Safe and sound

How to properly secure your home

By Georgina Oldfield

Everyday hundreds of New Zealanders come home to their drawers open, their valuables stolen and their houses tipped upside down.

According to a Finder analysis of New Zealand Police data, more than 200,000 homes were broken into between January 2017 to March 2020, with Auckland being the burglary hot spot. Smart Installations digital experience manager, Wayne Luke explains that it’s not until after people have been ripped off that they actually appreciate a really good alarm system. “You come home to all your drawers smashed in the middle of the room, they’ve been through every personal item, they’ve stolen all the things that are dear to you and that is the moment when you go, why didn’t I.” Surprisingly enough Wayne says a house alarm also isn’t enough to stop some offenders nowadays. “Burglars don’t care about an alarm going off – they do not care; they will still go through your top drawer at very least and grab anything which looks of value and easy to pinch. “The first thing they go for is your master bedroom, and they will tear it to pieces, they know that’s where everyone hides everything.” You can have the greatest security system on earth but if it’s not monitored in any shape or form then you may as well not have one because nobody is going to react to it.” So, what are the best security options to have in your home?

IT’S TIME TO GET TECHNICAL

Wayne says it’s important to have a security system that is more than just an alarm system. 1. It needs to be armed when you are not there.

2. If it is activated, the alert needs to go to the person or a monitoring station and then they need to consider what are the actions upon that activation – so if they have an activation and it goes to a monitoring company do, they ring family, their contact list, a security professional or do they just ring their guard and send a guard out?

“These are the kinds of considerations people need to make.” When considering your options, Wayne recommends looking at it from a reliability and functionality standpoint, not from an affordability perspective. “You need to put in an alarm system that works, an industry standard one, one that works with many platforms and that is respected in the industry as a security system. “People are putting a lot of these self-help things in out of the boxes – we call it Prosumer equipment, but you’re setting yourself up for fail if you don’t know how to look after it or have it monitored.”

STRETCH THE BUDGET

“If you’re paying under $3,000, you’re probably not getting the best system. “You have to question how well that system was installed and the person that installed it, do they actually have a security license and does that company have a company security license? “It is a law in New Zealand, but it’s not something that’s heavily policed; you’re supposed to have a security license but most people don’t unfortunately. “Do it right, spend the money, get some good advice and actually use somebody who is a professional in the security industry.”