Porch Light, Yard Light, and Security

[patric]

Motion lights dont detect movement they detect heat.....

Motion detectors can be Ultrasonic, Microwave, Optical or Pyroelectric.

The most common ones are Pyroelectric, which detect changes in heat.  That segmented lens you see in front of the detector is like a fly's eyes that magnify the perception of motion by creating multiple focal points.  When an object travels in it's field of view, the lens "sees" rapid cold-hot-cold-hot fluctuations that it interprets as motion.

I remember as a kid, the ultrasonic motion detectors were somewhat painful, so I was glad they either fell out of favor (or my hearing was falling off).

[patric]

Sounds like it's time for a stakeout.

Apparently the same thing happened in March:

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Tulsa police are trying to find whoever broke into nine police cruisers over the fourth of July weekend. Five cars were found Sunday afternoon, and then Monday four more cars were discovered with broken windows.
Investigators look for fingerprints at a Tulsa crime scene.
Corporal Smasal says the cases matches one that happened in March at the same facility. He says police have DNA and fingerprints from that burglary and they're working to see if it matches those taken this past weekend.
The cars were all parked at the city's maintenance yard near Newblock Park in west Tulsa. The suspects broke in through the back, rear wing window.
Corporal Smasal says several things were stolen, including rifle and pistol magazines, knives, and handcuffs. But the biggest concern is that the suspects also took a shotgun.

[Townsend]

Apparently the same thing happened in March:

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Tulsa police are trying to find whoever broke into nine police cruisers over the fourth of July weekend. Five cars were found Sunday afternoon, and then Monday four more cars were discovered with broken windows.
Investigators look for fingerprints at a Tulsa crime scene.

Sorry to go off topic but I know two occurances lately of break-ins where the TPD told the victims there's no use looking for fingerprints.  So that's frustrating.

[Conan71]

Apparently the same thing happened in March:

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Tulsa police are trying to find whoever broke into nine police cruisers over the fourth of July weekend. Five cars were found Sunday afternoon, and then Monday four more cars were discovered with broken windows.
Investigators look for fingerprints at a Tulsa crime scene.
Corporal Smasal says the cases matches one that happened in March at the same facility. He says police have DNA and fingerprints from that burglary and they're working to see if it matches those taken this past weekend.
The cars were all parked at the city's maintenance yard near Newblock Park in west Tulsa. The suspects broke in through the back, rear wing window.
Corporal Smasal says several things were stolen, including rifle and pistol magazines, knives, and handcuffs. But the biggest concern is that the suspects also took a shotgun.

I know better than to leave weapons, computers, etc. locked in my car.  The cops advise against it. 

[bokworker]

Sorry to go off topic but I know two occurances lately of break-ins where the TPD told the victims there's no use looking for fingerprints.  So that's frustrating.

I was told that exact thing when my truck was recently broken into. I also learned that pawn shops cannot tell you if some of your stuff has been presented for a "loan" or sale due to privacy laws. I had some things taken that would have been pretty easily identified and my basic recourse was to check back in after 10 days (items that were sold) or 90 days (items that were pawned) to see if they were put out for sale.

[nathanm]

But the biggest concern is that the suspects also took a shotgun.

Ok, this I have to laugh at. This is Oklahoma. If they wanted a shotgun, they already had one. 

[patric]

Ok, this I have to laugh at. This is Oklahoma. If they wanted a shotgun, they already had one. 

Maybe it involves the disappearance of more than just a shotgun? 

[patric]

Tulsa police offer ways to avoid burglaries this holiday season

   • Keep the interior and exterior of your home well-lit. Exterior lights tend to keep prying eyes away, and interior lights can make it look like someone is home even when they're not.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/tulsa-police-offer-ways-to-avoid-burglaries-this-holiday-season/article_6755bc63-22dd-5c3d-820c-ea8a3b5f0b6b.html



Because the interpretation of "well-lit" is wide open here, it could lead to a wide range of interpretations that could include some counterproductive enough to actually help burglars.

Lets take this a step at a time. 
Besides locking our doors, a first line of defense against unfriendly visitors is friendly eyes.  That's usually going to be our neighbors when we are away. 

In the daytime (when most burglaries occur) thats easy enough, but at night we might consider supplementing our outside light just enough to assist vision, without accidentally creating a situation where it hampers the ability of neighbors and passersby to detect an unusual activity (like someone kicking your door or you laying face-down in the snow).

We would want to provide illumination that doesnt create glare, or pool too much bright light in one spot.  Both of those obscure our vision rather than assist it, and are easy to correct (and often times results in less energy consumption by eliminating wasteful light).

At Christmas, many people substitute their regular outdoor lighting for long strings of decorative lights, which demonstrates the effect of Lighting Uniformity by spreading out the illumination (which reduces hard shadows) and is easier on the eyes.
Floodlighting is the opposite of this, creating both glare (for those unfortunate to be facing the light) and pools of light that trick the eye into adapting to the pool of brightness -- making the surroundings appear much darker and creating hard shadows burglars can hide in.

Rather than leave your Christmas lights up all year, borrow the concept of that uniformity and arrange your outdoor lighting in a way that spreads it out at gentler levels only where you need it.  Low-voltage "landscape lighting" might be enough, if you also have a motion-detector light, or a work light you only turn on when needed.

Consider using a dimmer switch for your outdoor lighting if it serves multiple purposes, or consider motion detector lights that are dim but brighten when they detect motion.  Pay attention that you dont set the motion detector too sensitive that it's constantly flashing off and on with every passing car.

Adding moderate illumination near doors can add convenience and safety at night, and help friendly eyes see who is there. 

Illuminating near windows is more fickle, because you dont want light striking screens or dusty glass that cause a veiling effect similar to looking thru a dirty windshield while driving into the sun.  Most times lighting near windows is unnecessary, but if you feel you have a particularly vulnerable spot, direct lighting downward and off to the sides of windows, and use the minimum amount you need.

Obviously, you dont want to blind yourself by shining a light into your own window, as your neighbors are likely counting on your friendly eyes being able to see their property.  Return the favor by not shining light in their direction.

A good light isnt necessarily a bright one.  It's one that helps you see.
...and helps your neighbors see. 






My advice is to first identify what you expect your lighting to do, and then understand lighting well enough to make better informed choices:

Avoid floodlights.

Avoid "security lights" that the utility company mounts on poles (yes I know we often use these as street lights, but that's gradually changing).

Choose lighting that better imitates natural lighting, and supplements (not overwhelms) any existing illumination.

Aim it down, not in your eyes (or your neighbors).

Shield the source from your eyes. use only enough to help you see, and when you need to see.

Pay attention to color.  Warm light like a campfire is better for your eyes than a blue welding arc.


Oh, and lets be real, none of this is going to affect the majority of burglaries that happen between 1pm and 3pm in broad daylight.
If your neighbors haven't met and shared phone numbers, that would be a good first step.

[patric]

That stupidly-bright "security" light people put over garages is just a convenient work light for thieves.

http://www.fox23.com/videos/news/thief-pops-lock-on-equipment-trailer/vDSkHD

[PonderInc]

I had an interesting experience last night that is a perfect example of what Patric is talking about. I was walking at Lafortune Park after dark. They have fairly decent light fixtures which are almost full cutoff but have extremely bright lights. (In a pinch, you could probably perform surgery under any one of them.) Thus, you move from one super bright pool of light to another, but your surroundings are completely black. Strangely, this doesn't make me feel safe - it's more like being on stage and unable to see the audience.

Some teenagers were horsing around chasing each other around near the playground area, and they ran right in front of me. I watched as they ran directly under the light and away from me. As soon as they were about 10 yards away (if that) they just disappeared into the blackness. If we'd been in the wilderness I could have seen them in the moonlight. It was disconcerting.

[patric]

I had an interesting experience last night that is a perfect example of what Patric is talking about. I was walking at Lafortune Park after dark. They have fairly decent light fixtures which are almost full cutoff but have extremely bright lights. (In a pinch, you could probably perform surgery under any one of them.) Thus, you move from one super bright pool of light to another, but your surroundings are completely black. Strangely, this doesn't make me feel safe - it's more like being on stage and unable to see the audience.

Some teenagers were horsing around chasing each other around near the playground area, and they ran right in front of me. I watched as they ran directly under the light and away from me. As soon as they were about 10 yards away (if that) they just disappeared into the blackness. If we'd been in the wilderness I could have seen them in the moonlight. It was disconcerting.

That demonstrates the flaws in ordinances that dictate arbitrary pole heights while ignoring fixture intensity.  

The idea of uniform lighting is to NOT create pools of light and darkness, but to spread the light(s) out in moderate intensities that compliment existing illumination.  The human eye doesnt work well with the typical one-bright-donkey-light-mounted-over-the-garage model.

The Riverparks trail retrofit turned out to be a much better model once they tweaked it.  It shows an understanding of supplementing instead of overwhelming.

[sauerkraut]

That stupidly-bright "security" light people put over garages is just a convenient work light for thieves.

http://www.fox23.com/videos/news/thief-pops-lock-on-equipment-trailer/vDSkHD

I never knew lawn care stuff was that hot of a theft item as in the video. It seems more to me that anyone who stole it would not pawn it but use it in their own lawn care business. There would be other things to steal that would pawn off more easy than lawn care equipment. I favor laws that would allow people to use deadly force to protect their own property, it's not just the money value of the item  it's the time and effort needed to buy those items. If a crook thinks it worth risking his life over some item he wants, let him risk it.

[sauerkraut]

I'm not a big fan of porch lighting, it seems to make it harder to see outside and more easy for the crook. Many homes on my street turn  on the porch light at night. My neighbor has a big sodium light in his yard, that light also lights up my yard.

[patric]

I'm not a big fan of porch lighting, it seems to make it harder to see outside and more easy for the crook. Many homes on my street turn  on the porch light at night. My neighbor has a big sodium light in his yard, that light also lights up my yard.

Some remedies you can try:

Use a dimmer bulb in the porch light (or actually install a dimmer) to help pick the level of lighting that assists your vision without overwhelming it.
If the bulb/fixture is in your line of sight, try moving it or shielding the source of light from your eyes.

What Sauer is experiencing is what happens when you have too bright a light directly in front of you.  Your pupils adjust to the brightest thing in their field of view, which makes more distant objects appear darker.  The fix is to not slam your eyes with a bright pool of light.




"Tulsa Police say it's important to make sure there are lights on both inside and outside your home because burglars hate well-lit areas."
http://www.newson6.com/story/39523488/tulsa-police-stress-importance-of-home-security-during-holidays

There's simply too many ways to interpret that to be considered anything but anecdotal, but im sure at one time everyone assumed bright light just repels evil and thieves dont need to see to steal. Then there's the FBI statistics that say most burglaries happen in the daytime...

You have to give some thought to lighting to make it more advantageous to you than the bad guys.
Does it help me see?  Does it help my neighbors see?  ...or is glare working against me?
Are lights on 24/7 really making anyone think this is how I live when I'm home?
Are my inside lights creating opportunity by showing off my stuff in an unoccupied house?
And seriously, what is the definition of "well lit" ?

The article does praise the use of doorbell cameras which, ironically, provide their own infrared illumination. They also have the advantage of showing faces better than "floodlight cameras" that point down and just catch the tops of heads.

[patric]

Thieves Seen Stealing Lightbulbs In Downtown Tulsa Neighborhood
https://www.1170kfaq.com/story/39699204/thieves-seen-stealing-lightbulbs-in-downtown-tulsa-neighborhood


A Downtown Tulsa neighborhood is having trouble with thieves stealing light bulbs.

One woman says she drove up and witnessed a man taking a lightbulb out of her porch light and managed to capture a photo of him.
"I've always been one leave the lights on, leave the lights on," said Trena Workman, "But they've been pretty persistent about stealing our lightbulbs."

Trena Workman says she was coming home from the gym this morning when she saw a man outside of her home unscrewing a lightbulb from her outdoor light.
She said she then watched him go into the alleyway between her and her neighbor's house.
"I was kind of mad about it because we've had a lot of light bulbs stolen that we just stopped putting one in there so I stuck my car in that little hole right there and told him to put it back," said Workman.

Workman says the man put the lightbulb back in her neighbor's light then jumped over her car and started running, but she managed to capture a photo of him as he was getting away.
"He had a sack, kind of like a generic plastic sack that you get at the store and it looked like it was full of light bulbs, so he may have just been going up and down through our addition here and getting lightbulbs," said Workman.

Workman says this isn't the first time her home has been targeted. She says burglaries are not uncommon in their neighborhood and several people have had things vandalized or stolen from their porches.
Workman says people have stolen her lightbulbs before and someone even broke into her home earlier this year while she was sleeping.
"That was the worst feeling that we were upstairs, and this was going on downstairs," said Workman.

Tulsa Police say burglars often look for dark areas when trying to scope out a home, or in this case, they could be trying to create their own darkness.

"Things like light will keep a burglar from burglarizing a residence because they don't want to be seen," said Tulsa Police Officer Jeanne Pierce.


Of course, the light of the midday sun doesnt stop someone walking right up to a house and stealing light bulbs out of their fixtures.
Nor does it change the fact that most home burglaries happen in broad daylight.
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vdhb.pdf