It can tell the difference between intruders and your kids. Time


Home security cameras have evolved tremendously in the past few years, and there's no reason why you shouldn't have one.

They're affordable, easy to install and worth it when it comes to protecting your home.

It doesn't matter if your neighborhood is rich or poor, or even if you live in a gated community. Criminals are more brazen than ever now and burglaries continue to be on the rise in East Tennessee especially with the devastating opioid epidemic plaguing the region.

Follow any neighborhood group on Facebook and and you'll see a post about something that was stolen.

Two weeks ago in the Carter community, a woman was upset about her Halloween decorations that were stolen.

Decorations that she and her children had made.

Nothing is sacred, and nobody is exempt. 

You have the crime of opportunity, where the thief drives through the neighborhood checking out whose garage door is open and what quick and easy opportunities are available.

Then you have the researcher, who stakes out the neighborhood checking for who leaves at what time so they can plan their attack.

Alarm systems are great because they can alert any neighbors nearby, and having a large dog is an even better deterrent.

Monitored alarm systems are wonderful to have, but you pay a monthly fee that can end up being costly.

In these days of modern technology, however, the smart home security camera is more popular than ever.

Installing motion detection cameras that can sync up with an app on your phone is now rising more in popularity because homeowners can monitor their homes from anywhere.

One of the latest designs is the Arlo Pro, a wireless outdoor security camera that uses a rechargeable battery that can last six months, which means you don't have to constantly take it down for upkeep.

The Arlo Pro includes a microphone and speaker so you could possibly talk to anyone who is standing in front of the camera. The camera sends an alert when a possible intruder is nearby but is able to identify different objects, so a nearby squirrel wouldn't set off an alert but a person would.

Seven out of 10 burglaries occur during the day, according to security expert Mike Rodriguez of Century Security. "Your neighbors aren't going to think anything of someone going to your front door ringing your doorbell," he says.

Because of this, the Ring Doorbell system has also risen in popularity over the past few years. When someone rings your doorbell, you can answer it through an app on your phone from anywhere so the intruder doesn't know that you're not there.

Ring is going a step further, however, and is introducing a whole new system of cameras, lights and doorbells called Ring Protect. The Ring Protect system even includes monitoring for $100 a year, which is way cheaper than ADT.

Even more fancy is the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, which uses artificial intelligence for recognizing and identifying people in images, triggering "Familiar Face" alerts on the Nest mobile app.

There are plenty of options out there and they get more advanced every day.

Don't wait until you've already had a break-in to upgrade your home security system. It pays for itself more often than not.

Angela Gosnell is a video producer for She can be reached at 865-342-6351 or


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