subject: Even Quieter And Statistically Safer Neighborhoods Need Home Security Systems [print this page] Kevin and his wife Emily decided to move away from the city towards a quieter neighborhood that was located in the suburbs of Chicago. They were beginning a family and wanted to live in a place where their children would be safe playing in the front yard or walking to school. Living in the middle of the city was not the best option for them at this point in their lives. However, even in the quieter and seemingly safer neighborhood, Kevin and his wife soon discovered that having a home security system was still a necessity.
At one point in their lives, the city was the only place they wanted to live. Fresh out of college and intent on marrying and starting their careers, downtown Chicago appeared to be the only place they could possibly start their professional careers. Kevin and Emily were both from small towns in Illinois and each moved to the big city to attend college, where they met and fell in love. Kevin worked downtown in an accounting firm and his wife worked at the college where they went to school as an admissions counselor.
After working for five years, deciding to start a family was the next logical step for Kevin and Emily. They soon became pregnant and decided that they wanted to live further away from all the people and crime. Their neighborhood was in the middle of the city and was know for its old homes and gentrification underway. However, crime was still all around. Every now and then they would hear of friends who experienced a burglary or robbery while walking home at night. They decided that it was not for them any longer. Kevin continued working at the firm and Emily took off work from the college. They moved 40 minutes outside of the city, still accessible by train so Kevin could commute to and from work without much hassle.
The neighborhood they chose was quiet and beautiful. The homes were newer and a bit smaller in general, but their home in particular was larger than their previous home they had. The easily sold their old home and began their new life in the suburbs.
While Emily was still pregnant, they experienced crime against their own property for the first time. Their new home was broken into while Emily was out running errands. They lost valuables worth over $10,000, all of which they never had returned. They had failed to connect their new home to a home security system. Since they were moving into a safer neighborhood and they had never experienced burglary or robbery in their inner-city neighborhood, they fell into the mistaken belief that they would not ever become victims of such crime. Kevin was going to have a home alarm installed but kept putting it off, lulled into the false belief that since they felt safer there was no urgency in installing the alarm. Only when the burglary happened did Kevin and Emily decide that they needed to take the same precautionary measures in their new home and equip it with a good home security system. They had a system installed the next day.
Kevin and Emilys experience is not altogether dissimilar to the experiences of many American households located in the suburbs. Since the area feels safer and there is a lower statistical chance of becoming the victim of a crime against property, many couples do not equip their home with a good home security system. The reality is, however, that every home is a potential target despite the sense of security one may feel due to its location.
