Security for vulnerable new home

[2Magpies24]

After some advice please. In a few weeks time we are moving from a third floor flat (which would be extremely hard to break into) to a detached house in a vulnerable position.
The house is on an isolated lane, it has a footpath (and gate) at the end and side of the fairly long garden (which has a lot of trees). Whilst it’s not a high value house itself, it’s in an expensive neighbourhood where burglary rates are above average.
We will also have my DHs valuable work equipment stored in the garage which makes me nervous.
Having never lived anywhere like this before, I am quite clueless about security and also quite worried as DH works away a lot and I’m home alone with DC.
Ive read in the news that burglars laugh in the face of ring doorbells as they can jam the WiFi, is this still the case?
Would welcome any advice please, I’m not paranoid but want to be as sensible as possible. Thanks

CCTV is your friend! You can set it up to get alerts direct to your phone. Have a look on Amazon, or search for local installers who set it all up for you.

I’m on a garden floor flat and I’m paranoid about safety. specially because DC do come home alone from school and stay alone for a few hours when I’m at the office.
We have internal and external CCTV (ring) as well as a wired alarm system with ADP at the door and windows as well as internal presence sensors that we turn on when not at home.
It’s not cheap but it gives me piece of mind. I also have the top home contents insurance, just in case.
It’s worth looking at specific insurance for your DH’s equipment as probably professional equipment would be fully cover by a home policy in some cases.

Security motion sensor lights outside. Gravel drive and paths. Good locks on doors, windows. Bolts and padlocks on gates. Lights on timers. Prickly hedges.

IMO you can't really 'stop' burglars. What you can do is slow them down and inconvenience them, so they run out of time and will. Eg, if your husband is away he could padlock his equipment together inside the garage as well as locking the garage. (I padlock my bike to a hard to manoeuvre item, as well as locking the shed. My gate is also padlocked. So that's three padlocks to cut and or lift a heavy awkward thing over a 6ft fence. All completed possible but a lot of effort...)

The good news is burglars prefer it if you're out 🙂

Get a medium/big dog! One of the best burglar deterrents!

I've a cyclist friend who's shed is like Fort Knox. High end security and floodlights as the house has never been targetted, but the shed has. So add outhouse with expensive kit to your list.

Get a dog!

Good door locks and window locks are a must. If you can afford it, an alarm system and include the garage in it; cctv is also great but if you cannot stretch to it, put up signs that warn of it anyway as this may deter intruders.

Dogs are great early warning systems ime, even if they would not hurt a fly.

Just ensure everyone gets in the habit of locking outer doors at all times and close all accessible windows when you are out.

Our house is an average semi, but in a high crime area. We have security lights and cameras front, side and back. A ring doorbell. A burglar alarm which we use every time we go out. We also have a very active local whatsapp group and we all keep an eye out.
I would love a dog, but we are out of the house a lot and it wouldn't be fair to the dog.
We have 5 point locks on front and back doors and locks on windows. I think that is all you can do.

Burglaries like you seem worried about from main houses really aren't all that common and thefts from houses are usually crimes or opportunity.

You are actually far more likely to be a target in a built up residential area than rural as they will swoop through often in a team trying loads of door handles and grabbing anything easy all at once (more chance of success). It would be counter intuitive to drive out to one specific house to 'chance it' where there is less cover to flee (if they are in built up areas they can hop fences, hide behind stuff, lose chases in a maze of streets) and less excuse to be there if caught and possibly far less reward.

They can usually make a fair amount hitting 1 street and having maybe 10% luck of grabbing wallets left just inside doors, stuff left in unlocked cars, bikes from gardens etc... than breaking in and fully entering one isolated house with no specific goal (unless this is where you say you are a jeweler and its common knowledge you bring expensive diamonds home to your personal safe or something).

If you store valuable work stuff (that might be more specifically targeted) in outhouses that are unmanned at night then alarms, guard dogs or CCTV are the common go too options.

I support @MH0084 and @porridgecake setups.

Mine is similar, but I work with different companies and live in a detached house with front and back gardens, wide side passageways, and perimeter cameras and alarms.

OP,
Start by researching the security features you need and what fits your budget. The essentials for a detached house include secure locks for doors and windows, outdoor lighting, CCTV or smart cameras, and video doorbells.
Avoid getting a dog. Many people overlook that not every dog is naturally suited to be a guard or watchdog without proper training, not to mention all the effort required to be a responsible pet owner.

1. Do NOT turn your home into Fort Knox. You need to be able to enjoy it, but also escape in the event of a fire.

2. Ring door bells, CCTV etc all have their place - don't dismiss the cheaper options out of hand.

3. Cheaper options include parking a car or van in front of the garage door every night, fitting a floor barrier lock (ie Ground Lock). outside the garage door.

4. Use blinds or curtains on the ground floor when it gets dark, don't leave everything open where you can't see out.

5. Motion sensitive lights are useful, but remember they can have a life of their own and just go off for no apparent reason 😂

6. Insurance. Ensure your husbands work equipment is marked up with identifiable labelling and recorded somewhere like a Cloud based account so it can be accessed by you even if devices are broken or stolen. Ensure the insurance is properly covering it all being stored in the garage as well as his works van or whatever he has.

I'm an ex burglary unit detective and tbh I'm very blasé about security because a truly determined burglar will just smash a window and say to hell with it. Good insurance and reasonable security is plenty unless you have extremely high value items which require special steps.

I agree with PP, if a burglar wants to get in they will, but you can take precautions to help, we have a shingle drive, we can always hear a person or vehicle on our drive, we also have a ring doorbell, our French doors have a pat lock. We have outside lights. Ultion locks. Our home is also occupied during the day. Enjoy your new home and try not to worry, we have lived detached for many years, best thing ever.

Thanks very much everyone, given me lots to think about.
Must stop reading horror stories about being broken into when asleep with kids upstairs, this is what terrifies me the most. Would have been pretty impossible in our current flat.
Your responses have really helped put my mind at rest. Will start researching your recommendations. Thanks again