Home Crime Prevention with Motion Light

Crime Prevention for Home -  Step One – Do This First

Prevent robbery, theft, and burglary with a fundamental enemy, a motion sensor light. Motion Sensor lights are your first defense against crime at your home property. Motion lighting will startle a potential thief or burglar outside of your home and will often send them somewhere else instead. Thieves are looking for easy access with the least resistance and they do not want to be seen or caught. Obviously this is only a night time deterrent however this is when many bad guys prowl for cars to steal, entry into yards for property valuables, or look for ways to enter the home. Their success begins under the cover of night and not being seen by the property owner, tenant, or neighbor.

I have had first hand experience with this, having had one of my vehicles broken into one night while parked in the front driveway. Although I did have an outdoor motion light, I had made the mistake of installing it too low and within the reach of the thief. I discovered after the fact that they had simply unscrewed the two bulbs from their sockets so that they turned off.

Install your motion security light high enough and out of reach. An alternative is to cover it with a wire cage so it cannot be tampered with or purchase a vandal proof model . If you do not have an outdoor motion light, or don’t think you need one, please realize that no location is safe from prowlers, no matter where you live. Light is enemy number one to a night burglar, so do yourself a favor and get one installed.

I like the motion light better than having a general light turned on because of it’s psychological affect to the prowler as well as the obvious sudden illumination that you or a neighbor may notice. I know that if I am near a window at night and notice a motion light turn on from a neighbor’s house, I will have a peek out the window. The best lighting scenario for most situations is to have both normal lighting that is on during the night as well as motion lighting, unless you live very rural and you do not want your home to be visible from a distance to attract attention.

I recommend that you install motion lighting around the perimeter of your home so that all areas are covered, not just the front. In fact, instead of (or in addition to) installing lighting right at the house, it is effective to install further out, say 50 feet. This will give you even earlier warning. If electricity is not available away from the house, or if you do not wish to install electricity out to a perimeter location, you can use a solar motion light which charges up during the day from a small solar panel. The solar motion light is not as bright as a traditional 120 volt model but will still provide the desired affect to the prowler and the visual notification to you or your neighbors.

There are lots to choose from in the market. Just remember that you generally get what you pay for, meaning, if you buy on the expensive side you will get better performance and features.

Of the motion lighting systems that I’ve had over the years, I have been very happy with a recent upgrade to a RAB STL360Q3 Super Stealth 360 The distance and coverage is phenomenal (over 60 feet and 180 plus 360 degree patterns).

The point of this post is to bring attention to preparedness and the common-sense approach to home crime prevention which begins with installing a simple motion light or two. You will get the most for your money for this crime deterrent, before you take it to the next level.