HOUSTON, TX – You always hear crime is on the rise. Here in Houston, car thefts went up 4% last year, and robberies, more than 5%. But violent crime has actually been on the decline for decades, locally and nationwide. Last year, home invasions here were down 12% from the year before, but if you were one of the 430 families who suffered one, you don’t care. You wanna make sure it never happens again!
That’s why some of the wealthiest Houstonians are turning their homes into veritable fortresses. Security cameras are a given, but people are installing 20,000-pound walk-in vaults, bookcases that hide hidden rooms, and even mirrors that open to secret passageways.
Some families in neighborhoods like the Galleria area, Conroe and Sealy are even putting in underground bunkers as big as a city bus in their backyards. And it’s not just the kooks getting them, according to installer Ron Hubbard, it’s your neighbors.
“Many people who get these bunkers don’t want anyone to know that they have them,” says Peter Holley, the Houstonia writer who looked into home security for the April issue. “If somebody knows they’ve got a safe room, then suddenly their safe room’s not so safe.”
For more on how Houstonians are safeguarding themselves from crime, check out this month’s Houstonia magazine.
