HOLIDAY THEFT PROTECTION 101
Feature Story
Tis nearly the season. With Halloween in the rear view mirror, it is a headlong flight into the full holiday season. And that means lots of comings and goings and travel and parties and packages.
It also means added vulnerability for your home space. One can almost hear the thieves and burglars rubbing their hands together in anticipated glee as they plot their schemes.
While thieves have gotten more sophisticated in their tactics and strategies, home security systems have evolved and become more sophisticated as well.
Aaron T. Jones, who started the multi-city International Protective Services in Albuquerque’s Four Hills area, said some common sense, awareness and technology — aided by quick backup — can help thwart thieves in their tracks.
A former law enforcement officer, Jones said he began to realize that local police departments simply did not have necessary manpower to stem the growing tide of crime and wanted to see what kind of impact he could have in the private sector.
“Basically, I started out this thing out as a private police to fill a void that law enforcement can’t handle, because they’re extremely busy and I saw things only getting busier,” he said. “It started as 24-hour protection for Four Hills. And it just evolved.”
When the initial startup was somewhat slow, Jones turned his eyes beyond Four Hills.
“I had to start looking at other things to do besides patrol so I added commercial security and executive protection,” he said. “I just took it and ran with it. I never realized that Albuquerque had the type of need for this service, but I guess I kind of saw it coming as I was getting ready to pull the plug on law enforcement, working violent crimes and homicide. I saw what a need there was.”
The service works in conjunction with new technology for cameras and alarms that can be accessed remotely via smart phones.
“Homeowners need some kind of alarm system,” Jones said. “As good as we are, we’re not on people’s property 24 hours day. That electronic watch dog is a key tool to let somebody know there has been a breach of their home or business. Our armed officers can respond quickly, within five to seven minutes anywhere in the city.”
In contrast, it will generally take police officers more than an hour to respond.
“It sure surprises the bad guys when they turn the corner and there we are waiting for them,” Jones said. “We put enough resources in the field to cover our clientele. We respond to residential customers, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. If we’re going to be able to handle those, we have to be able to respond quickly.”
Another good tip, especially when traveling, is to lay off of the social media posts until returning, Jones said.
“There’s no need to post on social media that you’re out of town until you’re back,” he said. “You post on social media that you’re in Cancun, you’re telling everybody you’re away and your home is vulnerable so they literally have days to do whatever they want to do.”
Likewise, a little holiday help can go a long way to protecting the homestead, particularly since IPS doesn’t rely on long-term contracts.
Company personnel make periodic drive-bys of customer’s homes, as well as unscheduled visits to make sure the home is safe while unattended.
“It is random throughout the day and night,” Jones said. “Sometimes we’ll double back and do it again, in case anybody is watching. We change up the routine so if anybody is watching the house, they’ll see activity.”
In addition, even if not away, losing packages that have been delivered to the house is becoming an increasing problem with the continued growth of online sales.
“This is a huge time for the bad guys to go out and shop as well,” Jones said. “People are not shopping at brick and mortar stores nearly as much, everybody is using Amazon,” Jones said. “And people follow the UPS and Fed Ex trucks around the neighborhood just to steal packages. We can help with that if you know you have a package coming in, we can be there to get it.”
Even more routine activities can have a big impact on the safety of the home, he said.
“We take out the garbage on garbage day, and bring it back inside,” he said. “We pick up the mail and any packages, log it in for you and have it ready for you when you return. Sometimes we’ll have canine officers come in behind the patrol with their dogs, just to vacation checks. We let the dogs sniff around the house. If people are watching that, they’re not quite sure what to make of that. We use them as force multipliers. The bad guys may or may not be afraid us, but they’re always scared of the dogs.”