A neighbor's guide to a harder-to-hit home
Most of what works is cheap. Do the free list tonight. The rest is optional, and the street board shows what neighbors already use, so ask in the chat before you buy anything.
Numbers to save now
- 911 for anything happening right now.
- 311 or (702) 828-3111, Las Vegas Metro non-emergency, for something that already happened.
- The Caesars Circle number: coming when alerts go live. When you get it, save it as a contact and let it through Do Not Disturb (iPhone: open the contact, Ringtone, turn on Emergency Bypass. Android: open the contact, set it as a priority or favorite so it rings through).
Free, tonight
Lock the cars, empty the seats.
Nothing visible inside, and key fobs and garage remotes come into the house. Most street crime here is opportunistic.
Close the garage at night.
If your opener has a "left open" alert, turn it on.
Two-factor on every camera and doorbell app.
And change any password that came in the box. A camera someone else can log into is worse than no camera.
A dowel in every sliding window and door.
A wooden dowel, or a cut broom handle, laid in the bottom track stops a slider opening even if the latch gives. Cut it half an inch short so you can lift it out from inside. Five minutes and a few dollars, and it beats most latches.
A 30-second check before bed.
Doors, windows, garage, cars. Same order every night until it's automatic.
Make sure the alert wakes you
Save the number, then let it through.
Skip this and the 2am call can arrive silent, or never ring at all. The alert calls and texts from one number. The app gives you the contact card. Open it, Edit, tap Ringtone and turn on Emergency Bypass, then Text Tone and turn it on again. That contact now rings through Do Not Disturb, Sleep Focus, and the silent switch.
It calls again until someone answers.
If nobody in your home presses 1, taps the app, or replies AWAKE, it calls again about ninety seconds later, and once more after that. Do not count on the repeat alone. iPhone's "Allow Repeated Calls" (on by default in Focus settings) only gets past Do Not Disturb. It does not override the ring/silent switch, and if "Silence Unknown Callers" is on, a number you never saved goes straight to voicemail without ringing. The saved contact with Emergency Bypass is what covers those.
Turn the text into an alarm (iPhone, three minutes, optional).
An alarm is the one sound an iPhone never silences. Shortcuts app, Automation, New Automation, Message. Sender: Caesars Circle Alert. Message Contains: CAESARS CIRCLE. Next. Choose Run Immediately. Add the action "Start Timer" for 1 second. Done. Now the alert text also rings the timer at full volume, even asleep, even on silent. The monthly test text starts with CAESARS CIRCLE too, so you get to hear it work.
Two adults, two phones.
Every adult can sign up with their own number; the call goes to each until one of you answers. In the app you can also add a second number to ring, like a landline by the bed.
Android.
Mark the contact a favorite or a priority so it rings through Do Not Disturb, and turn on "repeat callers". MacroDroid or Tasker can turn a text containing CAESARS CIRCLE into a full-volume alarm.
Under about $100
Lights where it's dark.
Dusk-to-dawn at the front, motion lights on the sides and back. Warm white is just as effective and easier on neighbors.
3-inch screws in the door frame.
Replace the short screws in the strike plate and hinges. A door with long screws holds up to a kick. Ten minutes with a drill.
A shield on the garage emergency release.
So the cord can't be fished from outside. A zip tie through the release lever works in a pinch.
A bar or pin for sliding doors.
Cheapest fix for the weakest door in most homes here.
If you're buying: what actually matters
Video doorbell
Night vision, a wide enough view to see the street, and either local storage or a plan you'll keep paying for. Any major brand is fine. The alert system never touches your camera, so nothing here locks you in.
Exterior cameras
Aim at your own property and the street, never into a neighbor's yard or windows. Turn off audio recording unless you truly need it. One camera that sees the driveway beats four that see the roof.
Smart locks and garage openers
Auto-lock after a few minutes, "left open" alerts, and a physical key that still works.
Alarms
Monitoring is a personal choice. A loud outdoor siren that neighbors can hear is worth more than a notification nobody sees.
Skip these
Fake cameras (they invite a test), anything that asks you to open a port on your router, and anything that shares your footage with other people by default.
Lights and cameras: how they fit
Nothing connects to your cameras. Ever.
Your camera app stays yours. After an incident, you decide whether to post a clip in the chat, clip by clip. Nobody on the street, and nothing on this site, can look through your camera.
Your lights can come on during an alert, without giving anyone access.
Same Shortcut as the alarm above: add the action "Control Home" (or your Hue, Ring, or Alexa app's "turn on" action) and pick your porch and driveway lights. The automation runs on your phone, in your home, the moment the alert text arrives. A lit street is the cheapest deterrent there is.
Shared lights and the siren are a street decision.
Lights at the entrance or a siren would be HOA-owned, on a written policy, and would only run after a second home confirms an alert, for one minute, with a hard cutoff. Nothing here is built until the street votes for it.
Setting it up so it helps the street
Share only what you choose.
Keep sharing off by default. If something happens, the home that owns the clip decides what to share, clip by clip.
Tell the board what you have.
Counts only, never by house. It's how we know what to build around, and who to ask when you're stuck.
Never confront.
Observe, call 911, alert the street. A camera clip is worth far more than a hero moment.