Technical Protecting from theft

My neighbor has been hit hard and repeatedly by thieves. Her husband passed away several years back and she has things stored down the road from her house as well as at her house.

Living in the country has it's advantages but it can also mean not everything is being watched.

With that said, what kind of game cameras or security have you used to protect your possessions that are outside or unable to be locked up and monitored. Obviously Smith & Wesson but that only works if you find the crooks. Just looking for options without breaking the bank.

 

In the country it would seem tough without gates, I would still install motion lights do a few cameras around the house. But you have an out building maybe do a electric wire fence?

Make sure to insure the property be it automobiles or the homeowners to cover the rest.

 

Buy one of the camera systems that has multiple cameras. Check a display system to see that it can focus at a distance or all you get is blurry useless images. Its best to put the cameras up high like under cornices, and have them electrically connected rather than batteries. You can put a deer camera out somewhere that it won't be seen and point it towards the building so as the thief pulls their truck in, it will see a license number. She should also get a BRIGHT light that comes on after the vehicle enters the driveway. It should be delayed until the thief is past the deer camera. That way when it comes on it lights up the license plate. The delay should also have a siren. Thieves hate noise worse than light. This would require an electric wire be run underground to provide power to the light and the siren. A simple cheap plug in adapter with a siren can provide voltage.


Many camera systems don't give good images at night.

 

You can just about bet that it is the same thieves time and time again and that they know her and probably your movements.
Around here thieves hit in the daytime as much or more than they do at night. Maybe more. A lot of drop a guy off at a house and drive down the road and turn around and hide with the car until they signal that they are ready to pick the guy who robbed the place back up. That happened to my neighbors house several times before they put in an 8 ft chain link fence with a gate and now a rather large Shepard roams around in the yard.

Still bright motion detector lights might be a big help as thieves who prowl at night don't like light and having the whole yard lit up if you cross it might put them on the run. The game camera or a security camera might tell you who the thieves are and when they were there but aren't a deterrent. A serous gate with a heavy chain and padlock should keep vehicles out and also change the way the law views anyone caught inside. You didn't just walk in to look at the the old_____ when you had to circumnavigate a locked gate.

My house is 400 ft off the highway and there is no other way out except across the field in any direction.
There were a succession of big black dogs here that would run you off for 20 years and that has a lot to do with the local sticky finger brigade leaving it alone. Even my own mother and a couple of close friends can't tell if I am home or not because I have several vehicles and don't drive the same one all the time and they aren't always parked in the same places. Even the ones that don't run get moved fairly often and swapped around.

 

Move to Texas
Here open carry and protecting property is just a way of life.
My neighbor is a EMT, he told me a story of a guy that was running from police, his car crashed and he jumped out. He jumped a fence and was running up to a house.
The home owner was sitting on the front porch drinking Ice tea. Criminal came running at him, homeowner pulled a 9mm pistol and shot him. He died.
Police asked questions for their report and case closed.

I often leave my house with the back door open while going to town. Yes I have a couple dogs they will have to get past .... But people think twice before they try burglary.
It is very rare here.

I am only saying, if you shoot them, they tend to not come around ... If your state puts you in jail for shooting them, then you tend to stand by and watch.
Only real way to fix this issue is at the ballot box ... crooks will always find new drugs and new ways to be stupid.

 

What good are cameras? That's reactive thinking. You gonna give em' milk and cookies too? Thieves hate lights and noise. Ear bleeding sirens, many, many spot and strobe lights, loud speakers and electric fences, gates, door handles. If they gotta touch it, electrify it. No warning signs of any kind. Let 'em find out the hard way.

 

Simply the best system you can buy.
Hardware and software are outstanding at a bargain price.
It’s called Blink. I love it.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/C5DECBBE-4F56-4C36-B933-E62144578691

 

You can't stop thieves, like it or not, they're smarter than honest people. They have developed their art, they'll watch you, plan and execute the plan, if they want your stuff, it'll go.
Now....there are things you can do, in her case, find a guy who needs a place to park the motorhome he lives in, free power, free parking in exchange for watching the place, (provided he don't steal ya blind), install motion lights, but they aren't a deterrent if nobody's there, if you own a classic car, wire it so it won't run, disable any trailers you have, bar the living hell outta your shop door, and get a dog, at least something that barks. Lastly, shoot their knees off, they won't steal again.
Two weeks ago there was a firey crash on the hiway outside town, stolen truck and trailer, cops got the driver out, but the passenger burned. Local facebook page was all sympathetic to the burned guy, but not me, I replied, "one less thief, too bad the rest in town weren't in the truck" and promptly got snowed under for my views. What does that mean? Don't count on your neighbours.
Thieves are scum, the rest of us need to treat them as scum.

 

Petejoe, got no cell service here, calling my phone is useless.....

 

Well, It's like raising chickens.
A thief is a predator like a coon, fox or the neighbors flipping free range dogs.

Like predators, thieves want easy pickings. They don't want to work, otherwise they would not be thieves.

A predator could get my chicken if he was willing to work for it. Heavy wire, a tight coop, no holes, gates shut, gates locked and latched keep the chickens safe. Now if the coon or dog worked for 20 minutes, he could get in there. He will not because he does not have the time, and he's vulnerable working in that one spot.

The more you make a thief work, the safer you will be. If they have to work they'll move on.

It's kind of like the story about the two people out running the bear. One does not have to out run the bear, he has to out run the other guy. If your stuff is hard to get into, they'll move on to easier picking.

Gates, fences and locks.

Most of thievery in the country is by meth/crackhead family members and friends of friends.

 

I installed security cameras with a large hard drive and put them around my house but had to hard wire them cause the wifi was a little jumpy. They work great but the local cops seem to use them more than we do every time something goes down on my street. Which thankfully isn't often. You can get a good trail camera pretty cheap nowadays. Bought a Campark T40 off amazon for about sixty bucks and it's got night vision and motion sensor.

 

The Blink system works off of your WiFi.
Cell service at your residence isn’t required.

 

Cameras are a large expense with little or no benefit. The best advice so far is to make it as hard as you can for the crook to steal your things. The same goes for motion lights. At best they are iffy and work when the conditions are right. Surround the place with LED lighting. It is extremely bright, which no crook wants. They are extremely inexpensive to use. And you should install them on photo cells to keep them on at all the dusk and dark hours of night. Put fake cameras if you want. Again, cameras may give you lovely images of some assholes stealing your stuff but the police probably won't take the time to investigate. Make it as difficult as you can for the crook to get your things

 

I have Blink.

 

12. Gauge,,,,,,the deterrent of Champions!
Like my friend from Texas said,,,,,,these guys know that most people can’t, or won’t stand up to them .
It’s easy pickins ,,,,,,learn the pattern from casing the area,,,,,and most people just duck and hide If they see you .
I’m not blaming the law enforcement either,,,,,there is only so many of them to go around .
And I understand that not all people can protect their property.
Neighbors help out a lot in the country areas,,,,,good neighbors that are watching .
Crooks usually understand only one thing,,,,,force .
They are not afraid of going to jail,,,,,but,,they are afraid of going to Hell,,,,,well,,,,at least that first big step to the other side .

Back to the question,,,,I would start with some well placed signage.
A few signs with some wording might keep a few crooks away .
Like surveillance cameras in use,,,,or a fake security company sign .
Then add some real security hardware,,,,,and electronics .
I’m sorry to say that there is not much you can do to stop a determined criminal short of getting your hands dirty,,,and depending on where you live ,,,,you could go to jail for protecting yourself .

Talk to your neighbors and let them know you are there if they need you,,,,,a team works a lot better than one person .
Good luck,,,,I hope it works out for you,,,,,and everyone else as well .

Tommy

 

Washington state, good luck! don't shoot them, and a camera may not help either, I think your defunded cops have other stuff to do besides looking at photos. Best bet may be like others have said, lights noise and more lights and noise.

 

If the woman is alone she can probably use company. A Rottweiler is actually a gentle animal for his owner will keep her company, keep her safe and protect his territory. Two would be better but that food bill might start running.

 

at a garage i worked at around 3 decades ago we had a theft problem we were out in the country and had a small storage lot out back but it got picked too occasionally a fella up the street got in trouble at his shop for wiring the cars with a fence transformer .. so i thought i got wood and paint so i made a simple but official looking sign that said "WARNING GUARD DOGS IN USE" never got dogs and never had anymore problems either worked like a champ..
fabricator john
miss you dad

 

Basically - it would be a good idea for her to sell or loose it. Cameras are great - I have them and a dog but have had more stuff destroyed by punks than stolen....except my 65 2+2 Mustang that was stolen twice before I finally sold it to buy my 1939 Deluxe coupe. The hunters have that tree camera that they watch the deer with - I have them set up as well....like a good fishing hole - they will be back to steal. Even my neighbor that had his aluminum trailer stolen with every thing on the camera....and the thieves arrested....he never got restitution or prosecution. .

 

I have a Moultrie game camera. One camera covers my whole yard from the shop door, day and night. Anyone comes through my gate, they get their picture taken and I get it on my phone by the time they reach the shop. If I'm not around I have neighbors itching for action.

 

.45 ACP.

 

There are some good motion detecting solar power flood lights that may help deter. A couple things maybe for the neighbor to consider. If the items have been in storage for years then may be it is time to sell and get some value out of the items. If she is saving some items to pass on then maybe pass them on now and enjoy the smiles that the items bring. Clearing the storage is freedom. My mother was getting on in age so she decided one day that she had items that she had planned to pass on one day. She wanted to see the joy that it brought to everyone while she was alive. Her logic was that she and my late dad had enjoyed or treasured these items so let others appreciate the items. It eliminated any conversation of where these items were to go years later.

 

^^^^^ This. Clean up your property. Keep valuable stuff out of plain sight. Don't let random people wander around your place. Don't post pics of your stuff on fakebook or the internet.

Trained guard dogs do work well!

 

For me and Bonnie it's a numbers game...12ga, 9mm, 357 etc.

 

Google cellular trail camera. They send pics real time so you can call police as it’s happening.


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THIS. And don't entertain many friends and certainly no friends of friends,

 

Had this problem couple yrs back.

Heard someone out back late one night and with a walk of the property and shooting ar15 down the hedge rolls as I walked along I never had another problem with them coming back.

 

Three weeks ago somebody stole my motorcycle chained to the light pole out front of my house. The bright light directly overhead made it easy for him to see to cut the chain, etc.

 

A simple sign can be a determent,
"Beware - Guard Dog on Duty" or "This property is protected with a security system"

A local man has a bear trap hanging on the front gate, and a sign that states, " Trespass at your own Risk - This trap is not the only one on the property.

Thus far it has kept thieves at bay. HRP

 

I second that she/you knows the thieves. If she has no need for this stuff, then liquidate it; no money in the bank, no bank robbery, nothing to steal, no theft. Never, anytime, anywhere, with anyone, talk about what you have, where it's at, or how to get there!!!!! Deterrents have been covered already, but is there anyway someone could "stay" there in a travel trailer/motor home in exchange for staying there? Even if/when these thieves are caught, virtually nothing will befall them; the courts are just too constipated, and this pandemic sure is't helping with prosecutions. Put out a "county" sign (you'll have to make one up) that warns of RABID BATS at the unattended property.. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.