The Security Blanket

Covering Everything in Home Security

Crime Statistics by Neighborhood Infographic

This amazing infographic comes to us from HomeInsurance.org and brilliantly breaks down the way crime statistics impacts neighborhoods. Especially useful is the list of America’s safest and most dangerous cities listed at the bottom. Enjoy!

An infographic on neighborhood home security statistics

Filed under: Crime Statistics, Home Security Information, , , , , , , , ,

List of Home Protection Providers in America

When choosing a provider for your home protection, there are a number of different choices. In the U.S. alone, there are over 13,000 regional and national companies focusing on home protection and security. Here’s a list of the best so you can make an informed decision…

The Logo for Protect America

One of the largest home protection providers in the United States, Protect America Inc. has been in operation since 1992. The company focuses entirely on wireless home security systems, which they say offers substantial savings for customers. Along with security systems, Protect America also provides security solutions for vehicles, fire, flooding, and carbon monoxide.

The Logo for Stanley Security

Owned by hardware giant, Stanley Black & Decker, Stanley Security Solutions primarily operates in the commercial security sector but they’ve been making substantial gains in home security. The company offers intrusion detection, fire monitoring, and more. Stanley Security Solutions also handles government contracts with clients at the local, state, and federal level.

Logo for Monitronics

With approximately 800,000 customers across the U.S., Monitronics International is one of the largest home security companies in the country. Owned by the Ascent Media Corporation, Monitronics offers a range of security solutions for small businesses and homes. The company is one of the few in the home security industry to utilize celebrity spokesmen having used Chuck Liddell and Deon Sanders for marketing materials.

Filed under: Home Security Information, Home Security News, Home Security Tips, , , , , , , , ,

Real-life hamburglar bloodies self stealing frozen patties

The Hamburglar from McDonald's

An unlikely theft at a Des Moines, Iowa, area ballpark left at least one burglar bloodied, according to a Des Moines Register report.

The crime took place at the Greater Des Moines Area Softball Park on the evening of April 1. Responding to a burglar alarm, police discovered a bloody barbecue fork outside a broken window, and blood inside the maintenance building. Police said the only item that appeared to be stolen was a pack of frozen hamburger patties.

Police technicians were dispatched to the scene to collect evidence, but no arrests have been made, the Register reports.

While the theft of the single case of hamburger patties doesn’t necessarily indicate a trend, the New York Times reports a group of sophisticated scam artists recently made off with six trailer trucks full of tomatoes. Authorities believe rising produce prices were behind the theft.

Filed under: Home Security News, Miscellaneous, , , , ,

Crime Prevention Tips from Colorado Cops

A burglar about to enter a house.

As a recent crime wave appears to be moving out of one Colorado town and into the surrounding counties, police in Greenwood Village are offering residents tips to protect against possible future break-ins.

Home security systems are great, and can provide peace of mind when people are away from their homes for an extended period of time, local police officers told KUSA. Automatic timers on lamps can also create the illusion that someone is home when they are not. To avoid the possibility of a would-be burglar figuring out the lights are on timers, police recommend having a neighbor or friend change the location of the timers periodically.

Residents should be sure to lock doors and windows, police told KUSA. Motion sensing yard lights can deter criminals at night. And never leave spare keys in obvious places like under a doormat.

Coloradans experienced more than 26,000 burglaries during 2010, according to FBI statistics.

Filed under: Home Security Information, Home Security News, Home Security Tips, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sorry Sacks Steal Seuss Statue!

A statue of the Dr. Seuss character, The Lorax.

With a bang, a scrape, and a toss, the Lorax statue is surely lost.

“What was the Lorax? And why was it there? And why was it lifted and taken somewhere?” Police in San Diego are looking for answers to all these questions following a break-in at the home of the late Dr. Seuss.

Sometime between late March 24 and early March 26, thieves made off with a 2-foot-tall, 300-pound bronze statue of iconic Seuss character the Lorax, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Lark Grey Dimond-Cate, step-daughter of Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, created the statue in 2002. Seuss’s widow, Audrey Geisel, who still lives on the estate, says the family was days away from installing security cameras, which may have given a clue to the identity of the thieves.

Although Dimond-Cate told the source that her foundry could always re-cast the statue if the original is not found, it would not be the same. She expressed her concern that the statue was stolen for its bronze, and would be melted down for scrap.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau recently released a report showing metal thefts are on the rise across the country. Typical targets include copper wiring and catalytic converters, according to the agency, not the mythical environmental crusaders of famed children’s books.

Filed under: Home Security News, Miscellaneous, , , , , , , , , , ,

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