At Northwest Outdoor Lighting, our clients are looking to install landscape lighting for a variety of reasons.
Certainly they want to accentuate their home’s beauty, or emphasize aspects of their property that may otherwise be overlooked. But another strong reason clients seek landscape lighting is because of security. With the holidays coming, thieves are out in full force, looking for easy jobs to pull. The darkness of your property may offer thieves just such an opportunity.
We recently sat down with Detective Rowe of the Woodinville Task Force to discuss some of the ways homeowners can make their homes more secure.
Detective Rowe pointed out some of the most common crimes committed in Woodinville, Wa. These, usually revolve around property crime, vehicle prowling, and mail theft. All of these crimes committed around the home. In response, homeowners will often choose to attempt to deter these crimes through elaborate home camera systems.
Detective Rowe pointed out however that cameras are not often effective –
“dark alleys or shrubs can often allow criminals to strike quickly and minimize exposure to the camera.”
Ring cameras are also popular among homeowners, but those with criminal intent will often keep their eyes out for them. They will easily go to the back door if they see a Ring at the front. As Detective Rowe puts it,
“A camera alone doesn’t deter crime.”
Homeowners will often choose to use motion lights as another deterrent. Detective Rowe says that he has seen video of criminals walking by a home when a motion light pops on. The criminal doesn’t stop. He knows the light will go off eventually. Additionally, If he has effectively cased the home, he simply moves on to another part of the home where there is no motion light.
As a result, in Detective Rowe’s estimation, the most effective deterrent against home and property theft is light and cameras working together.
According to Detective Rowe, landscape lighting is extremely helpful in deterring criminal activity –
“more important than motion lighting!”
Criminals are less likely to stake out a home with consistent, effective lighting, especially since those homes also usually have a camera system working in sync. However, homeowners need to make sure they’re using enough brightness when thinking about lighting that offers security, since cameras need enough lumens to identify criminals on video.
Additionally, effective lighting allows you to see through windows if someone is in the yard, particularly when unwanted visitors cross the beams of light. Landscape security lighting, as opposed to cameras, which often require batteries to be replaced and memory cards to be swapped out. They are also much less high-maintenance, with very little day to day attention to be required. Just set up your timer and you are good to go!
Because home security is often a priority for our clients, Northwest Outdoor Lighting keeps this in mind when crafting our landscape lighting designs. Our lighting provides reflective light so that facial details can be picked up by home security cameras.
We also make sure that the lighting design doesn’t over light. This will distort or blow out – a home camera image, since cameras and lights work best together. When performing our initial consult, we also evaluate all angles of a property. We look for spaces that may benefit from light where a prowler may otherwise wish to hide.
While it’s not always pleasant to think about the security benefits of landscape lighting, it’s crucial for homeowners to keep their property’s security top of mind. Northwest is proud to prioritize our clients’ safety and security when it comes to our landscape lighting design. We love working with our clients to ensure their comfort and peace of mind in the place that should be the safest of all – their home.
Some other tips Detective Rowe shared with us when it comes to ensuring your property’s safety:
- Criminals often hide in trees, so trim up any trees around the house, especially tall trees that may extend to the second floor. This will ensure greater visibility for you and your neighbors and minimize opportunities for would-be home invaders to hide.
- Thorny bushes around windows are also a good deterrent, since they’ll dissuade would-be thieves from getting too close and minimize the risk of home invasion.
- When out for a walk around the neighborhood, be sure to be friendly and make eye contact with your neighbors. Also, with people you don’t recognize. (Burglars and thieves don’t like to be seen.)
- Most important – if you see something, say something. Always report any suspicious activity to your local Neighborhood Watch or to the police. It’s always better for law enforcement to get involved before a crime than afterwards.
Is security a priority for you? Give us a call today – we would love to work with you to create a landscape lighting design to make your home feel safe and secure!
