secure storage in house

[John Chardine]

Hi fellow BPNers, The mods know this already but two weeks ago today my house was burgled in the middle of the morning and all my camera equipment was stolen (as well as my laptop). All data (= images) were backed up off-site so nothing was irreplaceable. I had insurance. I think I was targeted.

My strategy after this event is to 1. beef up all the door locks (done), 2. install an ADT security system (will be done next week), and 3. to slow the ba$tards down if they are dumb enough to enter, install some sort of a secure locking cabinet upstairs in the photo studio (which I will likely lock with a deadbolt latch).

I would be interested to know what people might recommend for such a cabinet. I'm thinking metal with a good locking system. Safes might be too heavy for the floor of my old house. What about a gun cabinet? Would they be suitable for lenses and camera bodies?

Also, if anyone has anything to add to my security strategy outlined above, I'd be interested to hear it.

TIA.

[Allen Kurth]

I did a little research on Stack-On gun safes. I don't know why, but they recommend that they not be used for electronics. I wonder if humidity would be a problem. If you screw them down well, I would think that they would slow down many thieves. They don't offer much fire protection.

[John Chardine]

I'll take a look Allen. And welcome to BPN!

[Roger Clark]

John,

Do you not have a lower floor where a safe can be put? A small safe about 2x2x2 feet weighs about 375 pounds and will hold a 500 mm plus a lot of other stuff. Could something like that work in your upstairs area? Bolting to a cement wall or floor is more robust if you have something like that.

Or perhaps couple of small of small safes: a small safe upstairs for some things and a second one downstairs.

Roger

[Linda Dulak]

John: We've got the secure door locks and the security system. Our backup is, according to the local police, the best security of all -- a Doberman! Our dogs wouldn't hurt a flea, but they do make a lot of noise. Many of the houses near us have been broken into over the time we've lived here. All of the homes were ones which had no dog in the house. Those of us with dogs have been secure. They make enough noise (usually) to warn off the bad guys. They go for an easier mark. And this is out in the country where there's a big distance between houses.

Just to make sure they get the idea, we've got a"Doberman crossing" sign out by the road (about 1000 feet from the house).

Linda

[John Chardine]

Roger- I do have an unfinished basement but I would be worried about the humidity down there- it's an old house. I could install a safe upstairs and install some extra support for it in the basement. It would have to be an old safe that was nice-looking if it were downstairs. Maybe I need to start looking in the government surplus web sites.

Linda- We had a dog for 14 years and although she was a terrier she was very protective of the house and made a lot of noise. We did not replace her. I am sure you are right about dogs- they are probably the best burglary deterrent of all.

[Mike Tracy]

You might discount this but I read this several year ago on the Canon forum POTN. It seems that bad guys were doing searches on forums for members hometowns. If they came across one in their area they targeted that persons home. They also deduce that if this "dude" has X amount of camera gear he probably has other stuff worth grabbing in addition to. Having your location listed as you do along with your name makes you easy to find.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

[John Chardine]

Good point Mike. Every little bit of security helps. Although I doubt that these dumb-butt low-lifes look at BPN, I'll edit my profile accordingly.

[Fred Canter]

John,
Sorry to hear this has happened to you, glad you're covered with the insurance.
A gun safe is an option, but you do have to use some type of dehumidifier in it. Silica gel or equivalent does a great job even in the humidity levels we have here.
Safe or gun safe, don't forget to anchor it down in a way the anchors are not removable without opening the safe. A friend of mine back in the states, came home to find his 700# gun safe missing. Tracks in the backyard indicated a cart was used to move it. He had never got around to anchoring the safe and learned a hard lesson.

[Ed Cordes]

Sorry to hear of your issue. Our neighborhood has had an occasional problem with thefts. We have an alarm system that will call us and the police if we either tell the operator to call or if we don't answer. While all our homes in the neighborhood are on acre lots we all know one another well and watch eachother's homes. I also never talk about going away on a trip and when we are going on line. I will report after the trip but never before. For a long trip we stop the mail, but have the neighbors pick up the newspaper. Interior lights are on timers that at least give some appearance of activity. All camera gear is covered by insurance from Chubb through NANPA. Our home owners' policy covers the rest of the house. Of course I have hard drive back ups of my data and a clone of my computer stored in my office at work. This is always kept up to date especially prior to an extended time away.

I know this doesn't directly answer your question RE a cabinet for photo gear at home. I have always felt that if the thieves get that far they will either break into anything I have but will also be there long enough for the policce to get there due to setting off the alarm. Who knows - I guess the bad guys can always win if they try hard enough.

[Craig Markham]

Hi John,
The moisture problem with safes happens because they "breathe" with changing temperatures. Temperature cycles inside the safe lag behind the outside air temperature changes. Whenever the safe's interior temperature decreases, the air inside the safe contracts and sucks in warmer air from outside. That new, warmer air cools inside the safe and releases moisture. When the air in the safe warms up again, it "breathes out" some of the expanding air, but this doesn't carry out all of the moisture from the previous cycle. This means that moisture accumulates inside the safe from cycle to cycle of temperature changes, and that accumulated moisture will eventually condense on the contents of the safe. As Fred Canter mentioned, one way to help protect against this is to use an effective dehumidifying agent in the safe. Just be sure to renew the dehumidifier periodically to be sure it's working properly. Also, a 1-watt light inside the safe can maintain higher than ambient temperatures and reduce or eliminate the temperature cycling -- just be sure it doesn't get too warm!

And yes, bolt down the safe, insure, alarm, and if compatible, a dog is a good deterrent.

I'm sorry for your loss, John, I know the sense of violation of your space and your life is a big part of this. But it's also a wake-up call for all of us. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Craig

[John Chardine]

Thanks for all your kind words and advice. Craig- for sure is was a wakeup call. If it didn't happen then, it would have happened in the future. We live in a small rural town in New Brunswick with a local "Ivy League" style university. Many residents boast that they never lock their doors. We always did but I have to say the latches were pretty basic (they are not basic now). We had a beautiful dog for 14 years but we lost her a couple of years ago and there has been no replacement. I don't underestimate her effect- she was small but very loud and the cowardly sub-humans who break into houses would think twice (and did I guess because we never had a problem when she was alive).

[Chris Brennan]

John -

So sorry to hear about your loss! You might consider posting a stolen equipment report on some of the more mainstream sites like POTN, Fred Miranda and DP Review so at least other folks can be on the watch out for it, and assuming you're a CPS member, make sure to tell them as well.

[John Chardine]

Good idea Chris. I'll do that. Searches on kijiji and Craig's List have not turned up anything yet (not surprised).

[Richard Stern]

Hi John,

So sorry to hear that such a dreadful thing could happen in Sackville! I don't have any specific suggestions for you, but even though we have a dog, an alarm system, and our sons who are always coming and going so that there is a lot of activity around the house, I remain paranoid about that sort of thing. At least you have backups and insurance. So all I can offer is my sympathy.

Richard

[John Chardine]

Hi Richard- You are right to be concerned about this issue. I'll PM you and let you know what we've done at the house.

[Alan Lillich]

I'm a fan of Liberty gun safes. Spacious, secure, fire protection too. The Franklin model is about $1800 installed, has plenty of room for for 2 persons worth of serious gear, laptops, backup disks, etc.