps for the time being the attribution of such humanistic characteristics to an alarm system seems like a stretch, but with the incredible advances that the technological field is making it may not be long before our homes become our own bodyguards. It may seem absurd but with a look at some of the more recent creations in terms of home security it does not seem like so much of a stretch!

One of the aspects of home security that is instrumental in being able to both monitor property on and off location is the installation of video cameras. At one time video surveillance consisted of a camera that recorded footage to a VCR which would be overwritten every week or so. In more modern times; however, video camera footage has made leaps and bounds and has become something that can stream directly to hard drive locations where footage can be reviewed in real time or months after the event. Such advanced camera hardware is, by no means, a new discovery these days, but some of the newer advances on camera hardware and software bump these necessities in home security to a whole new level. As digital cameras improve, the security camera market is benefitting from these advances as well which led to the introduction of a 264 megapixel camera in Arecont Vision’s Megaview day and night line of video cameras! Sure keen detail will not only allow for better identification of intruders to the home but it will also lead to better identification of family and friends by younger family members who will be aware when it is safe to open the door to someone and when it is not. This particular line of cameras also comes with a vandal-resistant housing unit which makes sure that your investment remains safe and your surveillance system can continue monitoring under any situation. While the development of vandal-resistant housing may seem like a small advance, it is an advance that protects the integrity of any data captured during a break in and allows for higher rates of prosecution in property crimes.

When it comes to home security, protection from fire is one of the basic necessities in modern day housing. Where previously homes would contain add in smoke detectors that focus on the detection of smoke (which is why they obnoxiously squeal whenever someone burns toast,) current fire alarms are particularly more advanced. Modern homes now have built in fire alarms that work on the premise of detecting heat rather than smoke, this allows for more efficient detection of fire versus burning toast as well as a faster warning of potential disaster. Some of these heat based fire detectors are sold as standalone units; however, many times they become integrated in to home surveillance and security systems. For the safety of the nation it is hoped that all newly constructed will rely on heat based rather than smoke based fire detection methods since they are much more accurate and reliable.

Back when home security systems were installed in the very first homes there was no direct connection to phone lines, in fact the purpose of the alarm system was to make so much noise that enough attention was drawn to the house to capture the criminal or at least drive them away before they had time to grab anything. As time marched on we began to hook up our alarm systems through phone lines which gave the police, fire department and alarm monitoring companies access to our homes in order to facilitate a faster response time to any emergency that may occur. Most home security systems today still work on this method since it has been proven that direct contact to the emergency services results in quicker handling of the situation. As we become increasingly dependent upon our cell phones; however, we have now found a way to integrate cell phone usage in to our home security systems. There are already quite a few alarm system options that utilize cell phone access technology. There are quite a few reasons why this advancement is so beneficial for homeowners, it provides access to setting a security system while away from the home, it allows for remote monitoring of cameras placed throughout the home, it allows for remote control over lighting, music and other electronics within the home and many other options to boot. It may seem like the dependence upon technology is becoming a little tiresome, but looking at the big picture each of these things are ones which will indicate to a potential intruder that there is someone home. Cell phone access to a security system also allows for even the most compulsive individual to ensure that they did not forget to set the home alarm before leaving for a business trip. Such peace of mind and immediate access to a status update on the security of our homes is a priceless technological advancement.

Wireless home security systems are another new advancement in the world of home security. These alarm systems allow for any do it yourselfer to install a home security alarm fairly easily without having to trail complex systems of wires throughout the home. Wireless systems offer individuals the opportunity of installing protection of their home without having to be an electrician and without having to be an IT specialist. Many people worry about the complexity of installing alarm systems and programming them effectively; however, many of the new wireless systems on the market currently are built with usability in mind. There is a wide variety of wireless security systems already available on the market that run the pricing scale from one hundred to six hundred dollars depending upon the degree of technological advancement you want to incorporate in to your system. Wireless systems are not only the perfect choice for individuals that do not want to allow a stranger in to the home to install a security system, but they are also perfect for individuals that live in homes where they are not able to run wiring behind walls or tiling. Another benefit of utilizing this type of system is the inability to “cut wires”. Wire cutting is not, contrary to media portrayal, something that happens often, but the movie industry has succeeded in scaring enough individuals for this to become a legitimate concern.

Two-way communication systems are not a new invention; however, they are becoming a tool that is increasingly relied upon by alarm system companies. For an agent at the alarm monitoring company or a dispatch agent at 911 to be able to communicate directly with you through your alarm system during a time of crisis has become a service that more and more families are demanding from their monitoring services. Two-way communication allows not only for quicker dispatch of the authorities to your home but it also allows for communication during an emergency when you are unable to reach the phone as is the case when an intruder is in the home and the telephone is not in the room where you or your family are located.

Biometrics is an area of study that has resulted in some amazing technologies and while this is certainly not a new study, the application of biometrics in to home security for residential areas is. Big companies and federal buildings have relied upon biometric technology for years but as these advances begin to seep in to the mainstream market increasing numbers of the general population are demanding these high grade technologies. One of the concepts that is becoming increasingly popular in home security is the use of biometric, in particular: locks, locks to doors and safes that work on the basis of fingerprint analysis. These types of technologies may seem like overkill but they sell. In addition to biometric locks, another popular item seems to be iris identification programs which are able to be installed on access points of the home as well as on personal computers, laptops and electronic storage units. While biometric technology seems far in the future of many home owners contemplating security systems, the EyeSwipe-Nano TM iris-biometrics system from Hoyos Corporation is already inching in to the market and is believed to make its mass appearance at the beginning of 2011.

Child Location Systems do not necessarily fall in to the category of home security; however, they seem worthy of a mention regardless. These new gadgets have already begun popping up all over the market and even on television commercials that perhaps prey just a little too much on a parent’s insecurities. These new gadgets seem to be gaining popularity regardless of whether paranoid parents are driving up the sales or whether the product really is an amazing piece of technology. Child location systems such as the “Kidspotter” utilize both wireless networks and satellite networks and communicate with GPS transmitters that are strapped to the small and unassuming child. The location of any child wearing a transmitter device can be determined through a handheld receiver that is programmed to receive the particular signal from the child’s receiver. The “Kidspotter” is a mass version of these smaller “handheld” technologies being sold to parents worldwide. This larger super kid finding system will be implemented in large amusement parks and areas where children are commonly lost, with each child being programmed in to one transmitter and all signals being transmitted to a main server. Child location services and technologies do not have much of a place in the home, because hopefully if you have a child they cannot become lost in your own home; however, they may serve to play an important part in the future of reducing cases of missing children. Many advocates for this type of system claim that cases of missing and exploited children will be drastically reduced if only every parent implemented this new technology. Opponents of the system, though, claim that tagging children with GPS locators is much like tagging cattle and wildlife…but in the long run one has to ask, which is the lesser of the two evils?

Personal Emergency Response Systems have been in play in the technology market for some time now with systems like the Life Line system being publicized on late night infomercials nationwide. Systems such as these began with a buzzer system that was implemented for the most part in hospices, hospitals, group homes, retirement condos and other assisted living communities. Each home would be installed with a pull cord which, when pulled, would alert the warden of the building to an emergency via buzzer. In an age where more elderly and developmentally challenged individuals are attempting to assert their independence many are foregoing the option of assisted living facilities and opting to live in their own homes or in shared homes. Gaining independence can be an extremely empowering process for these groups of individuals; however, for many of their families there is the constant worry of their loved one falling when staying home alone. The pull cord systems that seem to work rather effectively within monitored living situations are less effective in these situations because there is no warden to rush to their assistance. Rather, personal emergency response systems have come to the forefront that allow for a small key pad that is carried on the person, to be used as an alert system that directly alerts the authorities to an emergency at the registered location of the registrant. As these systems become increasingly popular they are also becoming an alert system for the medical community to monitor individuals with certain medical conditions. More of the newer systems that are making their way on to the market starting in the beginning of 2011 are attempting to beef up these systems by implementing the two way communication as mentioned above.

We are still quite a way from the home of the Jetson’s that many of us imagined the twenty first century would bring; however, in comparison to the years that saw the debut of the first in home security system we are approaching space aged advances. From sirens and bells that alerted neighborhoods to a home that has been burglarized to direct two way communication systems that are able to dispatch emergency officials immediately. From unattended technology free systems to systems that are monitored remotely by cell phones, we have certainly come a long way and with newer advances on the horizon there is no limit on how Jetson-like we can become. Certainly there are those who worry about our dependence upon technology going too far and the resulting “robot revolution” and as conspiracy theorist as that sounds it could happen; however, personal emergency response systems and home security systems that allow you to turn on your lights and television via your cell phone are a long way from machete wielding robots.

View the original article here

Protecting Your Personal Information

With the many technological advances that have come along over the past few decades the world seems to be a much more efficient place; however, what is efficient for us as buyers is also efficient for thieves who prey on our dependence on technology. While things may be much smoother for us as a nation with our instant online payments, our PayPal access, our Ebay purchases and our online bill pay, things are also particularly risky for us when it comes to maintaining the security of our personal identities. That is not to say that before the advent of such convenience identity theft did not occur, but it is certainly a noticeable trend which has been on the rise since our increased dependence on technology.

Before there were computers and PDA’s and smart phones to do our bidding society relied upon the mail system as well as good old fashioned cash to pay their bills. Where many people would mail in checks others would simply take cash down to their electric company and pay their bill; however, in a nation that has now become dependent on electronic payments as much as it has become dependent on credit cards, the situation has changed considerably. It used to be that the biggest fear for consumers would be to have their checks stolen from their mailbox as they awaited mail pick up, or even that credit card statements would be stolen out of mailboxes after mail had been delivered. However, as time has progressed technological advances have made accessing personal information even more accessible. With a few lines of code and a little investigating computer hackers can now access just about any aspect of your personal life that they choose.

Years ago, even if a credit card statement was stolen or a check was taken these would result in inconveniences sure, but these inconveniences pale in comparison to the sheer annihilation that technological savvy thieves are capable of these days. In a matter of minutes thieves can obtain access not only to your credit card number, checking account number, address and full name but they can also get access to your social security number which opens up a whole new world of risk. With a social security number a thief can open new accounts in your name as well as access records of current accounts, they can completely turn your life upside down in a matter of just a few days. The unfortunate aspect of this type of theft is that it is not just your money that is being taken and utilized without your consent but it is also your reputation and your personal life. As the thief runs up credit card bills, extends loans, makes purchases they cannot afford even on your credit, these debts all come back to one person – you. Even though you know that these charges were not made by you, proving that they were made by someone else and finding a way to stop the thief and get your name back is a long and tedious process that often times takes years to complete. During these years this thief continues to use your name and destroy your reputation leaving you to live among the rubble.

So what can be done to prevent the theft of personal information in a day and age that is so reliant upon technology? Well just because technology has the ability to be accessed by thieves does not always mean that it will be. One way to help to ensure your security when accessing and sharing personal information online is to always type a website name directly in to your browser. Many thieves obtain personal information by sending e-mails called “phishing” e-mails to e-mail addresses that they locate online or purchase from an e-mail list. E-mail lists can be sold by individuals who obtained your e-mail address legally, even big companies have been known to sell their e-mail lists so keep this in mind when you sign up for any news letters or updates online! Thieves utilize these e-mail addresses to obtain personal information by sending generic e-mails from what appear to be official company websites. Often times these official companies can be places such as your personal bank, eBay or even your car loan or mortgage company.

These e-mails generally ask you to click a link and log in to verify your account information as part of a security system check. These e-mails often look professional and even contain the official logo of the institution that the thief is pretending to represent; however, there is one factor that can tip you off as to whether the e-mail really comes from your financial institution or whether it comes from a thief. Without clicking on any links you can place your mouse over the link that you are being asked to click, the address of the website will appear in the corner of your screen. The website address that shows up may be familiar to that of your financial institution; however, it will contain small differences (or sometimes large differences) that will let you know that this is a phishing e-mail. Phishing e-mails are particularly abundant in today’s society and while you may wish to forward this phishing e-mail to your financial institution, there is very little likelihood that they will be able to follow up on the case. Generally the best thing to do with these e-mails is to delete them and NEVER click the links within them. If you have questions as to whether the e-mail is a phishing e-mail and you can’t tell by holding your mouse over the links in the e-mail you should go to your internet browser and type the website address of your financial institution directly or even call them to inquire as to whether they initiated the e-mail or not.

E-mail has become a rather effective way for thieves to steal personal information from individuals whether it is the theft of banking information by the utilization of phishing e-mails as described above or whether it is through the selling of your e-mail information on e-mail lists. Whenever you utilize your e-mail address to sign up for any newsletters or e-mail updates you want to make sure that there is a privacy policy on the website that states that they will not utilize or sell your e-mail address for anything other than the newsletter you have signed up for. Without a privacy policy such as this the organization is free to, and probably will, sell your personal information including your name and e-mail address to anyone who is willing to pay for it which will result in a mass of spam e-mail for you which can not only be irritating but it can also be dangerous when you start to get phishing e-mails as described above.

What about when you have to input information online though? Forget signing up for e-mails and newsletters voluntarily, what about when you have to sign up to pay something online? Paying bills or accessing financial information online is not always a bad thing, in fact it can help to save the environment, save in late fees as well as provide incentive bonuses from some institutions. There is a key to paying bills online, however that helps to maintain your personal privacy. When you endeavor to pay bills or access financial or personal information online you should always follow the advice given above and type the website of the financial institution directly in to your internet browser. By typing the address yourself you reduce the risk of being tricked by cloned websites that are designed to steal your personal information. When you go to log in to your personal information or even when you go to make a payment online you always want to check for a letter ‘S’ in the website address, so it should read “shttp” or “https” meaning that the website is considered “secure”, these websites also commonly feature an icon of a padlock in the right hand corner of the website. These features allow you to recognize that there is a security system in place on the website designed to protect the transfer of your personal information. Without these security features it is possible for other people (hackers included) to access your personal information while it is being transferred over the internet.

Another way that your personal information can be accessed by thieves over the internet is through hacking databases and obtaining passwords. One way that you can help to keep your personal information secure is to regularly change your online access passwords. Passwords should be something that you can easily remember; however, they should be something that is difficult to guess in order to make sure that you are the only one who has access to your personal information. Passwords become harder to decode when they contain a wide variety of characters, generally it is best to incorporate numbers, letters, capital letters and symbols in your password or a combination of two of these elements. Passwords should be difficult to guess and it is important that they are changed regularly. It is suggested that you change your online passwords once every month in order to keep them dynamic and reduce the likelihood that someone will gain access to your personal information. As a general rule you want to change all online passwords once a month including the password to your e-mail address because in a society where so much financial activity is performed online, access to an e-mail address is almost as good as access to all of your financial information.

Even with a good password and a trusted website, things sometimes go wrong when making purchases online and your financial information can become compromised. Experts recommend that any online purchases are limited to a credit card which carries a small credit limit. The reason for confining internet purchases to credit cards with small credit limits is due to the fact that credit cards are easily canceled and their fraudulent charges departments are generally well staffed and able to resolve conflicts quickly and neatly. Utilizing a credit card with a small credit limit to make online purchases also makes sure that if your personal information does become compromised only $xxx can be utilized by the thief, whereas if you utilize your bank account information or your check card all of your funds can quickly be wiped out and are not so easily returned. Fraud investigations for banks tend to be much longer processes that involve a lot of paperwork and often times they require police reports whereas credit card companies that are more adapted to dealing with fraudulent charges are generally able to refund questionable purchases within a few days as well as prevent further charges being made to your account.

It is impractical in this day and age to avoid making purchases and payments online and while quite a few people choose to protect their personal identities by doing this they also do not realize that many other things they do are putting their personal information at risk as well. One prime example of giving thieves access to personal information is neglecting to shred personal mail. On any given day most people receive credit card offers, credit card statements or banking statements in the mail, these letters (although more recently they have been more secretive about doling out personal information) often contain enough information for a thief to gain access to your personal accounts without too much work. In order to prevent a thief from obtaining your financial information by simply going through your garbage bags it is important that you invest in a good quality paper shredder. Any and all mail that contains personal information should first be put through a shredder before being thrown away; this includes credit card offers, bank statements and credit card statements. Shredding mail makes it next to impossible for thieves to obtain your personal information by going through your garbage and thereby reduces the chance that they will be able to steal your financial information or other personal data.

Another important key in protecting your personal information is to keep a close eye on banking statements and charges made with your credit card, check card or checks. Many people do not realize it but it is not only online purchases that give thieves the opportunity to steal your personal information. How many times do you and your family eat out at a restaurant each week? Do you know and trust the waiter or hostess who takes your credit card in to the back to pay your bill? Are you sure that they have not copied down your credit card information to utilize later or sell to a thief? It happens more often than people realize and rarely do people hesitate to hand over that credit card to the friendly waiter, waitress or hostess to pay their bill. That is not to say that you should not pay your bill but try to stick to the same tips given above for online purchasing when you are making purchases such as restaurant meals. Any time someone is walking away with your credit card there is the opportunity for them to steal your credit card information and run up debt in your name. Utilizing a low limit credit card will help you to limit any damage that is done by an identity thief who obtains your personal information in this way.

Talking about identity theft and having personal information stolen is a scary thing and many people will come away from this article feeling like they should never make an online purchase again but this is not the aim of this article. The aim of this article is to make you aware of what is going on around you, to make you aware of what you are handing over to complete strangers and to give you some tips on how to prevent those strangers from taking advantage of your financial well-being. There are many ways in which someone can collect your personal information from e-mail collection to theft of bank statements and credit cards but the good news is that there are many options for you to protect your personal information as well. Even with these options in place many people feel much more secure by utilizing services that monitor credit reports and access of personal information. Some people find that using these paid services gives them not only an extra peace of mind when it comes to the privacy of their personal information but they also find that should someone gain access to their personal information that any fraudulent charges are reimbursed immediately. These services are certainly not mandatory and most people find that by implementing a few common sense techniques like those listed above, that their personal information remains secure, but for those who require a little extra peace of mind these services offer a little something extra. However you decide to protect your personal information, the important things is that you do it, identity theft is at an all time high and there is no time like the present to begin to protect your personal assets.

View the original article here

Home Alarm Companies

When it comes to installing a home security system the choices are endless, from what system to go with to what alarm company to choose. One important thing to remember when choosing your system and your alarm company is that these decisions are going to be the basis of your home and family’s security for the next few years.

There are many things to take in to account when working with an alarm installation company from their reputation to the degree of technology that they offer in terms of home security systems. Always make sure that you work with a company that you trust and a level of technology that you are comfortable with. After all having the most top of the line security system installed in your home doesn’t mean much if you don’t know how to use it, does it?

When it comes to choosing the right home security company for your new alarm system it is important that you take a few extra steps in order to make sure that the company you are going to work with are going to be the most beneficial to you under a variety of circumstances.

Local police departments advise a few extra steps when it comes to choosing a company to work with to ensure that you are not being duped, these steps include:

Inquire as to whether the company has errors/omissions insurance, general liability and workman’s compensation. These items ensure that the company is protected so that claims do not fall one your shoulders as a homeowner. If you are doubtful of a company’s claims of coverage you should never be afraid to ask to see their certificates as proof of coverage.Request to see the company’s business license; this will give you peace of mind in knowing that they are licensed to do business in your area.Ask the company to refer you to a few of their clients in your local area so that you can determine the quality of their service from a third party.Ask how long the company has been in business, it is generally better to work with an older company that has at least 3 to 5 years of experience.Find out where the monitoring center for the company’s alarm systems is located, it is preferable to have the central monitoring station in your home state rather than in another state.Make sure that all work done on your alarm installation is done by company employees rather than subcontractors. Companies are able to do background checks on employees but do not always do them on subcontracted workers.Read your contract carefully and have someone you trust read over your security system contract with you before signing in agreement. Always inquire as to the warranty that is included on your system and what that warranty includes and make sure that this is incorporated in to your written contract.Find out if employees are both trained and certified by the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association as well as whether they take part in the Installation Quality Certification Program.

There is a great amount of up front question asking that goes in to determining whether a home security company is the right home security company for you. On occasion an employee or representative of the company may try to make you feel uncomfortable for asking any of the questions above, but this is a sign for you to seek another representative who is willing to help answer your questions or move on to another local company. There is no shame in asking questions in regards to a company’s history or eligibility to do business, in fact a trusted alarm installation company will have no problem answering your questions and may even commend you on your ability to ask all of the right questions.

Now that you know the right questions to ask when searching for the right home alarm company to work with where should you begin your search for a trusted company to work with? The best first step in finding reputable company to work with in your area is to contact the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association to ask them for a list of companies in your area that are members of the NBFAA. After obtaining a list of recommended companies to work with you can then begin narrowing down the list of companies by asking for personal recommendations from your home insurance agent, neighbors and friends in the area. You should not rely upon friends that live outside of the area to give you advice on which companies to work with since you will be working with a local representative who may or may not be as attentive as the branch that an out of state or out of town friend worked with. Compare the companies recommended by your insurance agent, neighbors and friends with the companies listed on the recommendations by the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association and call a few of them to ask the questions listed above.

After doing your research you should be able to narrow down the list of potential companies down to three or four companies. Call each of the companies that you are interested in and arrange for a meeting with each company at your home. It is best to have one company visit your home per day if you are able to do so to avoid having to make a representative wait if another appointment runs long. Scheduling appointments with a little space between them also allows you time to digest information and discuss options with family members without confusing multiple companies. When meeting with representatives from companies many parents tend to keep their children out of the mix; however, when older children are present in the home it is often helpful to have the children present in order to determine whether or not they will be able to understand the new alarm system.

Meeting with any official can be a little intimidating and often times we forget the things that we want to ask so it is always best to write down the questions that you have for your representative before they arrive. The same questions should be asked of each of the companies that you interview. Common questions that you should ask include:

Do you use Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listed equipment and is the station responsible for monitoring your system certified by the Underwriters Laboratory?Is the monitoring station for my system available all hours, every day of the week? How about customer service assistance?What happens if the main monitoring center experiences technical difficulties, will my home system still receive a response if needed?Are precautions taken at the monitoring center to ensure that if there is a power outage or other failure, to ensure that a backup power supply is available?Can you please look around my home and give me a recommendation as to which alarm system you feel would work best for my family? Can you please explain your suggestion and give me a written quote?

There are many big name alarm companies that you will encounter in your search for a home security company that works best for you. Some of these popularly used companies include: CPI Security Systems, ADT Security Systems, Alarm Force, FrontPoint, and Life Shield, to name a few. Here's some descriptions of each to get you started on your search.

CPI Security Systems is a popular alarm company that works with residential, business and new construction contracts. CPI has been in business since 1976 and is the largest locally owned and operated security company in the Southeast with the most advanced central monitoring station in the entire country. CPI is known for designing, installing, monitoring and servicing their security units in house without relying upon subcontracted laborers.

There are a variety of security systems that CPI offers to clients throughout North Carolina from basic to standard to deluxe systems catered to suit your security system needs. Basic residential protection includes a custom display LCD keypad, two door contacts, a motion detector, an internal one way siren and a back up battery. Standard residential protection includes a custom display LCD keypad, two door contacts, a motion detector, a real time response speaker and microphone system and a backup battery. Deluxe residential protection includes a custom display LCD keypad, two door contacts, two door/window contacts, one motion detector, one fire communicator, a real time response speaker / microphone, an intouch cellular module, an 8-zone expander board, a backup battery and two extra security devices of your choosing.

ADT Security Systems is one of the largest security system companies in the United States and has been a United States owned company since 1874. Unlike CPI Security, ADT is located in 200 areas throughout North America. One of the most valuable things that ADT has going for it as a company is the fact that it has withstood the test of time and it not only provides security systems for residential homes but it also provides for small businesses, medium and large businesses and government agencies.

ADT offers a variety of residential services including: Safewatch QuickConnect, Safewatch Pro RF, Essentials Plus, Critical Conditions, Family Package and Customized Protection. The Safewatch QuickConnect program provides basic burglary monitoring services including a Safewatch QuickConnect control panel, two wireless door/window sensors, a PIR wireless motion detector, a wireless keychain remote, a power supply and 24 hour battery and an ADT window decal and yard sign.

The Safewatch Pro RF package is a basic burglary monitoring service including a Safewatch Pro 3000 wireless control panel, a Safewatch Pro 3000 standard touchpad, two wireless door/window sensors, a wireless PIR motion detector, a quick key remote, an indoor sounder, a power supply and 24 hour battery and an ADT window decal and yard sign. The Essentials Plus package includes basic burglary monitoring services including a Safewatch Pro 3000 hardwired control panel, a Safewatch Pro 3000 standard touchpad, two hardwired door/window sensors, a hardwired PIR motion detector, an indoor sounder, a power supply and 24 hour battery, and an ADT window decal and yard sign. The Critical Conditions package offers burglary monitoring, fire safety monitoring and critical condition monitoring and includes a Safewatch Pro 3000 hardwired control panel, a Safewatch Pro 3000 standard touchpad, a smoke detector, a flood/temperature/carbon monoxide detector, two hardwired door/window sensors, a hardwired PIR motion detector, an indoor sounder, a transformer and battery backup and an ADT window decal and yard sign.

The Family Package includes burglary monitoring, fire safety monitoring, cellular backup and critical condition coverage including a Safewatch Pro 3000 hardwired control panel, a Safewatch Pro 3000 standard touchpad, a Safewatch CellGuard primary unit, a flood/temperature/carbon monoxide detector, two hardwired door/window sensors, a hardwired PIR motion detector, an indoor sounder, an ADT window decal and yard sign and a transformer and battery backup. Customized Protection is the most elite service offered by ADT which includes a variety of security features customized specifically to your lifestyle and your home layout.

Alarm Force may not be as well known as ADT but they are currently working with over 250,000 households throughout North America for twenty four years. Alarm Force, unlike the other companies listed above specialize in private residential alarm installation. There are a variety of services available for households throughout the country depending upon the needs of the client including the Home Alarm System, the Alarm Plus System and AlarmCare.

The Home Alarm system includes live two-way communication, free installation, free activation and a free warranty. The Alarm Plus system includes some of the best technology on the market including line cut technology, a cellular backup system, use of wireless signals and other added protection. The AlarmCare system includes no annual contract, the ability for the elderly to live independently, live two-way voice communication, a personal pendant communication system and more! Each of these security services can be catered with specific security features depending upon your security needs.

FrontPoint is considered by many to be the leader in wireless, interactive, DIY alarm systems. Founded in 2005, with more than thirty years of industry experience, their founders set out to create a totally different kind of alarm company. One that utilized the latest technologies while relying on highly trained customer service reps to attract business.

Core to everything at FrontPoint is customer service. Similar to Rackspace in the website hosting industry, they are fanatical about service. They have become the fastest growing GE Security dealer, and are the only GE Security dealer offering 100% wireless service with all of their systems. They serve customers throughout North America.

We've written an in-depth review of FrontPoint in our article What is the Best Home Alarm System?

Life Shield is a newer home security company having been established in 2002 under the name InGrid Home Security. The intention of the company was and still is to provide complete residential security at an affordable cost. Life Shield specializes in offering residential security but the biggest difference in their company is that they sell home security kits that you install yourself without having the cost of a professional installer visiting your home. Systems are purchased and installed by you and monitoring is provided by Life Shield at two various levels, personal monitoring and alarm monitoring.

The personal monitoring system includes the ability to view, customize and control your system through the web, view and control your system through your cell phone, continuous system self-testing, unlimited email and text messages to keep in touch with your home, unlimited weather forecasting and severe weather alerts, unlimited home reminders through text messaging to your home, essential camera service to record video or photos of alarms and home connect, giving second home access. The alarm monitoring system provides everything that is available in the personal monitoring service including 24/7 police dispatch, 24/7 fire dispatch, 24/7 medical dispatch and a homeowners insurance discount!

When it comes to choosing between different home security companies the very thought of putting all of your trust in to a single company and a single installer (in some cases, you) can be anxiety inducing. In order to ease your anxiety it is important to follow all of the steps listed above in order to make sure that the company you choose is a reputable company within your community. One company that may have worked for your friend across the nation may not be as reputable in your area as a result of hiring practices! The most important steps in finding a company that puts your mind at ease is researching and interviewing prospective companies to ensure that the company is not only trustworthy on paper but that they are also trustworthy and knowledgeable in person. After establishing that the company that you want to work with is licensed, trustworthy and knowledgeable it is a much easier process to find an alarm system that will work best in your home since you can ask your representative for their recommendations. A trustworthy representative will always be able to offer you a variety of options to suit your budget as well as your security needs but it is up to you to explain to your representative what that budget and what those needs are.

View the original article here

How to Protect Your Home From Burglars

Burglary is defined as the breaking in to and illegal entry of a structure with the intent to commit a crime, and while the statistics state that property crime is going down that is no reason to let down your guard. Remaining vigilant and taking an active role in protecting your home from burglars is the best way to ensure that you do not become a burglary statistic. There are many things that you can do to keep from becoming one of the 2,329,950 homes in the United States that are burgled annually. Not all steps to prevent burglary include the installation of a high tech security system either, many of the things that you can do to keep your home protected are small and affordable changes.

When the subject of home protection is raised, the first thought that everyone jumps to is the installation of an expensive home security system; however, there are many other preventative measures at hand. Certainly a home security system is one of the best ways to deter burglary, as statistics show that a home without an alarm system is 2.7 times more likely to be burglarized; however, installation is costly and not every family can afford such a big step. There are many other options that can deter burglary though, including: using automatic light timers, utilization of garages, placing radios and televisions on automatic timers, lowering the volume on telephones in the home, hold mail and newspaper delivery, arrange for home maintenance, placing drapes or blinds on timers, avoid leaving telling garbage out until the last minute, inform a trusted neighbor when you are leaving town, increase lighting around your home, display alarm decals, avoid hiding keys outside your home, keep valuables away from windows, lock all doors and windows whether you are home or not, install good locks on patio doors and garages, purchase insurance and inventory your belongings, and be a vigilant member of the community.

Without further ado, here's a list of the top 17 ways to protect your home from burglars:

Automatic light timers can be purchased from hardware stores, megastores (like Target and Wal-Mart) and occasionally from your local grocery store. These timers vary in price depending upon the complexity of the item you choose but for the purposes of keeping your home looking lived in even a basic timer will do. Timers should be placed in commonly used rooms of the home, such as the living room and the bedroom and laps should be plugged in to them so that they can be set to turn on at a “normal” time. As the lights come on according to a normal schedule in your home burglars will not be able to determine that you are not home based on a lack of activity in the home.

Not all burglary deterrence is focused on the times when you are not home, for example by parking your cars outside your home you can tip off burglars as to your daily schedule. Instead of allowing your cars to tip off outsiders as to your schedule you should always make use of your garages to conceal your cars so that no outsiders are able to determine a pattern in your daily activity. Many times burglars will watch homes that park their cars on the street or in the driveway of the home because when these cars are missing they assume that no one is home to catch them in the act.

Lights aren’t the only thing in your home that should be set on automatic timers. Thieves are becoming much more knowledgeable in regards to the tricks that homeowners use to deter them, things such as placing lights on timers; however, one thing that seems to be particularly effective is placing televisions and radios on timers as well. By turning up the volume on these electronics so that they can be head from outside of the home (don’t make them too loud though!) you will confuse any potential intruders with the noise coming from inside the house. While many people commonly use lighting to implicate activity in the home, they often forget to add the noise element which is often the most convincing aspect of deterring invasion. Timers for televisions and radios should be placed on a schedule similar to the usual schedule that you keep at home.

This method of deterring break-ins is becoming somewhat obsolete as more and more households eliminate the use of landline telephones; however, for those homes that still have landlines it is important to turn down ringers when you are out of town. If ringers are not turned down or muted there is a risk that your phone will ring repeatedly without answer, tipping off potential burglars to your absence.

One of the most well known tips in deterring burglars is to hold mail and newspaper delivery when you are leaving town. If you are only leaving town for a few days you may find that it is easier to have a neighbor pick up your mail and newspaper, but it is important that this is done in a timely manner to avoid tipping off potential intruders. Leaving newspapers in the driveway is one of the first signs that your home is unoccupied and if you have a regular mailbox leaving mail inside is an easy way for burglars to determine whether or not you are home. Some homes utilize lock box mail systems which avoid the necessity for stopping mail when leaving town for just a few days; however, homes that don’t use this system should stop mail for even the shortest absence as their mailbox can be opened easily by passersby.

Arranging for home maintenance is not an issue when leaving home for just a few days; however, if you plan on taking a long vacation or even if you are going to be in the hospital recovering from surgery for a little while it is important to arrange for home maintenance. Being away from your home for an extended period means that there is no one home to cut the grass and do the normal chores that get done when a home is occupied. Hiring someone that you trust to come by and cut the grass and do any other home maintenance that you routinely do is a great way to indicate that your home is occupied.

Much as your patterns of light use can tip off potential thieves as to when you are and are not home, your use of blinds and drapes does the same thing. Fortunately there are a few options on the market that can be fitted to blinds and drapes to open and close them on a timer. While these systems are more expensive than light timers due to the complexity of the technology in them, they are worth purchasing particularly if you are intending to be out of town for an extended period of time. If you cannot afford a timer system like this, another solution is to pay a trusted neighbor to come to your house each afternoon to pull your blinds or drapes. Having a neighbor perform this task provides the benefit of human action, meaning that if your timer malfunctions your blinds and drapes will still be pulled; however it also brings the worry that perhaps your chosen neighbor is not as trustworthy as you initially thought.

Garbage is one telltale sign that tips off burglars to a variety of situations and as such it should be monitored whether you are or are not at home. When you are home your garbage can be used by potential burglars to determine what items you have in your home that are worth stealing, this is particularly important to keep in mind over the Christmas holidays and when making large purchases. It is important to hold on to boxes from valuables and big purchases until the last minute on trash day rather than leaving them out over night for thieves to take note of and plan a burglary.

Garbage is also telling when you are not home; leaving out no trash cans on garbage day or having a neighbor pull out your empty trashcans can also tip off burglars to the fact that there is no one home. The best way to avoid this situation is to ask a neighbor to use your trashcans and leave them out for you on trash day so that when they are left out, they will at least be filled with garbage.

It is always helpful to have a neighbor that you trust in the neighborhood, someone that you can leave a spare key with and have keep an eye on your home when you are not there. While a neighbor watching your home may not be able to prevent a burglary from occurring while you are not home, it is a good way to have someone actively watching your home so that you can find out if something is amiss. A trusted neighbor can also inform the police and you if something unusual has occurred at your home while you are out of town. In the case of burglaries that involve theft items are rarely recovered but when they are it is because of fast action that tipped off the police and local pawn shops to be looking out for certain items that were stolen from your home. Having someone watch over your home is also a good way to handle other emergency situations such as fires, broken pipes that cause flooding, or other damage occurring as a result of natural disasters.

Increasing lighting around your home is always a good idea whether you are leaving town or staying at home. Dimly lit properties are far easier targets for thieves because there are more places to hide and more areas of the home that provide covert access. Keeping your house well lit with spotlights or, preferably, motion detection lights, is a good way to deter burglars from targeting your home. Reducing the ability for burglars to break in to your home without being spotted is one of the best, yet affordable methods to lower your chances of being burglarized.

Whether or not you have a security system installed in your home, often times all it takes is the presence of an alarm system sticker or decal in the window to deter break-ins. Having a fake decal rarely works for this purpose; however, displaying a real decal from a legitimate alarm company works well in preventing burglaries since inexperienced burglars cannot tell if you actually have an alarm system installed or not. Note that this is not always the case and experienced burglars will be able to determine whether or not you actually have a system installed.

Many households keep spare keys hidden under planters or doormats or even fake rocks in the front garden; however, none of these methods escapes the seasoned burglar and the chances that they will get caught lower based on the fact that they had a key to gain entry. Rather than hide a key outside the home it is always a better idea to leave a copy of your house key with a trusted neighbor who can not only let you in if you lose your key, but also let themselves in to check for issues around the home when you are out of town.

While keeping valuables away from the windows may seem like a common sense suggestion, there is no telling how many homes position laptops and big screen televisions where they can be spotted from the outside of the home. Certainly big screen televisions are harder to conceal but placing any type of valuable within plain view serves to lure in a passing thief who may see your valuable and be unable to resist temptation. This concept does not just apply to electronics; however, it also applies to jewelry and antiques.

Locking doors and windows is another tip that seems like common sense, but for many people who believe that they live in a small safe town this step of home security is one that goes unheeded. Locking doors when you are not home is another line of defense against home intrusion and locking doors when you are home is not only a way to protect areas of the house that you cannot see from your location, but it is also a way to protect yourself from intruders. Some homeowners find that installing alarms on their doors and windows to signal when they are opened is another affordable method of keeping the home and its contents safe.

Two areas of the home that are favorable points of entry for burglars are garage doors and patio doors, these two locations are commonly left unlocked and unsecured. Installing a good deadbolt on garage doors helps to prevent this area of the home serving as an easily accessible break-in point. Patio doors are a little more difficult when it comes to installing locks; however, there are rods that can be placed inside the sliding door track to prevent it from being opened from outside the home. If you find yourself unable to afford a professional rod, one can easily be fashioned from a sawn-off shower rod or curtain rod so long as it fills the length between the door and the wall to prevent opening.

Purchasing insurance and taking inventory of your belongings is not actually a method to protect your home from burglary, but it is a way to recover some of your lost items monetarily should you become a burglary victim. Keeping an inventory of valuable items with pictures is also a good way to help identify missing items after a burglary and provide evidence with your insurance claim.

Not everyone is cut out to play a part on the neighborhood watch committee but being a vigilant member of the community does not mean that you have to take such a position. You can be an important member of your community by keeping open lines of communication with trustworthy neighbors and tipping off your community if you notice something suspicious. By playing a role in keeping your community safe your neighbors are more likely to return the favor and keep their eye on your home and suspicious activity that may occur when you are or are not home.

Those methods of home security listed above are not the end all and be all of protecting your home from burglars, there are many other options available including the two most recommended methods: installing a security system or investing in a dog. Installing a security system can be expensive, but so too can owning a dog. Security systems seem to be the most reliable method of home security but homes with dogs also prove less likely to be broken in to when the dog is of a breed that has either size or a reputation of aggression (this does not mean that your dog should be aggressive.) If you opt for either of these more traditional methods of keeping your home secure make sure that you are prepared for the consequences of each. Owning a security system means that you must be strict about keeping it turned on when the home is empty, you must also commit to a monitoring system if you want an alarm that ensures full protection. Monitoring systems require monthly payments and while this may seem like an added expense, you pay for what you get in terms of monitoring, a good monthly plan doesn’t have to cost a fortune but it does ensure that someone will be watching your home at all times. If you choose to purchase a dog you should first of all be a “dog person” and understand the commitment and responsibility that comes with owning a dog. A dog should never be purchased with the soul intention of keeping it as an alarm system, dogs are living creatures that value being part of a pack, so unless you are prepared to provide a secure home life and cover mandatory veterinary expenses you should consider an alarm system instead. Many people believe that an alarm system will incur more cost when monthly payments are factored in; however, a dog requires vaccinations, food, vet visits and more so in the long run there really is no case of saving money by purchasing a dog rather than a security system.

In the long run, many of the steps that you can take are a matter of common sense but in the everyday hustle and bustle of things we tend to forget. We forget to lock the door as we run out fifteen minutes late for work and we forget to lock the door when we race in after a long day at work unable to wait to change in to the comfortable sweats. Leaving reminder notes throughout your home is a great way to stay on top of the small things that help to not only keep your home safe, but also keep you and your family safe as well. If you have ever been a victim of theft or a home invasion, you know well the feeling of violation and anger that come with the territory and you are much more likely to remain vigilant in staying on top of these little things. If, however, you have never been the victim of any crime, it is easy to forget these steps but talking to someone who has experienced that situation will give you an insight in to why it is so vital to protect your home and family every chance you get.

View the original article here

Famous American Trials Series: Charles Manson

Although there have been courtroom trials since the Greek days with the trial of Socrates, we would say that Americans are more captured by courtroom drama these days with the plethora of cameras and the Internet. But what are the most memorable trials in recent years? Read the rest of our series with the courtroom sagas of OJ Simpson, Bill Clinton and more.

Charles Manson in court

One of the century’s biggest trials spawned from the murder of actress Sharon Tate. Prior to her murder, however, Charles Manson gained notoriety for his “family,” which consisted basically a harem of women who followed Manson around as he spouted off philosophy and slightly Scientologist advice.

In 1968 Manson became acquaintances with Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, who would eventually introduce him to the man who rented out his home to Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski. He and the Family set up camp in the desert to prepare for a race war Manson wanted to create between whites and African Americans.

After a couple of murders by the Family that Manson thought might help start his war in August 1969, Manson instructed his followers to go to the Tate house and “totally destroy everyone in it.” They killed five people, including an 8 and ½ months pregnant Tate, by stabbing them repeatedly.

Sharon Tate, the day of her murder

The next night Manson accompanied the Family on the murders of supermarket exec Leno LiBianca and his wife, who were both stabbed by a bayonet.

LAPD ruled the two murders as unconnected and a few days after discovering the homicides, they picked up Manson and 25 members of the Family for drug charges that were later dropped. The breakthrough in the cases came from the arrest of Family members connected with one of the earlier murders after gang members suggested a connection between all the murders.

After one of the members confessed, evidence such bloody clothing, knives and finger prints were found, and all members involved in the attacks were apprehended. In June 1970, the trial commenced with the prosecution’s main witness being a Family member not involved with the killings, who was promised immunity for testifying against Manson.

Originally, the judge reluctantly granted Manson permission to act as his own attorney. Because of his conduct, including violations of a gag order and submission of “outlandish” and “nonsensical” pretrial motions, the permission was withdrawn before the start of the trial. Manson filed an affidavit of prejudice against the judge, who was later replaced. On Friday, July 24, the first day of testimony, Manson appeared in court with an X carved into his forehead (later changed into a swastika) and issued a statement that he was “considered inadequate and incompetent to speak or defend [him]self” — and had “X’d [him]self from [the establishment's] world.”

The prosecution placed the triggering of Manson’s so-called uprising, called “Helter Skelter,” as the main motive. The crime scenes’ bloody Beatles’ references—pig, rise, helter skelter—were correlated with testimony about Manson predictions that the murders blacks would commit at the outset of Helter Skelter would involve the writing of “pigs” on walls in victims’ blood.

Some Family members attempted to dissuade witnesses from testifying by threatening and poisoning some witnesses. Throughout the trial, which was heavily publicized and even commented on by President Nixon, there were many distractions and setbacks, and on October 5, after being denied the court’s permission to question a prosecution witness whom the defense attorneys had declined to cross-examine, Manson leaped over the defense table and attempted to attack the judge.

On November 16, the prosecution rested its case. Three days later, after arguing standard dismissal motions, the defense stunned the court by resting as well, without calling a single witness. Shouting their disapproval, the women defendants demanded their rights to testify. The women’s lawyers told the judge their clients wanted to testify that they had planned and committed the crimes and that Manson had not been involved. By resting their case, the defense lawyers had tried to stop this. In the prosecutor’s view, it was Manson who was advising the women to testify in this way as a means of saving himself.

The next day, Manson testified.  Speaking for more than an hour, Manson said, among other things, that “the music is telling the youth to rise up against the establishment.” He said, “Why blame it on me? I didn’t write the music.” “To be honest with you,” Manson also stated, “I don’t recall ever saying ‘Get a knife and a change of clothes and go do what Tex says.”

Disruptions of the prosecution’s closing argument by the defendants led the judge to ban the defendants from the courtroom for the remainder of the guilt phase. It had become obvious the defendants were acting in collusion with each other and were simply putting on a performance.

On January 25, 1971, guilty verdicts were returned against the four defendants on each of the twenty-seven separate counts against them. The women defendants quickly tried to exonerate Manson during their testimonies.

The effort to exonerate Manson failed and on March 29, 1971, the jury returned verdicts of death against all four defendants on all counts. On April 19, 1971, the judge sentenced the four defendants to death.

Charles Manson's latest photo, May 2009

In February 1972, the death sentences of all five parties were automatically reduced to life in prison by California v. Anderson in which the Supreme Court of California abolished the death penalty in that state.

In the ‘80s, Manson gave a handful of notable interviews, including one with Charlie Rose, which won an Emmy award.

On May 23, 2007, Manson was denied parole for the eleventh time. He will not be eligible to apply for parole again until 2012.

See what the prosecuting attorney had to say about this infamous trial. Also, read Los Angeles Magazine’s recent feature on the murder, which marked its 40th anniversary in August.

View the original article here

All That Glitters: The All-Time Biggest Jewelry Heists

Not just the stuff of movies, jewelry heists actually do exist, although they aren’t that frequent or easy as the movies would leave you to believe. However, they do take a lot of time, patience and precision. Nabbing that much loot isn’t done by chance—it takes a lot of skill and planning. Read below for some of the biggest jewelry heists in history, and, shocker, they all take place in the last 15 years!

Remember, diamonds really are a girl’s best friend, after all.

In December 2002, jewelry thieves pulled off one of the most mysterious diamond heists of all time. The Museon, a science museum in The Hague, Netherlands, was putting on a diamond exhibit intended to educate the public about the gems. There were royal pieces on display, including a wedding gift given by King William III to Queen Mary II of England in the 1600s.

Museum officials came in on Tuesday morning to find that six of the diamond exhibit’s 28 display cases were empty. The pieces disappeared either Sunday night or Monday morning, and because the museum is closed on Mondays, the theft went undetected for at least a day.

The Museon had 24-hour security guards monitoring all entrances and exits as well as 24-hour surveillance-cameras that covered every inch of the exhibit. The cabinets were in a motion-detection zone, and the displays that housed the most valuable pieces were made of reinforced glass.

Today, no one still has any idea how the heist happened. Nothing showed up on the video footage, the guards never saw a thing, the motion sensors never went off and the display cabinets had no evidence of tampering. The only signs of a break-in were the smashed window leading into the museum—and, of course, the empty cases. The precision of the heist suggests inside information was used, but investigators haven’t been able to make any connection between the robbery and museum staff.

The museum eventually put a price tag of about $12 million on the robbery, but since many of the stolen pieces had historical significance, the haul is really priceless. The gems will probably never turn up for auction because they’re too famous to go unnoticed by anyone in the jewelry world. Finally, detectives were forced to close the case because the lack of leads.

While not with the same finesse of the Museon heist, one of the biggest jewelry heists in history struck the Harry Winston store in Paris when, on December 4, 2008, $118 million worth of jewelry was stolen.

Four armed robbers arrived at the store just before closing time and requested entrance over the intercom. Out of the four robbers, three were dressed in drag, with long blond tresses, sunglasses and winter scarves.  They strolled in with a small suitcase on wheels, then pulled out a hand grenade and a .357 Magnum, smashed display cases, shouted orders to employees, many of them by name. In less than 20 minutes they made off with millions of dollars worth of emeralds, rubies, and very large diamonds.

Members of the Pink Panthers gang that operates out of the Balkans and have been involved in some other high-profile jewel thefts were originally suspects, but were ruled out when on June 22, 25 suspects were arrested. There has been no word if any of the jewels have been recovered yet.

Also taking place in France, one of the biggest heists of its time occurred at the Carlton Jewelry Store in Cannes in 1994. With a much smaller loot of $60 million, this heist played much more like a gangster movie when three men burst into the Carlton Hotel’s jewelry store firing machine guns into the air. As store employees and customers panicked, the thieves quickly packed nearly $60 million worth of jewels into bags and made their escape.

Later on it was discovered that the rounds were in fact blanks. The thieves and the jewels are still at large.

Antwerp is one of the two diamond capitals in the world. The other one is Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Eighty percent of the world’s uncut gems go through Antwerp, and many of them are stored in the underground vault of the Antwerp Diamond Center building.

The largest diamond heist ever took place in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2003. With a value of at least $100 million in stolen jewels, this crime goes down in the history books as one of the biggest hauls.

At least four people had been planning the theft for years. They rented office space in the building in 2000, analyzed the alarm system and learned exactly how to bypass it. Now that’s patience. It’s still not exactly known how they pulled off the heist. The vault was thought to be impenetrable. It was protected by 10 layers of security, including infrared heat detectors, Doppler radar, a magnetic field, a seismic sensor, and a lock with 100 million possible combinations. They obtained keys to the vault and made copies. On the day of the break-in, they recorded over the security cameras and inserted fake tapes into the surveillance system to cover their movements.

Of the 189 safety deposit boxes where diamond brokers leave their stones while brokering deals, only 100 were emptied. The thieves had too many diamonds to carry, so they were forced to leave 37 vaults unopened, and Diamond Center employees came in to find loose diamonds strewn about the vault (see photo above).

The gang was identified as a group known as the School of Turin, a gang of thieves known for not using violence. The investigation led to Italy, and most of the group was arrested. Apparently, one of the thieves had left his DNA on a half-eaten sandwich among diamond-carrying bags dumped in a ditch near the crime scene. Another thief’s DNA was found in the vault. The leader, Leonardo Notarbartolo acted as a diamond merchant for years, apparently storing stones in the Diamond Center, and had somehow passed all of the Center’s background checks. He was released from prison earlier this year due to a short sentence based on circumstantial evidence.  Read more about Nortarbartolo.

The $100 million worth of gems they stole have never been found.

One of the most unusual heists in recent history could have easily been averted. A woman in Milan complained to police at least once about early-morning noise in her neighborhood. But because there was a construction project going on nearby, nothing came from her complaints. The police assumed that the noise was coming from the workmen. No one considered that the woman lived practically next door to the Damiani jewelry showroom.

Damiani is a world-famous jeweler. Its building was secure, with a high-tech alarm system and an armed guard at the front door. But, since the thieves had been drilling a hole every morning through the 4-foot wall that separated the showroom basement from the basement next door all the security didn’t matter.

The store had been preparing for a private showing, so there were no customers in the showroom. The thieves wore fake police uniforms and popped up in the showroom through an unguarded entrance. Unarmed they asked to see certain store records and then acted quickly, tying and gagging the staff. The operation took about a half hour, netting about $20 million in diamonds, rubies and gold.

There was one flaw in this heist though—the thieves would have made off with much more loot had it not been Oscar time. Some of the most valuable pieces were out on loan to Hollywood’s stars, including Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, who wore Damiani’s “Sahara Bracelet,” bearing 1,865 diamonds totaling more than 47 carats.

The investigation is ongoing. Police suspect an inside job as the timing was just too perfect.

If you’re scoffing at the amount of money these bandits have absconded with, perhaps you should be investigating a career change as a professional jewelry thief.

View the original article here

Why Cats Make Terrible Guard Animals

Although “everybody wants to be a cat,” let’s face it, they would make pretty terrible guard animals. We’re not gonna add fuel to the fire of the whole dogs vs. cats battle because we’re under the assumption that cats rule, but even we’d have to admit that cats could not guard our home efficiently. Even though they’re incredibly loveable, cats do not possess the certain je ne sais quoi dogs have that make them excellent guards. Here’s what makes them so darn awful at protecting your home.

Too Lazy

It’s a pretty common fat that cats are lazy. They would much rather sleep in hilarious positions than actually get up and either exercise or catch foreign creatures in your home. Forget about mice, cats are fairly unlikely to even catch a bug, much less alert you to an intruder—they will be passed out asleep beside you instead of investigating a loud noise. Forget about what you’ve heard about “curiosity killing the cat.” That’s totally bogus.

Even this cat would rather sleep.

Would Rather Bathe Themselves

Even if your cat isn’t sleeping, chances are they will either be doing two other things than dissuading a burglar: eating or luxuriously bathing themselves.  Maybe if your intruder rolled around in tuna before breaking in, then you’d have an alert kitty cat. Other than that, your cat is probably bathing himself to a glistening purrfection (we couldn’t resist the pun, sorry), and then repeating tirelessly until he falls asleep while looking fabulous. Even if a burglar caught your cat in the action of bathing, nothing would dissuade him from finishing his own job. Too bad that doesn’t involve protecting you.

Cat Bathing Himself

Not Obedient

A good guard animal is one that is extremely obedient to its master. Cats refuse to accept any master, so that is pretty much thrown out the window here.  The number one trait a good guard dog must have is the ability to know who and when to bark. We don’t know if you’ve ever tried getting your cat NOT to meow. It’s insanely impossible. Cats will meow when they’re hungry, tired, happy, upset, sad, thirsty or just because they feel like it.  There’s no way even IF your cat tried to alert you to an intruder in your home that you would respond to it because you’d just be too used to that stupid cat crying for no reason at all.  Proof.  There is no way you could train them to meow at only strangers. We wish, though.

Would Rather Snuggle

Kitties are lovers, not fighters. In addition to lying around looking like kings on a throne, they also love to snuggle. They will snuggle you; they will snuggle their toys; they will snuggle each other.  This is an admirable quality in a pet companion, but when you want a ferocious animal to protect your home, snuggleability isn’t the way to go, unfortunately.  Which brings us to another point…

Cats are Just Too Cute

No robber would be able to take them seriously. Do you get a Pomeranian to be your guard dog? No, because they are just too precious for anyone to think they are menacing and scary.

They Would Rather Chase the Invisible

Cats like to chase what’s not actually there instead of killing bugs and rodents. It’s just a fact of nature. Although, it might make a burglar laugh out loud, alerting you to his presence, so, in a way, it’s not a bad tactic.

Although, apparently some cats are good at guarding museums.

View the original article here

At the Movies: Crimes We’ll Take You to Court For

We see a lot of movies—a lot meaning sometimes six or seven in one month. So, considering how many movies we’ve seen, it should also come as no surprise then that we’ve encountered a ton of criminally bad moviegoers. Sure there are the loud talkers, but did you know there are other crimes you can commit at the theater?

And if you’re guilty of any of the following, Ann Richards might have to rise from the dead and take your ass out.

Loud talkers/obnoxious laughs/stage whispers

An audible whisper is the same as talking, so go ahead and ask your friend whatever you were asking. Along with ringing cell phones, this is the No. 1 most offensive crimes to perpetrate at the theater. Nothing you ask or say to your friend is going to be as interesting or funny as the movie, so don’t even bother. We especially hate the bad audience members who keep asking what other movies a particular actor or actress has been in. Mom, we’re talking to you!

Line repeaters

This is in a separate category from just talking loudly because it is four times more obnoxious than merely talking loudly. We’re talking about the guy who will laugh at a line in the movie and then repeat said line to his companion. We get the joke, buddy, we’re watching the same exact movie here. We hate sitting next to one of these criminals.

Texting during the movie

We all know that talking on our cell phones is a big no-no during the movie, but even remotely pulling your phone out is unacceptable. The blinding white light of your cell phone really detracts from what’s happening on the screen. This category means that you cannot text or even check your phone during the flick. We make exceptions for doctors—you’re allowed to at least check that thing.

This category also applies to movie critics with the clicky light pen. You don’t need those to take notes. You can see the notebook perfectly fine. Not only is the light annoying, but that little “click click” is pretty awful too. Thank you.

Having an offensive odor

Besides sitting next to a loud talker or line repeater, this is one of the worst offenses. If you smell bad, don’t sit next to someone. We’re not just talking B.O., folks. We mean anyone who smokes a lot, chooses not to wear deodorant or anyone who’s eaten anything stinky in a while. Have a friend sniff test you to see how offensive you are just to make sure.

Showing up late and asking us to move

We are very punctual movie goers. We love watching the previews; we stake out the perfect seat—which we’re told is three quarters of the way back, directly in the middle for optimum sound and audio; we hit up the bathroom; we keep our seats warm. It’s an exact science by now. So, nothing is more off putting then when moseying latecomers barge into the theater, eye the seats to the left and the right of us and not-so-politely ask us to shift. Sure, we’ll move—we don’t want to look like the villains, after all—but we don’t like it one bit, and we’ll certainly not make eye contact with you. Do us a favor and show up early. You have been warned.

Eating loudly

Popcorn is a fairly quiet snack. A pickle is not. We love pickles at the movies, yet even we know how loudly they can be when you’re eating them in a theater, so we’ve honed a perfected pickle eating method, which consists of very little loud chomping. We also tend to take bites during loud scenes and avoid chewing during quiet and/or romantic scenes. Please pay us the same courtesy.

Also, if you’re going to sneak food in, the No. 1 thing to NEVER EVER bring into a theater is an apple. We kid you not, we sat next to someone who brought an apple into a movie and ate it during some very quiet scenes. A pickle may require some loud chewing, but it has nothing on how loud an apple can be.

View the original article here