2. Your home should be your castle!
According to the FBI.
“Burglary usually happens during the day.”
“Home Invasion usually happens at night.”
3. So how do I keep my home safe?
• Security is like an Onion, made of layers of protection, common sense, simple
ideas and modern security.
• We recommend three tiers of security. The basics to the advanced.
• Security Bars, Alarms, Auto-timers, Dogs, Cameras……..where do I begin?
• Security for Renters…is it time to buy your our own lock?
• What is with all these outside bars? Is there a risk if there is a fire?
5. In most home invasions a criminal
will pick a soft target!
So if you are prepared and your home is
not vulnerable,
you most likely will not be a statistic of a robbery
or home invasion.
Preparation does not have to happen all at once….
it can be added over time. Start today.
6. Home after a fire!
This is a case study of a home after a fire, with a family trapped inside. It is possible to put the bars on the inside of the windows with a
way to open them. This also will use the glass as yet another layer of protection.
7. Tier 3
Tier 2Tier 1
Pick and choose what suggestions you
like for security. Talk to others and ask
what has worked for them.
8. Tier One Basic Protection
• Neighborhood Watch. The most important item to do is get to know your neighbors. A list of important phone
numbers pre-programmed on your cell. Register with Alto Al Crimen, save their number on your phone.
• Outdoor lighting. Motion sensor lights are important or a light on all night.
• Trim Bushes around your home.
• Chain link perimeter fence with thorny bushes like bouqanvilia on both sides of fence. Prison wire is a waste of
money on the top of a chain link fence. A Gate in front of driveway or a No Solicitation Sign in Spanish.
• A door bar for inward swing doors. Keep the doors and windows locked even when home.
• Auto-timers on lights, a radio. and or TV..
• Mr. Mop Man lying on the couch watching TV when you are not home. Invent a room-mate.
• Make sure you can use you cell phone from inside your home. Do not go outside to investigate or go outside to
make an emergency call..
• Close the blinds when you are not at home.
• A Boat Horn can be useful Also Pepper or Wasp Spray can be handy items.
• A security plan. Have a “what if ?” plan in case of fire or home invasion. A safe room.
• Unique hiding places for valuables. If you can rent a safety deposit box, great. Contact us for ides.
• Keep expensive items out of view. Blend into your neighborhood.
• Bring your Dog inside at night. We have sadly seen too many dogs poisoned before a robbery.
9. TAKE ME IN
ON THE
COUCH.
People living alone have a male friend. or a couple come over to visit often and make a “Mop Man” roommate.
The thugs usually watch their victims for weeks/months before they strike. Look like you do not live alone.
10. Tier Two Advanced Protection
This includes Tier One
• Alarm System with Siren will scare away some potential intruders. This system should be used in both home
mode and away mode. A good Alarm calls 5 numbers, has built in intercom, panic button, cell phone, message
center and tag communication.
• Fire and Gas Detection hooked to Alarm System.
• Fire Extinguisher in kitchen, and laundry room.
• Battery Back up for your alarm and other important electronics. Solar battery back up a excellent option.
• Outdoor Lighting. Solar Motion lights. Perfect when the electricity is out. Solar lawn lights can be brought
inside when the electricity goes out.
• Out swing outer doors with hidden strike plate. Most inswing doors can be kicked in easily.
• Dead Bolts on all doors.
• A Safe hidden and bolted to the floor.
• All electronics marked and recorded.
• Insurance Policy on valuables. * You must have an Alarm System to get theft protection on your policy in
Panama. This also allows a 10% to 20% discount on your Home Owners or Rental Policy.
• Bars on the inside of vulnerable windows. Must easily be opened in case of fire.
11.
12. Tier Three Advanced Protection
Includes Tier One and Tier Two
Recommended for Remote Locations
• High Resolution Cameras with a recording DVR and Cloud with viewing on your Smart Phone or Computer. Make
sure the DVR is hidden and well ventilated. A safe shelf, wall, floor board or safe room can be used.
• Enough Lighting for your cameras to work at night. Does it have night vision? How much light do you need?
• A High Definition camera with Cat 6 cable and amplifier video balluns has help identify a thief, here in Boquete.
• A PTZ Camera will Pan-Tilt-Zoom for the most intense surveillance.
• Hidden Cameras to observe domestic help. Do a back-round check, check address, meet family of domestic help.
• Infrared Beams and or Electric Fence for additional Perimeter Protection.
• Barbed wire at ground level with thorny plants growing around it, at properties perimeter.
• GPS Tracking Unit on important valuables. Great for cars and boats.
• Additional components for your Alarm System, additional Sirens (Solar), Infrared Beams, Glass Break Sensors.
• Outdoor Motion Doorbell.
• Video Door Bell. Do not open the door to anyone and keep door locked at all times.
• A Safe Room. A bathroom can be converted into a safe room. Be sure to have a working cell phone inside room.
• Again a Cell Phone Booster may be needed to make a call during an emergency from inside your home.
• A onsite trusted worker that can call for help. A security officer for routine checks.
• Several Trained Dogs. These dogs will only eat food from you.
13. HD HIGH RESOLUTION CAMERAS
WITH PROPER DVR , CAT 6 CABLE, HD AMPLIFIER BALLUNS.
HIGH HD
RESOLUTION
LOW
RESOLUTION
14. RENTERS SECURITY
You are going to rent a home in a foreign country, now what? Before you sign a lease, make sure the following
security measures are addressed. Additional information included.
• Change the locks. Once you rent a place you have no idea how many people have made a copy of the keys.
• Look for hidden cameras. A radio, a motion sensor even a plant can hide a camera allowing your landlord to
spy on you. Yes, this does happen, keep your guard up at all times.
• Buy a portable renters Alarm with Siren that can work in any country. A quad band alarm with SIM card can
travel with you from country to country. Double sided tape can be used if the landlord does not want any
holes drilled. Check sensors often and replace the batteries.
• Make sure there is proper outdoor lighting, and that the bushes are trimmed around the outside.
• Check all doors and windows to make sure they lock properly.
• Be sure there is a working fire detector in most rooms.
• Buy a door security bar for the doors if they swing in and do not have dead bolts.
• Be careful of renting away from other homes, do not isolate yourself. Invent a room mate.
• Check the neighborhood out first, trust your gut if the neighbors do not seem hospitable.
• Pre-program your cell with Alto Al Crimen’s number.
• Have your own small security camera that travels with you. Some cameras are small, the size of my pinky.
• Travel in a group.
15. The Law in Panama
Today an underage person (18 and under) can not be held accountable for the crimes he/she commits.
As a result the hardened criminal is busy recruiting underage kids to commit crimes for them.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE THE CRIME TREND? In Bocas Province the people would like to write a
Resolution to the Government in hopes to decrease crime in Panama. Some key points we can submit to the
government are as follows:
• Education. Crime and education go hand in hand. Please help support higher education in Panama.
• After School Programs. Adults are needed to help guide the youth on the correct path. Volunteers are needed
to help the kids while their parents work. Santa Lucia CC is a great location. SHS is willing to help.
• Jobs. Career and technical training. New fields to create new jobs, like recycling and water quality.
• Accountability. If a underage youth commits a crime he/she should be held accountable. There is only one
juvenile detention center in Panama. Perhaps community service work in their neighborhood would be a good
lesson for the youth that commits a crime.
• Praise. Catch them being good. Please attend the local parades and local events. Support is noticeable and
will help the youth that are working hard to “Do the Right Thing”. We ask for volunteers to help all the
children and young adults of Panama. Feel free to help with this resolution or to sign it, on completion.
16. Crime and education go hand in hand.
There are many schools, both private and
public that could use some volunteers to
help with free or inexpensive after school
programs.
If a young adult is out of school at 2 pm and the parent
is working till 6 pm. There is plenty of opportunity for a
young adult to get involved with a criminal that
prays on youth.
