For years, my wife and I had a pretty simple arrangement in the case of a home invasion. We’d both grab our guns and flashlights from the nightstand, dial the police, and stay put. But then, we moved out of our apartment and bought a house. My brother came to live with us. We had a baby. Our simple plan needed modifying.

Make sure you’re all on the same page.

First, the adults sat down and discussed what the best course of action would be should something go bump in the night. We realized that three armed adults moving through the house to confront a possible intruder might pose more of a danger to one another than the intruder would. We’d have to determine where everyone was going to be. So we considered the floor plan of the house, what natural choke points existed, and decided who would go where if the alarms went off.

Sometimes the best plan is the simplest.

We arrived at the conclusion that it would be best if my brother would stay put in his room, and only leave it if we called to him. My wife and I, coming from the same room, would be better able to coordinate our movements. She would head to my daughter’s room, and I would guard the hallway, the only approach from the rest of the house. Simple, but effective. Detailed plans are the first to derail in times of stress or panic.

Consider the costs. 

An underlying principle of home defense you and your family members should remember before and after creating your home-defense plan is this: There’s no material object worth killing or dying over. If someone has broken in and is stealing your things, call the police and wait it out. Your insurance will cover anything that gets stolen, and even if it doesn’t, you’ll still come out ahead by not having to defend yourself in court for shooting the intruder. Always consider the ratio between cost and benefit: In the case of stopping a violent invasion, the cost may be expensive and stressful litigation later, but the benefit is preserving your life and the lives of your family members. Totally worthwhile. In the case of a nonviolent break-in, the cost remains the same, but the only benefit is protecting your possessions.

Do you have an established home-defense plan?

This article is courtesy of The Arms Guide.

Opening photo courtesy of personaldefenseworld.com.