Originally Posted by
PaulFLUS
Ya know...I've said I wasn't going to comment on this because I come here to talk about something else besides what I do all day. I have left all the locksmith forums for that reason. 30 years on call makes you a little weary of it. Still, it is what I know so I guess it is unfair not to give the meager offerings of what I have learned to those I have come to know and some of whom I like.
I see a lot of places and people in my business and I observe a lot about their habits and environments. I own a 3 generation locksmith business and literally grew up in the business. Does that make me an expert? That is not for me to say. That is for my customers to say. What I will say is that I have done much and seen more. These are the things I find pertinent.
The people who are publicly flashy are usually not the ones with real wealth. Though they may live well and plush lives the (wise) ones who really have wealth keep it to themselves.
It is easier to hide your wealth than to protect opulence.
Unless you are one who WANTS to go to war like some of the mob bosses the best practice is to not advertise.
The more fences and guards and safes you have the more people wonder what you have to protect.
No place or situation is impenetrable or impervious to those who think it is easier or better to take what doesn't belong to them.
Sadly...and this is the one that is the most painful for people and jading to a security professional...no one is trustworthy, not even your closest friend. I have a customer who called me out late one night to change locks and safes at his businesses and home. He confided in me (as people often do) that someone was stealing from him. He had a new employee that was a constant problem and had been from the start. He was sure it was this employee and he wanted to prosecute so he set the employee up. To his shock it was a friend who had been his second since the start, had watched his home and children and had become like a member of his family. As it all unfolded he realized that she had likely been stealing from him since the very beginning but had become bold, otherwise she might have gone on to do it for much longer since she was able to cover her tracks. This is only one story like this I have heard and there are many others, volumes of them certainly that I never heard. It will break your heart if you let it.
People turn to me like I have a magic pill or the fountain of youth that will make all their problems go away. Then when they act in a manner that causes them to be vulnerable they want to blame me for their lack of vigilance or that there are bad people in the world.
Unfortunately, most people who get stolen from are victimized by someone they know. Those who are robbed by professional thieves fall into complacency or laziness and fit a pattern. Often they overlook obvious things which make them targets like others have already posted.
People put up security measures thinking it will deter criminals. What it actually does very often is attract them. "Hey, look at the big fence and all the cameras. They must have a lot of killer stuff." Couple that with silly, careless things like leaving porch lights on in the middle of the day among other signs of vacancy and you may as well put up a sign saying, "ROB ME. I'M AWAY FOR THIS LONG, OR AT THIS TIME ."
Want to not get robbed? Keep a big dog, carry a big gun, lock all your doors and windows, first making sure that they all work properly. But there's one other very key thing to do, and this is very important. Don't be stupid or complacent. Don't make it too easy for those who would make you a victim and for God's sake don't advertise your habits or that you have things worth stealing...this is a subject all it's own but, as an example, don't put the box for your new 1000 inch TV or kick ass high end entertainment system on the curb for everyone to see. If you or your family take medications like opiates or amphetamines don't go tell everyone...hell ANYONE about it...and lastly, and mostly disappointingly, don't trust anyone too much. Be boss of your own life and don't expect someone like me to fix you incompetence.
Remember that locks , alarms, cameras...all these by themselves are only one step toward protecting yourself, your belongings and your family