10 "Poor Man" Home-Defense Tricks That Make $5,000 Security Systems Look Like a Scam

A monitored alarm calls a stranger in another state. A $4 box of screws keeps the door from opening in the first place. This is the list, and every number in it comes from a source you can go read yourself. In 2019 the FBI logged 1,117,696 burglaries in the United States. 62.8% of them were residential, and the average loss was $2,661. But the number that matters most is this one: 37.8% of those break-ins involved no force at all. Somebody walked in. We count down ten "poor man" home-defense tricks — what each one costs, where to put it, and the research behind why it works on the way a burglar actually makes his decision, which is from the sidewalk, in under a minute. The four that matter most come to $17. CHAPTERS 0:00 What 422 convicted burglars said 1:15 #10 Gravel under the windows — $6 2:10 #9 Window security film — $30 3:05 #8 A dowel in the sliding door — $2 3:58 #7 Three-inch screws in the strike plate — $4 5:12 #6 One real camera and three fakes — $40 6:10 The truth about who is actually coming 7:26 #5 Take away the place he stands — $15 8:23 #4 The dog that doesn't exist — $3 9:18 #3 Make the house look occupied — $15 10:32 What the monthly fee actually buys 11:57 #2 Stop buying things, start building rings 13:00 #1 The oldest security system there is — free 14:00 Your challenge this week SOURCES — every figure in this video Blevins, Kuhns & Lee (2012), "Understanding Decisions to Burglarize from the Offender's Perspective." UNC Charlotte Dept. of Criminal Justice & Criminology. 422 incarcerated burglars, NC/KY/OH. Funded by the Alarm Industry Research & Educational Foundation. https://siacinc.org/wp-content/uploads/202... Sampson, R. "False Burglar Alarms," 2nd Ed. U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Problem-Oriented Guides for Police No. 5. https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourcecent... FBI Uniform Crime Report, Crime in the United States 2019 — Burglary. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/... Catalano, S. (2010), "Victimization During Household Burglary." Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ 227379. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/vdhb.pdf WHICH ONE ARE YOU DOING? Tell me below. And settle something for me — does the gravel get more love than the boots? I don't think it will. SAFETY AND SCOPE Nothing in this video is professional security, legal, structural or insurance advice. Check your local building and fire codes before modifying doors, windows or egress routes — a door or window you cannot get out of quickly in a fire is a worse problem than the one you were solving. Nothing here should be read as advice about confronting an intruder. #homedefense #burglary #homesecurity #prepping #selfreliance