This business of protecting phone lines from cut seems to vary from area to
area. Although it seems to everyone that it's a pretty obvious weakness,
where I live it just never seems to happen. However, I do hear that in other
major metro centres it can be a problem, so I suppose it's just a matter of
time until it starts here as well....
Perhaps this shows just how stupid some of these thieves really are. Plus it
does seem to emphasize the fact that a lot of burglaries are "crimes of
opportunity" and are not heavily planned as such. They see a partially open
window; they see a home with mail piled up, grass not cut, or snow from a
week old storm sitting there, and it waves a "flag", and in they go using
the easiest means possible...
There are many ways to go about armouring the phone wires. Perhaps the best
is to bury them and come in under the ground, putting the telco demarc
inside. The phone company may not like this, but frankly, your security is
more important than their convenience ! On newer homes it may be possible to
cover them with steel braiding and mount the demarc inside a locked metal
box. On older homes, where the line comes down the side of the home from an
overhead drop, it can be a major problem and a great deal of work....
R.H.Campbell
Home Security Metal Products
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
www.homemetal.com
