Three Innovative Ways to Protect Yourself from Home Intruders

Hopefully, you and your home have been fortunate enough to have avoided the attention of burglars and robbers. It's an incredibly violating feeling to return home, only to realize that your belongings have been pillaged and your sense of safety disturbed. Some residents purchase guns or other weapons to defend themselves in the event of a break-in. Others rely on security alarm devices. These are all fairly effective methods of tackling criminal activity. But there are also some more surreptitious means of protecting yourself, loved ones, and perhaps even your home.

MAKE VALUABLES "DISAPPEAR"

You guessed it. The one thing that you can do to prevent thieves from stealing all your precious stuff is lock it away in a safe. These days, there are all kinds of safes which can be obscured in any number of ways. HiddenSafes.com offers a large number of options. Hide expensive jewelry in a drawer safe which contains hidden switches for easy opening and locking. It is spring loaded and can be installed in three different ways: 1) by the HiddenSafes company 2) by the purchaser or 3) the Hiddensafes company will build the safe into a piece of furniture and ship it to you. The company also has a number of wall safes which can be obscured by items such as pantries, cleaning supplies, and bookshelves.

Additionally, for smaller items there are faux "products" like dog food cans or coffee canisters that resemble their authentic counterparts, which deflect a thief's attention. These products look like real household items on the outside, but are actually hollow. They are meant to house any items you want kept from prying eyes, and may be found in gag gift shops and home supply retail stores.

MAKE YOURSELF "DISAPPEAR"

Single ladies, what are you supposed to do when you hear an intruder enter your home while you're alone at night? If you've taken all the necessary self-defense classes, or if you have a little "back-up" in your nightstand, then perhaps you'll be all set. But if you can make yourself "invisible" to the intruder, you just might stand a better chance at survival.

The film "Panic Room", starring Jodie Foster (R, 2002) presented to the public, a hidden emergency "room" that served several functions. One of those functions was in establishing a secure place to hide in the event that burglars entered the home. This secure space featured in "Panic Room" was Hollywood-elaborate at best. But the concept is indeed feasible, and available for consumers.

Building hidden passageways and rooms in the homes of the wealthy has been fairly common. But now, families with lower income brackets are investing in these safe havens. Costing several thousand dollars, these "home security devices" range from hidden doors, hidden safe rooms, and other secret passageways. At HiddenPassageway.com, you can order an elevating staircase which when remotely lifted, reveals a hidden room. But for this nifty feature, you're looking at spending $17,000.

DecoraDoors, LLC manufactures a fleet of incredibly stylish door "façades." These doors are essentially secret passageways disguised as fine furniture. But they are not just for show. These hidden doorways are completely operable; bookshelves may house whatever treasures you wish to display. Some of the DecoraDoors, LLC designs function as billiards cue holders or wine racks. But the real beauty of these doors is in the fact that they also serve as decorative "outerwear" for closets, or other small rooms that you may wish tucked out of sight. Though not as secure as 2002's "Panic Room", these rooms could be considered safe places to hide in the event that a criminal breaks into your home while you're there.

PUT CRIMINALS IN THE "SPOTLIGHT"

Big Brother is everywhere. No matter where you turn you're on someone's footage somewhere in the world. Keeping this in mind, security cameras are a fabulous way to deter thieves from your property. For celebrities and politicians security cameras are a way of life, as they are installed on their personal properties for the obvious reasons.

Security cameras cost anywhere from $60 to $600. The Home Security Store carries the CD31 - Colour Outdoor CCD Camera model for just $100. An entire surveillance system will cost close to $1,000 or more depending upon the intricacy of the package.

This may seem a little extreme. But a little bit of technology makes some people feel safer. Those with an aversion to the cost of this kind of security, may purchase a "dummy" security camera---that is, one which is not actually functional, but is in reality, a convincing replica. Many of these are even equipped with a battery operated blinking light that alerts potential criminals that they're being "watched." These cost somewhere around $30.