As the holiday season approaches, you may consider taking a few days away from home. One of the biggest priorities on your pre-departure checklist should be home security. Some might not take home security seriously due to the cold weather. However, according to the Calgary Police, there has been a 22% increase in property crimes over the past five years.

Based on those statistics, winter is certainly not a deterrent from potential theft. In which case, you want to deter burglars from breaking in by taking some extra precautions. A few safety measures to help ensure no one is hiding inside when you return that could cause danger to you and your family.

One guaranteed solution is to find an alarm system in Calgary and install it in their home. This way, it can trigger an alarm to send the police and remove any intruder. Beyond an alarm system, there are extra security measures you can take to protect your home from crime while on vacation this winter. 

Check out a few ways down below!

Security from Shovelled Sidewalks

Winter means an unpredictable amount of snow, especially if you live in Calgary. An un-shovelled driveway and sidewalk indicate to intruders that you are away for the holidays, making your place an easy target. There is less chance of burglars getting caught when you are not around, and they know it.

Before you get out of the city for the holiday season, make sure you take the target off your home. Shovel the driveway before you leave and ask a neighbour or family member to shovel your drive for you while you are away. Something as simple as having someone regularly cleaning off the snow on your property could save itself. Burglars wandering around the neighbourhood looking for an easy break-in will see someone at your home and take you off their hit list.

Keep Your Packages Secure

Around the holiday season, many long-distance relatives send gifts by mailing them out. However, if gift packages are left unattended while you’re gone for a long time, it can entice a burglar to pick them up for themselves. Items left around your home signal that you aren’t around, and your residence becomes a pick-and-pull for thieves. 

Do you have a package scheduled for delivery while you are away? Make sure to let your neighbours know you will be gone and ask them to watch for your parcel so they can keep it for you until you return. According to several news sources, theft of packages is at an all-time high. So, consider holding off on deliveries while you are on holiday. 

Someone to Check Your Home

Do you have a trusted friend or family member living nearby? Ask them to check on your home while you are gone. They can let you know if they notice anything suspicious – like footprints in your yard. They can also ensure you lock all your doors, switch lights on or off, and put away anything you left lying out. Make it appear that someone is home. 

Alternatively, finding the right home security camera in Calgary can offer you peace of mind if none of these options are available. From it, you can check in from time to time at your home. In addition, some can provide motion detection and intruder alerts, which can be better than a neighbour’s watchful eyes. These security measures can go a long way without worrying about triggering your alarm system at all.  

To secure your commercial and private properties, hire Supreme Security today. Supreme Security has been Calgary’s reliable security service provider since 1985, and we aim to continue to keep our community secure. Utilizing the newest and very best modern security technologies, Supreme Security’s fully trained and certified technicians will install these technologies in prompt time. Amid times of uncertainty, let Supreme Security provide you with safety and protection. To learn more about Supreme Security, call us at 403-242-7777 or visit our website https://supremesecurity.com/

Top 3 Ways to Keep Your Calgary Home Extra Secure During the Winter

November 30, 2021

calgary winter crime home securityAs the holiday season approaches, you may be thinking of taking a few days away from home. Whether you are travelling to a close relative’s home, a cottage, or a traditional vacation, home security is for sure on your pre-departure checklist. Why do you need to think about security? According to the Calgary Police, there has been a 22% increase in property crimes over the past five years.

You can avoid burglars breaking in by taking some extra precautions. Safety measures help ensure no one is hiding inside when you return, causing danger to you and your family.

How do you make sure you have home security? A quality residential security system that will trigger an alarm sending the police to come to take away the intruder. Before it gets to this point, how else can you protect your home from crime while on vacation?

  1. Shoveled Sidewalks

Winter means an unpredictable amount snow, especially if you live in Calgary. An un-shovelled driveway and sidewalk is a sign to intruders that you are away for the holidays making your place an easy target. There is less chance of burglars getting caught when you are not around, and they know it.

Before you get out of the city for the Christmas season, make sure you take the target off your home. Shovel the driveway before you leave and while you are away, ask a neighbour or family member to shovel your drive for you. Having someone regularly clear off the snow on your property could be a save in itself. Burglars wandering around the neighbourhood looking for an easy break-in will see someone is at your home and take you off their hit list.

  1. Avoid Items Laying Around

Think back to when you were a kid, and your mom and dad would tell you to put away your toys before bedtime. As an adult, it is important to remove boxes or packages lying around before you leave for your holiday. Why? If a burglar sees a Christmas package on your doorstep, it is an invitation to pick it up. Items left lying around your home signal that you aren’t around, and your residence becomes a pick and pull for criminals. (insert camera system link)

Do you have a package scheduled for delivery while you are away? Make sure to let your neighbours know you will be gone and ask them to watch for your parcel so they can keep it for you until you return. According to several news sources, theft of packages is at an all-time high so consider holding off on deliveries while you are on holiday.

  1. Have Someone Check on Your Home

Do you have a friend or family member living nearby? Ask them to check on your home while you are gone. They can let you know if they notice anything suspicious, like footprints in your yard. They can also make sure you locked all your doors, switch lights on or off, and put away anything you left lying out. Make it appear that someone is home. If non of these options are available, a home surveillance system (add link) can offer you peace of mind and you check in from time-to-time on your home. These systems also offer motion detection and intruder alerts which can be better than a neighbours watchful eyes.

High Insurance Premiums, Water Damage, Fire, and more can be saved by a properly installed alarm system.

Author: David
Published: January 11, 2021

When considering a home security system, you automatically think about protection against burglary, but a good security system does so much more than deter theft. What are some of the perils you can shield yourself and your property against by having a monitored alarm installed in your home?

High Insurance Premiums

Insurance rates can come in high if you have lots of risky factors associated with your home. Reduce the risks associated with your home by installing a home security system. Insurance companies look favourably on properties that have extra measures in place to protect your structure and contents against damage.

What type of security system is best to help reduce your insurance premium?

A centrally monitored alarm system that will be triggered if there is a break-in is a good choice for homeowners. According to AHA Insurance, you can expect to receive between a 5 to 20% reduction in your insurance premium just for having this extra protection.

Other great alarm systems to have in place are fire, flood, and carbon monoxide detectors. These systems, though less effective at reducing your insurance rate than a centrally monitored alarm, will still have an impact on minimizing your costs.

Water Damage

No one likes to think about having water flooding into their home, but sometimes natural disasters can strike causing your belongings and your home itself to sustain substantial damage. Do you remember the Calgary flood of 2013? It had wreaked havoc on many homes. Clean up took months and plenty of effort from good Samaritans. Some homes could have averted severe damage if they had a flood alarm installed.

Flood detectors are a great way to lessen the damage that may occur during a seasonal downpour or as a result of a broken waterline. Though these systems are unable to prevent natural disasters from occurring, they can notify you of any water or moisture unnaturally seeping into your home before it becomes unmanageable. Your detector goes off when it senses moisture giving you a chance to move furniture and other belongings to higher ground before they get drenched.

Winters in Calgary can bring a lot of snow which can lead to melting on warm chinook days. These meltdowns are fun for building snowmen but not so fun if the water seeps into your basement. Flood detectors notify you of rising water in places where it shouldn’t be so you can fix the leak before it becomes a project for a disaster service company. Wouldn’t you want the chance to rectify a situation before it fully erupts?

Fire

Imagine sleeping in your bed, unaware of a fire building up downstairs triggered by the stove or a candle accidentally left on. Heat rises quickly and soon you find yourself stuck in a cloud of smoke and billowing heat. The only way out is the window and you are up extremely high without a phone to call the fire department.

Instead of getting into this kind of situation, you can quickly become aware of a dangerous looming fire with the installation of fire detectors that are activated through your central alarm system. Monitored systems signal the fire station and trigger your interior siren allowing you and your family to make it out of the house safely.

Carbon Monoxide Seepage

According to Direct Energy, the Government of Canada statistics note that an average of 400 people each year die from unintentional poisoning as a result of carbon monoxide seepage. Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer because it is a colourless, odourless gas that can kill you. Instead of worrying about possible seepage in your home, invest in a carbon monoxide detector.

What does a carbon monoxide detector do?

When there is any level of carbon monoxide detected in your home, a siren will alarm you and when your alarm is centrally monitored, the local authorities will become notified and the fire department will immediately be dispatched.

Dangerously Low-Temperature Levels

It gets extremely cold during Calgary winters and frigid temperatures can be damaging to your home. Did you know water pipes may freeze up and burst due to lack of heat?

If you experience an issue with your heating system or someone turns the heat below 12 degrees Celsius, you risk damage to your water pipes due to freezing. The pipes are in danger of bursting because they expand when they begin to thaw. Burst pipes can cause a severe amount of damage to your home and belongings when left undetected. It generally only takes 4 to 5 hours for this situation to occur. Having a temperature monitoring system in place will sense dangerously low temperatures so you can contact an HVAC specialist or plumber before it’s too late.

Having a home security system installed will give you peace of mind, save you from a high insurance premium, and possibly save your life. Isn’t it time you contacted Supreme Security for a quote today?

SUPREME SECURITY – SECURITY YOU CAN TRUST