Posts by admin

Preventing Break-Ins: How Security Technology Can Help

Preventing break-ins is important. Take this situation into account: Toronto Police are currently investigating two break-ins that recently took place in Etobicoke. In one case, a woman woke up during the night to find an intruder standing at the foot of her bed. She screamed and the suspect fled. In the other case, a resident awoke in the middle of the night to find that items in the home had been disturbed. Over the past three summers, there have been a total of 22 break-ins in the south end of Etobicoke. Some of these break-ins involved sexual assaults. Police say there is no reason to believe that these recent break-ins are connected. As you can see, a break-in can happen to anyone and it’s terrifying when it does. Therefore, it’s important to focus on preventing break-ins as much as possible.

Tips for Preventing Break-Ins at your Home

A break-in can be a terrifying experience. Here are a few things that you can do that will help inpreventing break-ins.

Tip: Preventing Break-Ins by Locking your Doors and Windows

In the two recent Etobicoke break-ins, windows or doors had been left unlocked overnight. While it’s often tempting to leave your windows open during the summer in order to cool down your home, an open window can be an invitation to a burglar. In order to help you with preventing break-ins, always keep windows and doors closed and locked securely and don’t forget about your garage. Keep it locked as well. All doors should be locked with a strong dead bolt and windows should be locked so that they cannot be tampered with from the outside. Window bars or gates are also a good idea. These physical security tools keep criminals out and are crucial for preventing break-ins.

Not Advertising Valuables helps in Preventing Break-Ins

Don’t place your valuables (such as TVs, computers or jewellery) in locations where they can easily be seen from the outside. This just encourages burglars and other criminals.

An Alarm System for Preventing Break-Ins

An alarm system is crucial for preventing break-ins and it drastically cuts down on crime. Install an alarm system in your home and make sure that you activate it as needed. When you’re away from home, home alone or sleeping, turn on the alarm system. This will ensure that if anyone attempts to break into your home, an alarm will sound. When it comes to preventing break-ins, it’s tough to beat an alarm system. A monitored alarm system is the best choice for protecting your home. With a monitored alarm system, the central station is immediately notified if there is a crime in progress. The station can then contact you to inform you of the situation so that you can take appropriate action. The central station can even contact the authorities directly.

Use Lighting for Preventing Break-Ins

Here’s an important tip to remember when taking steps for preventing break-ins: Criminals like to commit crimes where no one will see them. Installing motion-activated lighting on your property takes these opportunities away from them. You may also want to use lighting inside your home to deter criminals. If you’re going to be away for a long period of time, set your lights on a timer. This will cause criminals to think that someone is home and they’ll likely avoid your property.

Photoelectric Smoke Detectors: How They Save Lives

Photoelectric smoke detectors keep homes and families safe. You can’t predict when a fire will start and, unfortunately, once one starts, it can spread very quickly. Fires can rapidly grow in size and cause serious damage and even death in a very short period of time. Without proper smoke detectors and fire alarms, you may not even notice a fire before it’s too late to escape.

This is why installing working smoke detectors and fire alarms (such as photoelectric smoke detectors) is so important. Fire alarms alert you to a situation and give you an opportunity to react while you still can.

Due to the incredible level of protection that they offer, fire alarms and smoke detectors are a mandatory requirement in all homes. For example, in Ontario, every home must have a working smoke detector on every floor and outside all sleeping areas. Homeowners must maintain these fire alarms.

What Are Photoelectric Smoke Detectors?

Photoelectric smoke detectors use a light source that is aimed away from a sensor inside a chamber. When smoke enters the chamber, it reflects light towards the sensor which activates the alarm. Photoelectric smoke detectors are incredibly useful at detecting smoke and they seldom cause false alarms, such as those caused by cooking. Photoelectric smoke detectors are also excellent at detecting smoldering fires.

Smoke can be very deadly and it can spread quickly, so having photoelectric smoke detectors that are able to quickly detect smoke in your home is crucial.

Monitored Fire Alarms & Photoelectric Smoke Detectors

You can greatly improve the effectiveness of your fire alarms by connecting them to a central monitoring system. When your fire alarms and photoelectric detectors are monitored, the central station is immediately notified as soon as there is an issue. The monitoring station can then contact you to inform you of the situation or, depending on the arrangements that you have made with your security provider, the monitoring station can even contact the fire department directly. This greatly improves the response time and saves lives.

Installing fire alarms and photoelectric detectors is important for safety and security. You never know when a fire is going to occur in your home and you want to ensure that you are prepared for the situation should it take place. Unfortunately, fire and smoke kill numerous people each year. Having photoelectric smoke detectors installed can provide you with safety and peace of mind.

Smart Home Monitoring Tools & Home Automation Make Life Easier, More Convenient & Safer

Did you know that you can turn on your lights with your cell phone? Or control your air conditioning with your tablet? With home automation and smart home monitoring tools, these tasks – and many more – are possible. Home automation and smart home monitoring tools make life easier and more convenient.

For example, if you leave home and realize that you forgot to turn the heat down while you’re sitting on the train, you don’t have to worry. You can simply use an app on your smart phone to make the adjustments. Home automation and smart home monitoring make it possible for you to virtually be inside your home and control your lights, appliances and much more from just about anywhere. You can even automate certain tasks so that your lights turn on and the temperature of your house changes when you’re about to enter. Home automation can be very powerful.

However, home automation and monitoring isn’t just about convenience. It’s also about safety and security.

Security and Smart Home Monitoring

Smart home monitoring tools and home automation systems make it possible for you to know what’s going on in your home at all times. For example, you can monitor your home security cameras easily from just about anywhere with an Internet connection. This allows you to see what’s going on in your home at any time. You can use this technology to receive alerts and watch live video in a trouble situation. It can also be used to confirm that your children got home from school safely. This provides tremendous peace of mind.

You can use sensors and technology to alert you of other emergencies, as well. For example, you can install a water sensor in your basement that will send a notification to your smart phone if there is a leak and water level is rising. You can even install a system that will shut off your main water shut-off valve automatically when a leak is detected. This technology can save you a lot of time and money and prevent serious damage to your property.

Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and other types of fire protection can also be connected to a home automation and smart home monitoring system. You won’t have to worry about not hearing an alarm or not being at home when a fire breaks out. Your smart phone will warn you right away so that you can act.

For more information on home automation and smart home monitoring tools, including more details on how these technologies can make your home safer and more convenient, please contact us today and speak with a SafeTech loss prevention expert.

Window Bars Keep the Bad Guys Out!

With spring here and warm and sunny weather on the way, you might be thinking about taking a summer vacation. Before you do, remember to take steps to protect your home or business. Window bars are a very important part of protecting a property.

While different types of property have their own unique needs, keeping criminals out is always the main goal. An excellent way to do this is to secure the property with window bars and gates. These physical security tools keep the criminals outside where they belong.

Why Window Bars & Gates?

There are a number of reasons why window bars and gates are effective. One reason is that they provide additional protection for a property. It is much more difficult to access a home or business if there are physical security tools in your way. Window bars and gates serve as additional protection and they work alongside other security tools such as alarm systems, surveillance cameras and security lighting to provide superior security. They create a barrier that keeps criminals out. Window bars are mounted on the inside of the window and are less noticeable. These bars can be either custom built to fit any size of opening and are either made from wrought iron or tubular channel steel.

Physical protection is very important as it prevents criminals from being able to break into a home or business. When you have window bars and gates installed, you improve the effectiveness of your entire security system.

Window bars and gates also act as a visual deterrent. They keep criminals from even attempting to access your location. Criminals know how strong and secure these physical security tools are, so they typically don’t even bother attempting a break in. They’d rather search for an easier target.

Many people worry that htese bars and gates will make their properties look intimidating, unwelcoming or “like a jail”. However, that is no longer the case. Modern bars and gates come in a variety of styles and colours that compliment your property. You can drastically improve your security while keeping your home or business looking great.

SafeTech can help you get the protection you need to ensure your peace of mind. For more information on window bars and gates and on how you can keep your property safe and secure,contact us today and speak with a SafeTech loss prevention expert.

Reinforced Door Frames Keep Criminals Out

Why should your home or business have reinforced door frames? When people think of security services, their minds typically jump to alarm systems, surveillance cameras and security guards. All of these security services are important and they should all be a part of your home or business security set-up. However, it’s also crucial that you don’t overlook physical security tools. Physical security tools such as reinforced door frames prevent access to a property and make break-ins significantly less likely.

One physical security tool that should be installed in every home and business is reinforced doors and reinforced door frames.

One of the main ways that criminals break into properties is by forcing their way in. Many break-ins are “smash and grab” robberies where criminals use force to get into a property and steal as much as they can before the authorities arrive. Even properties that have strong doors with dead bolts installed and locked can become victims of smash and grab robberies. Reinforced door frames are needed to improve security.

Remember that a physical security set-up is only as strong as its weakest link. In many homes and businesses, the door frames are a weak link. Criminals take advantage of weak door frames to break doors from their hinges and gain access to a property.

How Reinforced Door Frames Stop Crime

When you have reinforced door frames installed, you prevent criminals from easily tampering with or damaging your doors and door frames. In fact, you can even install door and door frame interlocking systems that not only reinforce your door frame, but also allow you to interconnect the door and the frame when the door is shut and locked. This greatly improves the security at your home or business since it makes it significantly more difficult to break through a door and gain access to a property.

Interconnected reinforced frames prevent the door frame from splitting or being removed from the frame. This greatly improves their effectiveness and makes properties that have reinforced door frames much more difficult to break into.

Interlocking reinforced door frames can be installed on any existing door, making this a convenient yet powerful way to protect yourself, your property and your family. The hinges, locks and dead bolts do not have to be replaced, which makes installation fast and efficient. It also means that the interconnected reinforced door frames cannot be seen with the door closed, so the look of your home or business is not affected.

The loss prevention team at SafeTech Alarm Systems can help you secure your home or business property. For more information on reinforced door frames and other physical security solutions, please contact us today and speak with a SafeTech loss prevention expert.

Smoke Monitoring & Fire Alarm Monitoring for your Home

It’s now easier than ever to add fire alarm monitoring and smoke monitoring to your entire house. You can now monitor all of the smoke detectors in your home with just one convenient device – FireFighter™. This device makes this type monitoring convenient, which makes your home safer. Fires and smoke can damage properties and even kill. With this service, fires are detected and responded to in a faster and more effective manner.

With a traditional smoke detector, if no one is home to hear it sound, your home could burn in a fire without anyone knowing until it is too late. However, with fire alarm monitoring and smoke monitoring from this new device, our monitoring station is notified as soon as a fire is detected. Our monitoring station can then contact you or the authorities directly, sending help much more quickly. This is a huge advantage that this system provides.

The FireFighter™ Provides Smoke Monitoring

In the past, smoke monitoring was often difficult. It was sometimes complicated or costly to install several monitored smoke detectors in a home. This is no longer the case. Smoke detector monitoring is now easy and convenient. The FireFighter™ can monitor ALL of the interconnected UL smoke detectors in your home with just one device. This makes your interconnected smoke detectors more effective than ever and provides your home with smoke monitoring services that could save your life.

Only one device needs to be installed near one of your interconnected smoke detectors. This device listens to the unique sounds of your smoke detector and provides your home with full household fire and smoke monitoring. When a smoke alarm sounds, the device sends a notification to the security panel right away.

This reduces response times and potentially saves your property, your pets, your valuables and maybe even your life. This is the easiest and most cost-effective way to add fire alarm and smoke monitoring to your alarm system. However, it will only work with certain alarm systems, so call a SafeTech Loss Prevention Specialist for more information on how smoke monitoring can work in your home.

SafeTech Home Security Tips

Home security is important. Why? Because criminals look for easy targets. They want to strike locations that look unprotected and easy to break into. In order to deter criminals and prevent your home from turning into a crime scene, you can apply safetech home security tips and tactics your property. Home security tips can be used to show criminals that it’s not worth breaking into your home making it more likely that they’ll move on, leaving your house untouched.

“I’ve seen a lot of break-ins,” said Inspector Chris Rheaume, of the Ottawa Police Services while speaking to TD Insurance’s “The Smart Life” newsletter.

“A lot of times, these break-ins were preventable.”

So how can home security keep your home safe and prevent these crimes? What can you do? Here are three important points to follow.

How Home Security Tips Can Protect You

Here are a few great home security tips.

1. Cut curb appeal for thieves

As mentioned, criminals want an easy break-in. They want to find a home that provides them with as little resistance as possible and they want to operate where they won’t be spotted.

Home security tips are used to make your home less attractive to criminals. To do so, make it hard for thieves to hide. Placing lighting around your property and cut trees and hedges so that all entry points can easily be seen. A criminal won’t want to be spotted and he or she will likely move on from your property.

“A broken light on the front or back porch or tall hedges around your house make it easy for a thief to break in without anyone noticing,” says Rheaume.

Another aspect of home security is making it look like someone is always home. Even if you’re only going to be away for a short period of time, set your lights on timers to fool criminals. If you’re going to be away for a longer timeframe, arrange to have your mail picked up, your grass cut and your snow shoveled.

You can also help with home security by not making big purchases visible. When you buy an expensive television or computer, don’t leave the boxes on the curb where everyone can see them. This just invites criminals to your home. Instead, break down the boxes or return them to the store if possible.

2. Make breaking in more difficult

“Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to stop all thieves – especially if they have time to get in – but you can make it harder for them,” says Rheaume. “And that could save you from being robbed.”

A key part of SafeTech home security tips is having an alarm system that makes noise. You want to alert as many people as possible to a potential crime. This will likely scare the criminal off. Having your alarm watched over by a central monitoring station is an even stronger crime deterrent. When you are protected by alarm system monitoring, criminals know that the authorities will be on their way soon after the alarm sounds. They won’t want to take that risk.

Make sure that all of your exterior doors are solid and that all door hinges are on the inside of the house, where criminals can’t easily tamper with them. You’ll also want to make sure that the gap between the door and the doorframe is sealed. This makes it much more difficult for a criminal to pry the door with a crowbar or other weapon. As for the locks on your doors, invest in some good-quality dead bolts and insure that they are properly installed.

Remember to secure and lock all points of entry, including all windows (don’t forget basement windows!), pet doors and your garage. This is a big part of home security!

3. Secure your valuables

Criminals want to get in and out of a home quickly. Placing your valuables out in the open makes this easy for them. To reduce the likelihood of a break-in and improve your home security, close your curtains and blinds to keep criminals from seeing your possessions through the windows. Make sure to keep cash, wallets, credit cards, purses and jewellery out of sight. Place your most valuable items in a safely deposit box or a safe.

Keep records of serial numbers on items that have them (such as bikes) and engrave expensive items with identifiable marks. This will decrease their resell value on the black market and therefore reduce the likelihood of them being stolen.

For more information on SafeTech home security tips and preventing crime at home, contact us. You might also speak to your local police department about home security. Some police departments run crime prevention services that can help you out. You can also contact the loss prevention professionals at SafeTech Alarm Systems for a free risk assessment of your property in order to improve the home security situation at your property.

Security Company Experience Keeps You Safe

When you’re looking for a security company, there are a number of factors that you will need to consider. Choosing a security company should be done carefully and it is not a decision that should be made without a lot of thought and research. Remember, not every security company is created equal. Each company has different skills, knowledge and experience. It’s important to remember what you are trusting a security company with. You are trusting them with the safety and security of your home or business. This is incredibly important. Therefore, you’ll want to choose the best protection company possible.

Here are a few tips for choosing a security company that will provide you with the peace of mind that you deserve.

Choose a Security Company with Experience

Experience is incredibly important in the security industry. You’ll want to choose a security company that has not only been in business for several years, but also one that has a successful track record. You can find out a lot of information about how successful a company has been by reading reviews online. A reputable company with experience will have many positive reviews from past and current clients. These reviews can tell you a lot about the company in question.

You’ll also want to find out how many clients the company has served and how much experience the installers and staff have. Choosing an experienced company to work with will pay off. When you do so, your home or business will be much safer and you will have much greater peace of mind.

Working with a Security Company

You will also want to choose a company that is easy to work with. For example, you will want a company that you can get in touch with easily and one that is able to answer your questions in a straightforward manner. A company that has experienced loss prevention professionals available to speak with you and answer your questions is important. You’ll want to know that you can contact the company easily if you need to and that they will be helpful and courteous. Friendly and professional customer service is very important when choosing a security company.

A security company should also be skilled at strategically combining different types of security technology in order to provide superior protection. Properties that have more than one type of security technology correctly installed (such as a location that has a monitored alarm system installed as well as surveillance cameras) are much safer than those that only utilize one type of security protection.

Before you choose to work with a right company, find out how they use different types of security tools together in order to prevent crime and reduce loss.

Home Automation Tools that Make Life Easier

A home automation system puts your home under your complete control. There are a number of great benefits to home automation services including:

• Turning your lights on and off on a schedule or when certain triggers occur • Setting your home’s temperature automatically or remotely in order to save money • Opening and closing your blinds on schedule or based on the current temperature • Automatically setting your alarm system, locking your doors or completing a number of other security tasks • And more!

As you can see, home automation tools are a great way to simplify your life. You will no longer have to worry about leaving your lights on when you go out or forgetting to set your alarm system. You’ll also save money by controlling the temperature in your home by using automatic or remote tools.

Many home automation systems even allow you to receive alerts on your mobile phone, so you’ll be warned when you leave the house without activating your alarm system or if there is a water leak in your basement while you’re at work. You can then use remote home automation tools to set the alarm, turn off the water or take whatever other action is needed to solve the problem.

Security and Home Automation

Not only do home automation systems make life more convenient, they also keep you safe. For example, setting your lights to work on a timer doesn’t just reduce your electricity bill. It also deters criminals from breaking into your home since it makes the property appear occupied. Criminals won’t want to risk breaking into a home if it looks like there are people there. They’ll simply move on.

But home automation tools can do even more to keep you and your family safe. For example, you can use a automation system to remotely view your security cameras from anywhere with an Internet connection. This means that you can check in on your housekeeper, contractor or babysitter during the day to make sure they are doing their job correctly and not breaking your trust or the law. You can also use remote security camera viewing to make sure that your children arrive home from school safely and on time. A home automation system can also send you alerts to warn you of a wide variety of trouble conditions, including open windows and doors, activated motion sensors, fires, floods and just about any security threat that you can think of. This shows how not only does home automation make life easier and more convenient, but it also makes it safer.

Security Camera Professional Tips on Time of Install

Is security camera installed at your home or office strong? Do you have more than one? Having a surveillance camera set-up properly installed is an important part of any home or business security plan. Security cameras can keep you safe, reduce crime and deter criminals from striking.

However, security cameras need to be installed properly in order to maximize their effectiveness. No one knows how to do this better than a professional security camera installer. At time of install, a professional surveillance camera installer takes the time to carefully consider the most suitable location for each camera and determine which cameras work best for your particular application.

Location of Security Camera

One of the most important parts of a security camera set-up is the location of the cameras. A trained installer understands the need to place your surveillance cameras in locations where they will be able to get clear footage. This means installing them where they won’t be blocked by trees, buildings or any other obstructions. It also means making sure each security camera is able to capture enough detail to be useful. When installing a camera in a low-light area, for example, the installer will need to ensure that the camera is capable of capturing video in low-light situations. Usually cameras with infrared capability are used in this application. Security cameras not containing infrared LED’s are more suitable for well lit areas.

Positioning the Security Camera

A professional installer understands how important it is to take the environment into account when installing a security camera. For example, if a security camera is positioned so that it is facing a bright light (such as a street light or even the sun) it might not be able to capture the footage that you need. Professional installers keep this in mind and make many camera angle adjustments during installation.

An installer will also suggest installing surveillance cameras where criminals cannot easily tamper with them. A security camera should be mounted in a high enough location that it cannot be easily damaged or it should be placed behind a protective structure such as domes. This is done in order to reduce the likelihood of a criminal damaging a security camera

The professional installer will also make recommendations depending on the surface that the camera is mounted upon. Cameras must have a solid footing. For instance, a security camera installed on stucco siding is not secured very well and may easily become dislodged.

It is also important that each camera is installed in a relevant position. For example, a security professional will likely recommend installing a camera at each entrance to make sure that the camera captures footage of anyone entering your property. The installer may also recommend placing one security camera or two at key locations, such as in areas where valuables are kept. It is crucial to avoid “dead spots” where criminals could conceivably move around without being caught by the cameras.

The Storage of Security Camera Footage

In order to securely protect most properties, often more than one security camera is required. Multiple cameras provide better coverage and a greater possibility of catching criminals in the act. However, additional cameras require additional storage on the hard drive of a recording device. A professional installer needs to determine the desired storage time and calculate how much storage capacity is required for each camera. By multiplying the total number of installed cameras by the storage required for each camera, the professional is able to determine the size of hard drive required for the job. Correctly placed and installed surveillance cameras drastically improve the security at your property. Remember that criminals do not want to be caught committing their crimes, so the camera set-up is a great way to deter them.

Sean O’leary from SafeTech Alarms talks about security camera applications and solutions: