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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In my brief time writing about home security and related subjects, I’ve discovered it’s a broad and diverse field that covers everything from sociology and government policy to technology and business.

When talking about the immediate implications for average people, home security does have one uncomfortable area that every person, whether they own a home or not, needs to address: home defense.

Believe it or not, there’s a difference between home defense and home security.

To put it simply, home security is what we do to keep criminals out. This would include home security systems, dead bolt locks, and motion detectors. Even concerned neighbors should fall into a comprehensive home security strategy.

Home defense is what we do when a criminal is already inside our home. It can be uncomfortable to consider a scenario when someone has gained access to your personal space. However, it is important to consider what to do, just in case the worst happens.

Tip #1

Hide Your Valuables and Do It Well

There’s usually only one reason a criminal is in your home: your valuables. This could be jewelry, guns, electronics, or even power tools. Whatever a criminal is looking for, homeowners need to make it as difficult as possible to find.

Perhaps the best place to hide any valuables is your children’s room. (Obviously, this advice should best be limited to valuables that are not dangerous to kids. Power tools, as listed above, probably wouldn’t fall into this category.) Most home security experts will tell you that burglars almost never go into kids rooms as there is usually little of value in those rooms. The downside is that you usually have to trust your kids not to play or break the valuables you hide in their room.

Tip #2

Your Home Security System Can Be a Great Tool

In emergencies, home security systems can save lives and are fantastic tools for home defense. Pretty much every modern home security system includes a secret panic code that can alert a monitoring station that you’re in distress. This code typically activates a silent alarm and is typically treated with increased urgency by most monitoring stations.

Adding panic buttons to your home security system can be incredibly easy, especially if you have a wireless home security system. A panic button will immediately activate the system’s siren and a signal will be sent to a monitoring station.

Tip #3

Know The Lay Out of Your Home and Be Prepared

Never underestimate home field advantage. A burglar or criminal entering your home has one serious disadvantage… he’s entering YOUR home. You know the layout, which doors stick, how the stairs creek. These things work to your advantage if an intruder has entered your home.

If someone is in your home with the intent of robbing or harming you or your family, it’s best to get out and find help as fast as possible. Having a plan (similar to a fire evacuation plan) and knowing the layout of your home, even in the dark, can help keep you and your loved ones safe.

Tip #4

Panic Room

I’m not talking about some tricked out concrete fortress, like in the Jodie Foster movie. You can create a more than sufficient panic room on a budget.

Start by selecting an easily accessible room that is still out of the way. In a multi-story home, an upstairs room would be ideal as bed rooms are typically located upstairs. Basements and attics can also be great choices for a panic room but only if they can be conveniently reached.

Outfit your panic room with home security accessories, like the EZ Armor Door Jamb. This device reinforces doors to strengthen them and is even battering ram resistant. Include a few things like a pre-loaded cell phone, bottle water, and whatever else you deem necessary for defense. You can also coat any windows in your panic room with security film that make them shatter resistant. Of course, good old fashioned iron or steel bars can work just as well but might easily identify which room of the house is a panic room.

Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney Taking His Oath of Office in June 2011

If every homeowner purchased and installed a security camera system, crime would fall 10 percent, Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney recently told the local media.

Speaking with Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG, Rooney said home security systems including security cameras would help police solve burglaries faster and reduce the number of break-ins. A new unit in the Orlando Police Department is taking advantage of new crime fighting technology to more expeditiously put wrongdoers behind bars. Cops still work on cases the old fashioned way, but cases without video are more difficult to solve, Rooney said.

Security cameras have helped solve a number of cases in Orlando recently, according to the news source, including a recent string of burglaries in the Delaney Park area.

“Because of videotape, we got a tag number and identified the suspects,” Rooney told WKMG.

Orlando was ranked third on a 2011 U.S. News and World Report breakdown of the top 11 most dangerous cities in the country. While violent crime rates were lower than other comparably ranked cities, Orlando does have a higher rate of larceny and theft, according to the breakdown.

One Girl Scout troop in Texas recently grappled with a thief while selling cookies outside an area Walmart.

The Fort Bend County Girl Scouts were robbed of their cookie money on March 3. According to police, a man approached their table outside the store pretending he was going to buy some cookies. He then grabbed the cash box and jumped into his vehicle.

The girls were quick to respond, however. One troop member attacked a person in the passenger seat, landing a heavy blow to his face. Another girl clung to the car as it sped off and was dragged several feet across the parking lot. But while the thief escaped, the incident was captured on store security cameras. Police hope to identify and apprehend the suspect, and return the cookie money to the Scouts.

For More Information, check out a video of the news story here!

Each year, the Girl Scouts sell approximately 200 million boxes of cookies, bringing in roughly $760 million, according to a Girl Scout fact sheet. Proceeds go to benefit the girls in the areas the cookies were sold.

Home security systems can lead to lower crimes rates, say New Orleans Police.

In the wake of a series of recent burglaries, police in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, are telling local residents to be on alert, and to beef up their home security systems.

Burglaries in the area have spiked 13 percent over last year, according to local reports from the Times-Picayune. While most of the burglaries have involved unlocked vehicles, area residents have also reported an increase in the number of home invasion burglaries. Area businesses have also been hit by criminals stripping facilities of copper wiring and other valuables.

Having an audible security alarm – and advertising its presence to would-be criminals – is a great crime deterrent, local sheriff’s officers say.

“If somebody sees the signage, there’s a good chance that unless they’re crazy, they’re not going to try to go into that particular home,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Colonel John Fortunato told the Times-Picayune.

Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney recently told a CNN affiliate that crime in Orlando would fall by 10 percent if every homeowner invested in a security camera.

We at The Security Blanket have showcased neat home security devices and technologies before. But this is different. Below is a collection of bonafide, genuine home security robots! Sure, there’s the obvious risk of these devices becoming sentient and rebelling against the very masters they were programmed to protect. (If you’re not worried about this, well, that’s just naïve…) Fears of unleashing Skynet aside, these robots are cool and quickly dropping in price.

[Note: There are some detractors that don't believe robots can be effictively used for home security. Read up on that viewpoint here.]

Interestingly, many of the companies making home security robots started out producing toy versions. Tech-capable, wanna-be Bond villains have been modifying toy robots for home security purposes for years. Eventually, a few manufacturers realized the market and started producing robots specifically designed for home security.

In the next few years, more models will be released and prices will drop further. Who knows? Maybe home security robots are the next growth sector of a $28.2 billion industry. Probably not, but these are pretty awesome in the mean time.

Parrot AR Drone

Whenever the U.S. military ends up with a cool, new toy, civilians begin clamoring for a mass market version. In general, the military likes to keep its most awesome tools secret but every once in a while, the common people get the goods too. Examples can be found everywhere from the Hummer to the AR-15 assault rifle. So what’s next for the average Joe looking to supply his own personal army? Flying drones.

Introducing the Parrot AR Drone. This drone takes full advantage of its flying functionality by featuring two cameras, one forward-facing and another on the bottom. The video feed appears directly on your phone, which also acts as the controlling device for the drone. One drawback to the Parrot AR Drone is the lack of any other control options. You either use your phone or you’re out of luck. (Okay, not entirely. You can use a Linux-based PC and a joy stick but that just sounds like too much work. Bring on the complaints UBUNTU fans!)

In general, the Parrot AR Drone is pretty cool, even if it reduces military grade technology to video game status…

...and, of course, sometimes this works out really well.

Roborior

Certainly not cheap and more than a little funny looking, the Roborior (the word is a portmanteau of “robot” and “interior”) comes equipped with infrared sensors, digital camera, and videophone. Roughly the size of a watermelon, the Roborior is a colorful robot that shines orange, blue, and purple lights. It’s makers, Tmsuck Co. Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Co., created Roborior to act as an “electronic sentry” built solely for the purpose of interior home security.

Using the Roborior is pretty similar to most interactive home security systems. Users can access their robot’s streaming video feeds from any internet-enabled computer or smart phone. They can also remotely control the Roborior’s movements to guide the device through the house. In “house sitting” mode, the robot will detect intruders and call the user’s cell phone. Even more interesting is the video phone capability which syncs with your TV to easily connect video calls. Unfortunately, full-functionality of the Roborior is only possible in Japan.

With severe limitations and a retail price of $2,500, the Roborior is still too impractical for the mass home security market. However, more than a few gadget geeks may feel compelled to fork over the money. Inspired by jellyfish, the device was designed by Paul White, who created a few Bjork album covers.

Rovio Wifi Robot

Featuring unique, three-wheel omni-directional movement, the Rovio WiFi Robot allows users to patrol their homes with ease. The Rovio works more like a security camera than a security system since it doesn’t actually “detect” intruders like other models. This robot simply lets a user patrol any area without having to leave the comfort of their well-worn computer chair. The Rovio also includes a 2-way microphone, which allows for communication with someone near the device.

Interested consumers can have the Rovio for anywhere between $300 and $500. Much of the price savings comes in the “dummy” GPS system that requires beacons in order to navigate across rooms. Other devices, like the Roborior, are able to analyze their surroundings and navigate independently.

On the plus side, WowWee, the makers of the Rovio, made the robot incredibly easy to use. A Rovio can be controlled from most phones, computers, and video game consoles.