Making Nature Home: Four Home Security Ideas for Camping

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vixl/4939117481/


When packing for camping, many would prefer to think about rations, campground supplies, and tent poles than ways that we might be able to defend ourselves. While it’s true that crime rates at campgrounds are significantly lower than in the city, a reduced likelihood is not very solid grounds to forget the importance of your group’s safety. When camping, it’s wise to heed home security measures like you would if you were home if you want to create a safe environment.

While advanced monitoring and alarm systems clearly aren’t feasible in most outdoors situations, taking some basic principles of home security systems and applying them on your next camping outing can increase your chances of deterring crime and give your campers a greater peace of mind. However, I’d like to make one reservation; whereas crimes in residential properties occur more often in well-traveled areas, the ideal camping grounds are more popular areas where there is a moderate presence of other campers. When it comes to the wilderness, isolation is a key ingredient for disaster.

Without further ado, here are just three ways that we can boost our security while camping to make sure that keep everyone in our party safe, no matter where we are:

1. Maintain a secure presence

The first aspect to keep in mind is adequate lighting, especially during night. Some might choose to avoid light to gain security through stealth, but this is a far greater disadvantage when potential predators lurk. It isn’t advisable to leave a campfire unattended while sleeping, so the better option of maintaining some light at all times is to either use a lantern or a few floodlights with a moderately sized generator. Solar panels are a natural fit if your camping plans go on for longer than your generator can manage.

2. Keep watch

One of the best deterrents in reducing the rates of crime in suburban and urban areas is a solid neighborhood watch. In fact, the FBI’s statistics project that these programs have an efficiency of up to 43%. Likewise, keeping a sense of watch over your campgrounds can make a great difference in keeping criminals away. This doesn't necessarily entail staying up and taking turns maintaining post; rather, simply being aware of sights and sounds of your environment and having a protocol to respond to emergency situations can save the day.

I always take a whistle when I go camping, which I use for an “alarm” in case I detect something suspicious. Others might use lights, signals, or even walkie-talkies to maintain communications about potential dangers.

3. Keep a tight ship

When you buy a new television, you wouldn’t simply leave the box next to your trash can; it would be a blatant advertisement to crooks that you have a shiny new HDTV for the taking. Similarly, it’s always wise (and courteous!) to pick up after yourself when camping. Leaving garbage around can attract potentially dangerous wildlife, pose an environmental hazard to your group or other campers, and leave a trail that criminals could use to determine your resources and tail your group.

When it comes to demonstrating your resources, whether you’re at home or outside, the best policy is discretion.

4. Have a backup plan for worst case situations

No matter how thorough you are in establishing a safe campgrounds and maintaining safe practices, it’s impossible to guarantee that someone (or a wild animal) won’t target you or others with you while camping. Just as you might keep a firearm at home in the case of a home invasion, it’s a good idea to carry some kind of firearm to defend your camp from criminals or dangerous wildlife should your camp fail to deter a dangerous element.

While it’s always preferable to make sure you never have to use it in the first place, keeping a firearm with you is a valuable last resort in keeping the peace while camping.

This guest post was provided by Naomi Broderick.

Be aware. Be informed. Be prepared.

Riverwalker

Protecting Your Loved Ones Against Home Invasion

As a homeowner and a family man, you may not want to think about what might happen in the event of a home invasion. Of course, the only thing worse than thinking about an invasion is thinking about what could happen to your family and how you could have prevented it. That’s why no matter how good your neighborhood is you should always be prepared.

I have come up with a few tips you can use to help prepare your family.

1. Designate a safe area. Remember that movie “Panic Room” starring Jodie Foster? No? Oh…well, check out IMDB to get a feel for what I’m talking about. Basically, a panic room is described as a hidden room with reinforced walls, supplies and surveillance. It’s a refuge one can escape to in the event of an emergency. You don’t actually need a specific panic room; you just need an area you can lock from the rest of the home to guard against intruders. A bathroom works just as fine. Once you have a safe area picked out, make sure your family knows where it is. It should be in a central location.

2. Pick a safe house. If you have good neighbors, consider coordinating with them and designate their home a safe house, if you have their permission. Basically, their home can serve as a safe place for your family to escape to and call the police from if your home is compromised.

3. Practice, practice, practice. “Drill” might be a better word. Pick a weekend and have your family rush to the designated safe area or safe house. Be sure and time how long it takes, and develop ways you can make the escape routes more efficient if need be. Having a plan means being prepared.

4. Look into some home security. There are plenty of systems on the market and many of them are easy enough for children to use. Ones monitored by ADT, for example, come with keychain remotes that can manually activate and deactivate the system at the press of a button. If your children are in danger, they can even trigger the alarm instantly.

5. Consult with local law enforcement. If anyone is going to have the information you need regarding home invasions, it’s your local police. Take a trip down to the station and ask a few questions. Bring the kids, too, that way you can broach the topic of home invasion without scaring them. The police might even be able to point you in the right direction when it comes to home security systems or even what to buy to help protect your home.

6. Go to the hardware store. Some hardware stores offer different implements you can use to secure doors and windows. Of course, you should consult with the CPSC before you install anything in your home.

Remember, you can’t hide the threat of home invasion from your family and hope to be prepared if it happens. Everyone needs to be on the same page.

AR

Thanks AR.

Be aware. Be informed. Be prepared.

Riverwalker

Hacked!

After several years of having a posted email on my website, someone has decided to hack my account and send out unauthorized emails to persons on my contact list.

Apparently my email account has been hacked by some sort of social networking or messenger site. It's sending invites to people who I have sent emails to or received emails from at one time or another.

My apologies to everyone for this problem.

Please do not respond to these unsolicited emails. Mark them as spam or delete them.

I am working to solve this problem on my end.

Apparently this is affecting a lot of persons other than myself, including gmail users as well.

Be aware. Be informed. Be prepared.

Riverwalker

Thoughts on Security

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

The ancient Hebrew king Solomon was a wise man. After years of observation, he wrote for future generations three books Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. These books contain the vital lessons he learned from his generation. Remarkably, his knowledge is still relevant today. In his time he saw that there was a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. The same is true in our day. We must perceive the time and respond to it.

Our life’s trip through time is beyond the control of anyone. We are captive to the events that occur between our birth and death. For some, the circumstances of their day has been peaceful, uneventful, and prosperous, others live lives of oppression, struggle, poverty, and injustice. The events of your life makes no difference to time, time just continues to unfold. It is observable, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year as time marches on.

Of course, we cannot stop its progression, or predict its course. Its events are often mundane and uneventful and at other times shocking. Yet, however time turns it is only our response to those events that matter.

Remember September 11, 2001, the day started like a thousand before, but within minutes the morning abruptly changed the course of our lives. The direction of then future events was permanently altered. As a nation, we were not prepared for the brutal terrorism that was witnessed that day. Though we were unprepared, we quickly responded to the threat and met force with force. We brought the battle to the terrorist.

As long as we have stayed alert and prepared, we have been safe. Nevertheless, when politics inserted itself into national security we once again dropped our guard and allowed political correctness to dictate our response to threats. Therefore, we wavered; we failed to respond to perceived threats, and 13 brave and decent soldiers died needless deaths. The recent Fort Hood terrorist attack indicates that our leaders again prefer to put Americans in harms way and sacrifice lives for the politically correct fantasy that Islam is a religion of peace. How long will the America voters waver between two opinions and allow idiots to govern?

As for you and I we see this most recent fanatical belief that virgins and honey await those who will kill the infidel as reason to make preparations. What can we do? After the massacre of 24 people at Luby’s Restaurant in Killeen TX, the Texas legislature recognized that the slaughter on that day could have been prevented if one diner with a handgun had been prepared to defend himself.

Therefore, after much debate in 1995 the 74^th legislature passed a Concealed Handgun law and the new Governor George W. Bush signed the concealed carry bill. Throughout the long struggle to get a concealed handgun law passed for Texas there were a number of people who risked their political lives to accomplish what many thought might be an impossible task. Two stand out.

One is Texas Senator Jerry Patterson, who sponsored and shepherded a number of the bills, including the successful 1995 effort and the equally important 1997 revision. The other is Suzanna Gratia, who rose from the tragedy in Killeen to provide essential testimony at a critical time. As Suzanna Gratia-Hupp she become a Representative in the Texas Legislature and served several terms, always speaking up for gun owners.

In a society where a lone gunman, a murderer or rapist, a deceived jihadist, or a sneak thief can rob you of your life or your family’s life, it only makes sense to purchase a concealable handgun and get a license to carry it. Join a gun club. Practice shooting. Teach your children to respect firearms. Learn how to load, clean, and oil your weapons. Stay alert to your surroundings. Learn to avoid imminent dangers when at all possible. In the future, preppers and their families will need to be prepared for many threats. In Texas, this is a legal way to respond to those threats. You do not have to be a sitting duck for the demonic beliefs and behavior of foolish men. Stand up and be prepared or passively sit back and allow the events of time to crush you. Your family’s future ultimately depends upon you.

CK in Southeast Texas