Now that the nights are drawing in and the clocks are due to go back on
26th October, Why not consider lighting for safety or security?
Lighting
- Exterior
A useful addition to
perimeter security can be exterior lighting, either switched manually or automatically
operated. Lighting does have its limitations - burglaries often take place
during daylight hours; if the light is activated, someone has to notice it -
and take action. Lighting should be seen as an aid, but on its own it is not
sufficient to deter a burglar.
The most common form
of lighting is spot lights with passive infra-red which is activated when
someone comes into its field of vision. The light can be set to stay on for a
set time and then it will re-set if the cause of its activation is no longer
present. A passive infra-red unit can activate single or multiple lights.
Lights can be useful
on the approach to a front or rear door or garage, not only lighting up if
someone approaches your house, but also when you approach, so that you can see
if anyone is lurking in the shadows. It must be remembered though that lights
can be activated by certain animals. Also, you do not want the light to be
activated every time your neighbours go into their garden or when someone walks past the front of your property.
However, the field of activation can be adjusted. You must also make sure that
your light does not intrude into your neighbours windows or those of passing vehicles - light pollution can often be at
the centre of many disputes but is so
easily avoidable.
The
limitations
Whilst external lights can be very useful around
the house and garden for crime prevention some people make rather exaggerated
or misleading claims as to their all-round effectiveness.
We have no doubt that some burglars and thieves
have been put off by lights, but lights certainly don’t work all the
time. Also consider the fact that a majority of crime takes place during
daylight hours. We seem to be gripped by the cave dwellers notion that
lighting fires will keep the wild animals away. Well they might have
done, but the thief is a different beast !
Evidence does suggest that people feel safer at
night in well-lit public places when they can see everything around them and it
is probably true that the same can be said about your home if you can look out
onto your lit back garden from the safety of an upstairs window or the patio
doors. It’s just good to be able to check what’s going on in the
garden and outside the front door late at night.
Another way that external lighting may help
us is if the presence of the light convinces the criminal that what he is about
to do will be seen by you or your neighbours or maybe a CCTV camera. It
seems then that it is a combination of light AND an increased chance of the
criminal being seen that must work together in order for anybody to claim
that light is a deterrent to crime.
A research paper written in 2004 by Ian Hearnden
and Christine Magill and published by the Home Office entitled, “Decision-making
by house burglars: offenders perspectives”, it is interesting in that lighting is not mentioned by burglars
as something that puts them off targeting a particular house. To be fair
to those of you who think light works all the time the authors didn’t ask the
burglars a direct question about lighting. Nevertheless when they were
asked what things were more likely to put them off the main deterrents
were: -
ü
Evidence
of occupancy
ü
The
presence of an alarm or CCTV camera
ü
The
apparent strength of the doors and windows.
Interestingly, one of these findings does indicate
an effective use for lighting, which is to use it to give the impression that
you are home. So, you can put external lights anywhere you think might be
useful, but which ones should you leave on for some extra security? You
should ask yourself a really important question before you make your decision:
“If I put a light on that wall or above that door
and leave it on or have it switch on automatically will an intruder be seen?”
Another related question you could ask yourself is:
-
“If the light is on or comes on due to the presence
of an intruder, who will benefit from the light?”
Think about this scenario: It’s 2 o’clock in
the morning, the outside light is on and the burglar is thinking about forcing
a rear door or window below the light. The burglar cannot be seen by any
neighbours or passers-by and you’re in bed asleep, or perhaps you’re away on
holiday. Who benefits?
So the advice to you is NOT to light up place’s externally
that cannot be seen by you or your neighbours. This is NOT the same as
saying “don’t put a light there”. You’ll probably need the light for all
sorts of practical reasons and in this case it would be of great benefit for
you to be able to switch the lights on from inside the home; putting yourself in
control.
Now it’s quite clear that lots of people have
thought about these questions already, but have reached rather different
conclusions. This is evidenced by the installation of hundreds of
thousands of tungsten halogen floodlights that are switched on by passive
infrared detectors with the idea that a sudden bright light shining down the
garden will scare away the intruder.
It’s perfectly understandable why people buy these
lights, especially if they’ve just been burgled; it is quite natural for victims
to try anything that might prevent themselves from being victimised
again. But you must still ask the questions. If the burglar has
already established that you are not at home (having rung your doorbell or seen
you go out) and your neighbours are curled up in front of the TV with the
curtains drawn, is the sudden onset of a bright light going to scare the
intruder away? If the sudden appearance of light is noticed will it be
reported to the police and, in the absence of any other real evidence, will the
police respond to just a light coming on?
You may be thinking that we been rather negative
about lighting, but that is not the case. It’s just that some security
measures have their limitations and you will be better off spending money on
something that has been proven to work like a professionally installed Intruder
Alarm system or CCTV system.
The
benefits
Clearly there are lots of benefits to be had from
outside lights, but from a security viewpoint it is probably limited to
enhancing our feelings of safety, helping us investigate an incident outside
the house, dealing with callers at the door and lighting up places that are in
full view of the street and our neighbours in the hope that the illuminated
criminal will be deterred. Therefore it is important that we do
install lights in the right places that are controlled in the right way.
Lighting - Interior
A sensible arrangement
of leaving lights switched on inside the house while the house is unoccupied
can help to give the impression to a passer-by that the house is in fact
occupied. It is sensible to use a downstairs room with a drawn curtain and
sufficient light inside to suggest that the room is occupied. A light should
not be left on solely in the hall - a thief may guess that the premises are
unoccupied as it is not normal for the occupants to spend all night only in the
hall!
There are many
automatic devices available - simple and extremely sophisticated - that will
turn lights on and off in random fashion and may even be set to control other
electrical appliances such as the radio or television. Automatic switching will
help to convince the casual thief that the house is occupied.
Conclusion
Some of the time
security lighting will be all that is necessary to scare off a potential intruder.
But do remember, lighting cannot work miracles. It is sensible to make sure
that your defenses - the locks, window bolts, Intruder alarm and CCTV – are
working correctly. Let your neighbors know that you are out, and if you are a
member of your neighborhood watch scheme so much the better. You can also
inform your local police station that you are away.
These lights can be
DIY fitted, but if you are not sure or even competent, it is essential that you
contact a qualified electrical contractor.
