Armor Concepts: How to Keep Criminals Out of Your Home

Home security is not for the other guy. It is for everyone. The fact is that someone probably will try (or has tried) to break into your home. Statistically, it will probably happen within a few years and almost certainly within a decade. Once that happens, then you can only hope that the criminal who has illegally entered into your home is only after your cash, jewelry and portable electronics and not intent on harming you or your family.

Some of the scary facts include that there are over two million home burglaries reported each year in the United States, most with the intent to steal easily removed items including TVs, laptops, digital cameras and firearms. Most burglars (85 percent) are amateur criminals who are desperate and willing to escalate the level of violence if confronted. As a result, one out of every three attacks at home is the result of a burglar-homeowner confrontation. Most break-ins are achieved through the front or back door of a residence, and the most common method of forced entry is a simple kick to the door.

I have been burglarized in the past, and every time it was though a door. Why? The smart and brave criminals are only on TV; the dumb ones that we deal with in the real world want to execute simple crimes, and they don’t want to take the time to squeeze out a window if surprised.

RELATED: How to Prevent Break-Ins

Of course, there are many of us who have weapons for self-defense who think, “Well, bad luck for whoever breaks into my home.” This is very true, but the downside is dealing with the uncertainties, danger and damage of confronting a criminal in your home. If that happens with no shots fired, then it will at least be a lengthy explanation to the police followed by dealing with the legal and emotional aftermath, which will affect your entire family. The worst case is if a homeowner uses a weapon to defend himself or his family, and then the situation automatically escalates to a much more complex situation where the police will probably confiscate your firearm and you will face potential criminal or civil charges.

Secure Your Castle

So what is the very best case for mitigating an attempted burglary or home invasion? A firefight in your living room? A family fleeing to their safe room? No, the best thing is making sure that the criminal never gets in.

One of the best ways is a truly passive act that not only improves your security, but increases the value of your home and could possibly reduce your homeowner insurance rates. Armor Concepts was started based on the cold, hard facts evident in the aftermath of burglaries and seeing what did and didn’t work. What didn’t work? Weak doors, flimsy locks and inadequate materials that were defeated by a swift kick that broke the door, the lock or shattered the frame. What did work? Well-built, reinforced doors that had protected locks and hinges. Only Armor Concepts reinforces all of the weak points of your door—the jamb, the lock area and the hinges. If all of those points are not reinforced, the door is not secure. The improved security also helps for weather-related events like the hurricanes, tornadoes and storms we have seen brew up and devastate whole communities.

There are some basics for an entry door. Every door should be secured with a heavy duty deadbolt with a 1-inch throw bolt, a quality knob-in-lock set with a dead latch mechanism and a heavy duty strike plate with 3-inch screws set into the frame. Despite these precautions, your latch, hinges and frame still could be kicked in by a determined thief, assailant or rapist. Enter Armor Concepts door armor, which is designed to thwart that exact kind of criminal activity.

Armored Door

Armor Concepts was started after seeing the results of inadequate home security products. You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure that when police response times start at about 20 minutes, while a criminal can be in and out in 90 seconds, the homeowner loses. The company’s door jamb armor was designed by an engineer to stop doors from being kicked in because nothing else worked in the homes of the company’s founders. In fact, Armor Concepts never intended to sell anything, but brought its products to market after realizing that the door-hardening hardware it had made worked so well. Armor Concepts’ patented and proven solutions are installed in countless apartment complexes and homes across the United States and Canada, and have prevented untold losses by protecting homeowners and renters.

The company understands that the security equipment people install is based mostly on one thing, what the homeowner can afford. That is where Armor Concepts excels because it does not have an expensive, one-size-fits-all solution. It tailors its products to the homeowner’s needs for exactly the kind of door and level of security desired. Since all customers have different budgets, skill levels and security requirements, Armor Concepts provides multiple options to allow the homeowner to choose what works best for their individual condition and pocketbook.

The Armor Concepts security solutions were designed by an engineer and then thoroughly tested before being brought to market. Instead of having unwitting customers beta test the products (like a great deal of manufacturers) and then modifying the products based on feedback on what could be better, Armor Concepts breaks a lot of doors in testing. That way they know from hard data what you install will work, instead of getting a police report about how a product could be improved because a family was victimized at gunpoint. Armor Concepts has “protection designations” based on the results of its testing to qualify and quantify its products, providing the consumer and installer with carefully engineered solutions based on maximum functionality and ease of installation.

The products that Armor Concepts offers are amazingly simple, with predrilled steel parts that can be installed in just 30 minutes. As an example, the EZ Armor Combo Door Security Set comes with an EZ Armor Jamb Shield, two EZ Armor Hinge Shields and two Mini Door Shields. The EZ Armor Jamb Shield and EZ Armor Hinge Shields are L-shaped pieces that attach to the face of the door jamb, and can be applied without removing the door or entirely removing the trim, allowing for multiple locks and even non-standard lock spacing. The Mini Door Shields are effective in helping to prevent the door from splitting, but do not require the removal of the locks for installation and can be used without concern for the lock backset. EZ Armor can also be used to repair the damage from an existing kick-in.

RELATED: Home Invasion Defense Plan

The motivation to make your home more secure is often strongest after a crime has occurred. Sadly, that is when the cost and the effort seem justifiable, and in fact it is. However, why experience the aftermath of a crime that could range from a loss of property to the assault of a loved one, along with the long-term legal and emotional side-effects, when for a few bucks and an afternoon with a toolbox you can prevent it from ever happening?

For more information, visit http://www.armorconcepts.com or call 888-582-2295.