Thursday, February 6, 2014

A "Safe" Decision

You may notice that this blog does not contain any ads.  I do have an amazon link as it is nice to sometimes get an idea of a product that I am referring to, but I will never resort to splashing ads all over my page because the endstate of this project is not to make money.  What I will do is endorse a company or product that I feel strongly about and you will notice that I have done so a few times throughout my blog.  Today I would like to tell you about Authority Safes
Authority Safes is an e-commerce safe supplier based out of Elkhart, Indiana.  They have been in business for only 5 years yet have received numerous awards, including a constant "A" rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for each of the 4 years they have been a member.  Their customer service is impeccable and the level of company transparency they present, especially for being an e-commerce store, is a rarity.  They have a by-name listing of their team,  some with photos, posted on their website as well as a Live Chat option.  The biggest concern I usually have about an e-commerce company is trust, and as with any product or company I mention in this blog, I would not be endorsing them if I didn't trust them.  Their BBB rating, along with their openness and commitment to customer service, has put me at ease.  But what's great customer service without a great product?
Authority Safes has a wide variety of safes for a wide variety of needs, including safes for your home and your business.  If you are in the market for any type of safe begin your search with Authority Safes.

Having said that, lets talk about why we need safes in the first place.
 
It's pretty obvious that we purchase safes because we want to protect something of value.  And as we know different people consider different things valuable.  It is a subjective term.  So the first question you need to answer is what is it you want to protect?  Do you want to protect your jewelry from theft, or your kids from your firearms?  In staying with the spirit of this blog, I am going to talk about safes and how they relate to personal security.  If you want advice on the different kinds of safes, their ratings, and which one is right for you, contact Authority Safes.

When you have something in your home of value, the first thing you need to know is that it could potentially make you a target.  This is where we digress back into risk mitigation, and this is where safes come into play.  They should be part of your security plan to mitigate the risk of somebody taking, or attempting to take, whatever it is you are trying to protect.
A safe in and of itself is not enough.  If I take a safe, put it outside in an empty lot, it is probably not going to last very long.  Regardless of how heavy it is.  You can Google plenty of videos of people wrapping chains around ATM machines and driving off with them.  Get the thought out of your head that a safe is the end all be all.  You still need to be smart. 
So the next thing you need to be aware of, and try to minimize, is who knows about what you have in your home or office.  Understand that when you wear your collection of Tiffany jewelry, people are going to take notice.  If you host house parties, know who your guests are and be aware of the unaccompanied access they have to your house.  Be aware that some of your guests may have family members or friends that you personally would never let into your home, but because your guest couldn't stop talking about all of the cool guns you had you have now become a target to his drug addicted son.  Once you have begun to implement that simple step, your next step is to choose a safe.
When choosing a safe, you need to identify the personal value of what it is that you are protecting.  This will help you establish the kind of safe you need.  I don't really care about my passports, so I have a relatively cheap fireproof safe that I keep them in.  Now, if one those passports held a memory that I cherished I may want to protect it better.  The value of the item(s) only you can decide.  A professional can help you with finding the right safe in order to properly protect that item(s).
While choosing a home security safe, keep in mind our discussion about minimizing who is aware of what you have.  What I mean by that is the presence of a safe usually signals the presence of something valuable.  If I can see your giant gun safe in your living room from the street you are advertising to everyone who passes by that you probably have some delicious guns in there.  Hide it!  And if you do need a big ol' gun safe, consider spending a little bit more and make a closet type room specifically to hide your safe.  That way, when your kids' friends come over they aren't telling everyone that Jimmy's daddy has a bunch of guns in his huge vault downstairs.  It will just be another room in the house with a locked door. 
Once you have chosen a safe, and if you do not already have one, you should discuss with a security professional on your need for a home security system.  Those passports I spoke of probably do not rate a $50 a month alarm monitoring fee.  But a vault full of guns, that may be a different story.  Every situation is different and each case needs to be looked at individually.  Just ensure that you do at least consider it.
The one thing I will go into a little more detail on right now is the small gun safes designed to be accessed quickly.  These usually hold one pistol, open quickly, and are fairly portable.  If you have kids it's a no brainer.  You need the safe to store your weapon while you sleep.  However, if you plan on putting the gun you are going to use to protect you and your family into a locked box, you need to ensure you keep it near you and that you practice opening it.  And I don't mean while you are watching your favorite t.v. show.  I mean setting an alarm for 0243, and as soon as that alarm goes off you attempt to access your gun as fast as you can.  Do it until it is second nature.  I have three small kids of my own and pretty soon I will need to securely store my loaded firearm at night as well.  I have already begun looking and will be contacting Authority Safes when I feel my current plan is no longer viable.  There is a much higher chance of my kids getting ahold of my gun than someone breaking in to my home.
        
In conclusion, if you have something you need to protect or secure look into getting a safe.  And when you look into getting a safe, start with Authority Safes.  They are professionals, friendly, and can guide you in the right direction.  They carry a wide variety of brands, including Mesa Safes which is a great manufacturer and has a full line of safes for any need.  Not only does Authority Safes carry over a dozen brands, they are an authorized dealer for each one which means better and faster solutions.  Simple and straight forward. 


If you have any questions or comments, as always, let me know. 
                        

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Security for Couples/Families

This may seem like an odd topic, but when you are living with another person(s) you should both/all be on the same page when it comes to security.  This is a struggle in my home as there is one certain individual, I won't mention any names, who prefers to believe that bad things do not happen in her world.  I respect her way of thinking and I actually believe that this world needs those kinds of people, but it makes my job a little more difficult.
I will begin with the home environment first. Let's say that you are the husband or wife who chooses to take your families security serious.  You take some self-defense courses, maybe you even send yourself to a high speed shooting school.  You start what-if'ing different scenarios for the home and certain locations around the city you habitually frequent and develop some decent plans in case things go wrong...but then you have to throw the other members of your family into the equation.  I am not going to go into every possible scenario that could happen, there just isn't the time or space.  But you do have to plan for at least the most probable possibilities as you see them.
Some things you need to take into consideration are:
  • Layout of your house and bedroom relative to entry points
  • Layout of your house relative to your bedroom vs. your kids 
  • The age of your kids and their most probable reaction to a home invasion
  • Your spouse's most probable reaction to a home invasion
  • A realistic evaluation of your pet's reaction
  • If possible, learn the appearance of your family members silhouette's
  • Size of your house
  • Chosen personal protection weapon
Layout of your house and bedroom relative to entry points:
You need to be aware of all of your most probably entry points and how you are going to protect your family depending on which one is breached. 

Layout of your house relative to your bedroom vs. your kids:
If you are lucky and all of your bedrooms are upstairs, that's an easy one.  You call the police and defend the stairs.  If your bedrooms are spread throughout the house, or have a kid in the basement or vice versa, you need a different plan.

The age of your kids and their most probable reaction to a home invasion:
If they are young are they going to run out to the noise to see what is going on?  Are they going to scream and cry and run to your room, giving away your position as well as possibly making themselves an easy target by running through an area the intruders are already in?  Are they teenagers.  Did they sneak out and are now sneaking back in?  Will they roam about the house causing you to hesitate if you are utilizing a firearm?

Your spouse's most probable reaction to a home invasion:
Will he/she run to the kids room.  Will he/she wake up and turn on the lights, alerting the bad to your location, letting them know you are awake hence taking away your chance of surprise, and ruining your night vision?

A realistic evaluation to your pet's reaction: 
A short 4 years ago, your dog may have been a formidable opponent when someone came crashing through the door.  Now, maybe she doesn't even get up when someone knocks. 

If possible, learn the appearance of your families silhouette's:
This is accomplished simply by hanging out with your family at night.  After spending enough time with people in the dark, it becomes easy to tell who they are just by their silhouette, which may come in handy in a dark house where you are unsure of your families location. 

Size of your house:
This should be obvious.  A small house and everything is more compact.  You need to react quicker as the baddies can get to you faster.  A big house, and things are more spread out.  You may have more time to react.  However, if you do not have an alarm there may be the possibility that the bad guys can enter your home without you even hearing them. 

Chosen personal protection weapon:
I've covered most of this in my Weapons post, but I want to reiterate that when speaking of firearms, over-penetration is your biggest concern.  Do your research and pick the best weapon/ammunition for your house size and location.  The only weapon I recommend for home protection is a firearm.  If you are not going to use a firearm, spend the money creating a safe room, a citadel, that you and your family can retreat to until the police arrive.

These are just a few of the many things you need to think about when you throw variables (people) into your emergency plan of action.

Outside of the home, there are many scenarios that can play out.  If you are serious about your families security you should be what-if'ing everywhere you go.  I've said it before, but once you get it down it will become natural.  I do it all the time and it doesn't interfere whatsoever.  When walking through the parking garage I what-if.  When my car is warming up in the drive-way I what-if.  When my wife and I are walking through the streets downtown I what-if, even while we are talking.

The biggest take-away from this is to understand you have variables you need to plan as much as possible for.  You need to sit down with your family and talk about the what-ifs as it relates to your home, and even outside of it.  I tell my wife where she should set up and show her why.  I talk to her about the probable reactions of the kids.  Her running into the rooms of the kids will do the opposite of helping.  It can be a hard conversation and my wife cried when I was going over all the possible what-ifs that go through my mind constantly.  It scared her.  But the potential benefits of having the conversation may one day far outweigh the drawbacks of not having it.

As always, any questions please let me know.