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.

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