If you talk to most any home security expert, they will tell you that home security is about layers. The more layers of protection there are between you and danger, the safer than you are. Crime in the U.S. is up and police budgets across the nation are slashed every year. That said, the very first "layer" of protection is FREE. That's right, free. The first layer of protection is deciding to be aware and taking action to be safe. Things like locking doors, motion lights, trimming bushes back so that burglars can't hide and enter your home, basically summing up your home and lifestyle and making changes to be more conscience of safety.
At this point, many clients come to California Security Pro because they decide have a home security system in their home the basic next step in home security. As amazing as the home security systems are these days, there is a whole world of options to take your home security experience to Extreme Home Security. A monitored security system, along with your smarts, make up the heart of any security plan. Check out some very budget worthy and budget exploding options that can take your system to the extreme!
Extreme Home Perimeters
Doors and windows are the basics of your security system, and the first place a burglar gains entry. Beyond door, window and glass break sensor, 
here’s your next step in perimeter securement:
Reinforced Strike Plates, upgraded Dead Bolts and Door Blockers like OnGARD Door Brace - For a few bucks, upgrading the wimpy standard 3/4" screws with 3" wood screws on your doors is a quick Saturday morning job that cost about $10 a door but doubles the strength of your door. Check out this video of how easy it is to kick-in a door in with standard hardware. If your deadbolt is old, replace it with a grade 1 or 2 deadbolt (ADT Pulse Deadbolts qualify). One step further is to use a device such as the onGARD door brace created by world renowned security expert Jordan Frankel (so he knows what he is talking about.) For $99 a door, no one is getting through.
Security film - One of the more affordable options, security film can be used for windows and glass doors as an added layer of protection. Purchased in rolls, security film fortifies glass from being easily broken. The films are polyester are applied as a film to the inside of your window. When a burglar attempts to break the glass, the film holds the glass fragments together making entry more difficult and extending the time it takes to gain entry. It also guards the family from dangerous pieces of glass all over. Additional bonuses include easy cleanup, UV protection and a reduction in noise. When professionally installed film is virtually undetectable. Overall benefits include extended time to gain entry, the average burglar will give up. Also, the time, effort and noise it takes to gain entry give you time to take action: gather family, call 911 and retreat to the most fortified portion of your home.
Bullet and blast proof Windows - A step beyond window film is an all-out bullet and/or blast proof window. No longer the foggy plastic look of the past, today’s bullet proof glass is crystal clear and drive-by proof. These windows come standard with multi-chamber frames, steel inlays, multiple internal security locks and ability to be secured in partially open positions. You can start with bullet proof alone or go all the way with blast protection as well. A fringe benefit is substantial reduction in noise penetration.
Bullet proof Doors - For a cool $400,000, you can have the elite of all doors; made to protect against anything. Bullet proof doors can be explosion proof, airtight (to protect agains gases) and protect you from any kind of bullet. They are made to protect you from an attack as well as provide a safe haven behind it. Using advanced technologies, anyone without proper authorization is blocked out by electromagnetic locks. Doors with a few less bells and whistles can be found for around $25,000.
Extreme Home Interiors
What do you do if an intruder breaches the perimeter and gains access?
Safe Rooms-Made famous by the movie Panic Room, safe rooms are a growing part of a society obsessed with personal safety. Safe rooms have come a long way since Jodie Foster clung to her daughter and survived a home invasion. Today's Safe rooms are a room or rooms inside a home with secured entrances, separate ventilation and often secret passageways. Entrances can be a typical door or hidden in linen closets, fireplaces, bookcases and the like. Safe rooms are usually made of steel-reinforced concrete or Kevlar-lined walls. They come stocked with panic buttons, stand-alone communication systems and video monitoring stations. Many Safe rooms will have a smaller room, for example a bathroom that is further reinforced to be a final safe haven if the larger safe room is compromised.
For the average Joe (and Jane) a safe room is still a great thought. If you go through the effort to have an evacuation plan and practice it, you might as well think through what to do if an undesired person ends up in your home. Which room would allow you a couple to call for help? In our home it's the office, it's in the center of the home, has an internet based phone and a dresser next to the door that could be slid in front of it. There is no steel walls but it was free with the house. for many, a bathroom that locks inside a bedroom that locks might give you the 5 minutes that you need to contact help or the the time it takes an intruder to realize that help is on the way and they better flee first.
In-Home Bunker-One step further than the safe room or rooms, is the built in bunker. Some of these above mentioned secret passageways lead to underground bunkers. A standard bunker will house your family members and food to live on for at least a month. Larger bunkers can be up to 30 stories under the ground with food for 3 generations. Luxury bunkers have wine cellars, theaters, work out rooms and whatever above ground amenities you would like in your hide-out. High end bunkers use geothermal as a way to not rely on an electrical grid. Generators and scrubbers that clean air for bio terrorism protection are also common. For about $1.5 million dollars anyone with the fear of the apocalypse can move underground for multiple generations and emerge as the new seed of creation without missing any comforts of home.
This option of fortifying the entire structure from the outside world can allow you to escape from any threat for a week or more. With improved technology, these $150,000 systems are fitted with bullet and bomb proof walls and. No longer limited to a single room, these systems encompass and protect the entire home. Some homes add 12-inch-thick reinforced concrete walls wrapped in a rubberized material for added waterproofing, clad in 2-inch stone. These additions may not be visible from the outside, but this home mimics a medieval fortress.
Extreme Homes on the offense
So, an intruder has breached the perimeter, you and your loved ones are safely barricaded behind 6 inches of Steele, how do you neutralize the threat?
The BurglarBlaster-Although it sounds like something out of a cartoon, the BurglarBlaster can slow down or stop several perpetrators at once. The BurglarBlaster is installed on a wall or ceiling and when triggered will spray gas into the air with varying degrees of potency. It can be armed with smoke, pepper spray, or noxious gases whose effects last up to 24 hours. A larger system costs about $50,000 and will work with other security options in the home. Similar systems can be laced with a “DNA code” which comprises a series of unique, synthetic DNA chains that attach themselves to a fog-shrouded intruder. The invisible, harmless forensic code lingers on skin for weeks, shows up under UV light and, thanks to unique markers, can be traced directly back to a specific home.
Shotgun Shell Defense system-Shotgun shell defense systems are built into walls and fire up to 15 shot gun shells simultaneously. They are not easily detected and are used as a secondary system after less deadly steps. Shotgun Shell Defense Systems are not currently legal in the U.S. Similar systems do exist in United States and are loaded with non-lethal ammo. These systems go a step beyond convincing an intruder to leave, they attack the intruder and have a goal to stop them in there tracks to face charges and not continue to be a menace to society.
Taser Armed Robots-Just like it sounds; a Taser armed robot is armed with a Taser and will seek out an intruder and disable them on contact. They can be controlled remotely or armed with technology that aids them in finding intruders. Facial recognition is used to know familiar people that are not a threat and code words can be given to people that are allowed in the home.
Home Security is something we all think about. At California Security Pro, we offer home security options including real time video and home automation. Home Security and personal safety is about layers of protective actions. Simple no cost solutions such as locking doors, taming shrubbery and being aware of one's surrounding are the obvious start. Then having an alarm system that can deter would be robbers and monitor your home is the logical next step. From there, as you can see, the options are endless.
Take a look at how your current security measures up. Download a free Home Security Guide today! For more information about California Security Pro systems, cal us today at 1-800-310-9490.
Editor's Note: Original blog posted on August 11,m 2014. Information upgraded for republish on September 22nd, 2015
