People love surveillance cameras. They slap them on the front porch like they just installed a force field.Congratulations. You have purchased a very expensive recording device.
That is what these cameras really are. They do not stop crime. They document crime. They are not a shield. They are a replay button.
And since Covid, when the entire country decided masks were normal, burglars have basically been handed the perfect disguise. Most of them now wear masks, hoodies, gloves, and the facial recognition dream is dead on arrival.
Identifying them becomes a nightmare for investigators.
Trust me, not everyone is going to get the obsessive, over-the-top media-level scrutiny that comes with being connected to someone like Savannah Guthrie’s mother. Most victims get a case number and a shrug.
Cameras might show you exactly when the burglar kicked in your door. They might even give a clue or two that eventually leads to an arrest.
Eventually.
But here is the part nobody wants to hear:
If you are not home and you get an alert that someone is inside your house, you can call the police, sure.
I can promise you, in most jurisdictions, the cops will not arrive in time to make any difference whatsoever. The burglar will be long gone.
Hopefully, you have a busybody Karen type neighbor who stays home all day as she treats the block like her personal surveillance state. That helps more than most tech gadgets.
If you want real protection, start with the basics:
Ridiculously strong doors. Expensive locks. Reinforced windows.
Most people’s home security hardware is laughably inadequate. The average lock is basically a polite suggestion.
Now, dogs? A couple of large, well-trained Dobermans or German Shepherds can be extremely effective.
But realistically, when it comes down to life and death, an adequate firearm, combined with sufficient training, gives you a fighting chance to survive.
Under no condition should you surrender or capitulate to someone who has invaded your home. Do not try to “hold them” at gunpoint like you are running a police academy exercise. They have nothing to lose. They will figure out how to overcome you in a flash, and they will murder you without hesitation.
Your last and only true line of defense is an adequate firearm. It is much better that firearm be on you, not sitting in some drawer for burglars to discover and use against someone else.
If unconstitutional local laws claim you cannot carry a firearm, then it is time for non-compliance. Your loved ones and your own life matter more than the dictates of tyrannical politicians who believe they outrank the Constitution.
You never know when you walk through your front door that burglars are not already inside. Do you really want to be scrambling to find your gun in that moment?
And never forget, you are far more likely to be attacked or murdered out in the streets, parking lots, and stores you must visit every day. Carrying a concealed firearm in public is even more necessary.
I give you this advice because your life and safety depend upon it considering there is the cold legal reality that people refuse to accept:
The Supreme Court has twice held that government has no duty to protect you.
Here are the key United States Supreme Court decisions holding that the government generally has no constitutional duty to protect individuals from private harm:
- DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 489 U.S. 189 (1989).
The Court held that the Due Process Clause does not impose a duty on the state to protect individuals from private violence. The state’s failure to act, even when aware of serious danger, does not constitute a violation of substantive due process absent a special relationship or state-created danger. - Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005).
The Court held that a municipal police department’s refusal to enforce a restraining order did not violate the victim’s constitutional rights because there is no property or liberty interest in police enforcement of restraining orders and no constitutional duty on police to protect an individual.
So yes, buy cameras, they may capture your burglary in glorious high definition. But if you want to survive the real world, you need more than video.
You need preparation, hard security, training, and the means to defend yourself, because the government is not coming to save you.
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