While abound and technology for these systems is improving, most homeowners often overspend on their alarm packages because they do not always know how much security they need for their home. On the other side of the coin, they sometimes focus too much on one area of the property and leave others unprotected and vulnerable to criminals. However, homeowners can avoid this problem by performing a risk assessment on their home. By observing their homes from top to bottom to see what kind of crimes or problems their homes are most vulnerable to, they can better understand what kind of security package they need.
There are a number of steps that homeowners can take in order to perform this risk assessment. One of the biggest pros to this process is that it does not need to be done by any kind of professional and that the homeowner knows his or her home best. To begin with, homeowners should discuss risk assessment with their homeowner’s insurance carrier and even local police to discuss their neighborhood’s risk factors.
CWS Home Security also suggests that during the first step of the assessment “You’ll also want to talk to your neighbors, especially if they have lived in the area longer than you, in order to find out what sort of crimes or vandalism they’ve noticed or been victim to. This could be anything from burglars breaking into homes to kids spray painting on walls.”
By taking advantage of their neighbors’ experience, homeowners who are performing a risk assessment can better understand what kind of risks they face.
The next step homeowners make is to perform an analysis on the home. This step can include such actions as listing which crimes that have been reported in your neighborhood are most likely to occur at their homes. For example, if there is a high instance of theft or burglary in the area, then they should invest in a good alarm system. If graffiti or outdoor vandalism is more prevalent, then they might want to invest in a driveway alarm or even security gates to keep people off their property. In either case, performing a risk assessment is an effective way for homeowners to discover which areas of need improvement and what kind of alarm system they should invest in.
Steven Ordona
Author & Pubic Relations – Steven is a fifteen year executive veteran of the home security industry and is now in charge of the site’s content. Steven is responsible for all the content created and also plays a critical role in our public relations department.