How much is your family’s safety worth to you?

How much is your family’s worth?

When considering security for your home, think like a criminal and not like a home owner. A criminal has all the time in the world to plan his way into your home but upon triggering an alarm or being discovered, they have a very limited time to make their escape. Make it difficult for criminals to make their escape as you can be sure that when they are planning their way in, they are also planning their way out.

•  Ensure that your home has all-round defense on the perimeter, not just on one or two walls.
• Ensure that your home has some sort of detection device that will alert you to an intruder before they penetrate your bedrooms.
• Even better, ensure they are detected while still outside.
• Ensure that if you are cornered, someone capable, like a Security company is already on their way to help you.

All of these targets can be achieved with some realistic planning and implementation. For a reasonable financial target to spend on your family’s security, use the following calculation:

• Take the value of your home (R1.0 million) + the value of the contents (R500k) = R1.5 million.
• Spend an average of 1% of that per annum on security upgrades and armed response etc. = R15 000 per annum or R1250 per month.

Once your home is secure, the amount can be reduced but ensure that you upgrade when improvements are available or needed, do not become complacent. If that is too much, consider how much is spent on leisure items? It’s your family and your property. How much are they worth?