Self Defense

How can my cell phone keep me safe at night?

Having a cell phone charging by the bed is part of a layered approach to home safety. Think about it. You are in one place, asleep and vulnerable, for a large chunk of time, usually during the evening hours when it is dark. If you’ve locked your doors and windows, lit the outside of your house and yard, and have trimmed your landscaping so it can’t hide a bad guy trying to get in, you should be safe. However, sometimes that is just not enough and you need to make sure that if the bad guy does breach your defenses, you can get help quickly and quietly.

However, I do have a landline and also rely on it in case I need to call 911. Which phone would be best? Well, these days it is not just which phone would be best, but which phone service do you have as well.

Some of you may have "traditional" Ma Bell type of service, with the phone line (landline) coming directly to the house. Whatever plugs in to the phone line in the wall will work, as long as the phone lines are operable. The safest option with this type of service is to use an old fashioned cheap phone with a cord that plugs directly into the wall. Why? The newfangled cordless phones that rest on a battery charger will not work if you lose electricity. The non-cordless phone will work as long as the phone lines haven’t been cut or damaged whether you have electric power or not. So, if you lose power, but still have the phone service, this phone is handy. We found this to be true a few years ago when we were out of power for 12 days due to Hurricane Isabel. Our cordless phones, sitting on bases that rely on electricity to charge them, ran out of juice. However, our cheap phone plugged into the wall worked, and people who wanted to call our home phone got through when we were home to answer the phone. And we could call for help if we needed it, because we keep that old phone right by our bed.

However, since then, we have changed our telephone service provider to a company that uses the internet (VoIP) to connect to the phone line. I expect there are lots of people who have switched to their cable company's phone service or an independent phone service provider such as Vonage. Now, every phone in the house, no matter what it's plugged into, is dependent on the internet and electricity. So now if we lose power, all we have is our cell phone, which we can charge by plugging into our portable generator.

If you are one of the few and proud who have given up their landline completely, then you must rely solely on your cell phone for any 911 calls. So, if all you've got is a cell phone, then the best place to keep it while you're sleeping (a relatively large chunk of time and a time very vulnerable time for break-ins) is by your bed.

Even if you only have a cell phone and are not paying for a landline, you can still use that landline in an emergency. You can take one of those old cheap non-cordless phones, plug it into the wall, and if you get a dial tone, you can call 911. You do not have to have a service contract with any provider. This phone might be a great back up for your back up, if you lose electricity and your cell phone loses its charge or is not usable for whatever reason. Get an old phone, plug it in the wall, and see what you get. You might be surprised.

This issue hit really close to home this week. While I was talking to my husband about this, I found out that our recent remodeling guys -- don't get me started-- somehow disabled our landline phone line from the street to the house. We have VoIP, so it's not noticed, and my husband says, "It's on the list", but I think now I'll see if I can get that issue a higher priority! It’s always nicer to have an extra layer of protection.

Finally, consider where your landline handset is located in your bedroom. Can you reach it without getting out of bed? In our house, the landline in our bedroom is on my husband's side of the bed. I can reach my cell phone more stealthily and quicker if I necessary during an emergency.  Personally, I feel safer with the landline as my primary layer of security and my cell phone as back up, especially when either one is within reach while I’m sleeping.

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