Purchased a home 2 1/2 years ago and have already had two break ins, the latest
being last week. Last year, my neighbor called the cops who caught the first pair of thieves
just as they were breaking through the door. But the latest idiots managed to get in and
out without being detected. Fortunately, what was taken was of little value.
I’m getting bars put on the windows that can’t be seen from the street and am
also thinking of getting a home security system. Can anyone tell me about
their system? Is it worth the cost? What is the cost? Are the alarm system
companies easy to deal with if there is a problem with the system? etc, etc.
Thanks for any advice you can give me.
I wish to hell I had stayed in my condo. Moving to a house seemed like
a good idea at the time.
The house I bought had an older hardwired system that we removed and replaced it with a wireless system from a company called Frontpoint, via an Angie’s List deal. You pay for the equipment up front, but you own it, and you install it yourself (easy). There are equipment packages of various types, and you can add additional equipment as you deem necessary. The monthly fee is $35. We’ve had it about 2 years, it does what I wanted it to do, though it’s not yet been “tested” by a real criminal.
There are identical companies that are cheaper, like Simplisafe, but I went with Frontpoint pretty much just because I found them first, in the haze and confusion of moving into a new house.
I don’t have a security system in my home, so no suggestions there. I did, however, want to give a warning on the burglar bars - they not only keep bad people out, but in an emergency (like a fire) they will just as effectively keep good people out - and you in. Several times a year there is a news story around here about someone dying in a house fire because they couldn’t get out and rescuers couldn’t get to them in time because of burglar bars.
The protection may outweigh the risks in some areas, but just be aware that the risk is there.
Check your local ordinances about registering your system. I found out the hard way about that from the police when I had several false alarms in the early days.
My company is pretty good, still, I think I’m paying too much for what they do for me, but whaddya gonna do?
I’ll echo what JAQ said, if you do get an alarm, contact your local police department about registering it. I found out the hard way that registering all security systems is required by my local authorities. I was lucky that I only got a nasty letter after a false alarm, but in some localities it’s actually a misdemeanor to not register and have a false alarm. You would think the alarm company would alert their new customers to this but in my experience they don’t bother.
In addition to the permitting considerations, you also have to determine what your local PD response time and policy is regarding alarm calls. In some places police response time may be higher than you are comfortable with. At best, I see my alarm as a deterrent only.
They do make glass that is difficult to smash through - though it’s more expensive.
Honestly, I don’t expect the police to come right away if the alarm goes off in the middle of the day. Hopefully, the noise will deter a burglar or at least hurry them up so they don’t empty the entire house. I really only care about response time if the alarm goes off at 3 am.
The HD from the camera system can be placed in difficult to access places, or secured against casual theft. They can also be configured to transmit data to cloud storage. But cameras are even less of a deterrent than alarms - purely used for after the fact.
Burglar alarm calls make up around 15% of all intended calls to 9-1-1 centers in the United States. False alarm rates are typically around 97%. This places a huge drain on police resources.
As a result many communities require registering an alarm system with the police and/or 9-1-1 center so that information about a key holder is always readily available. There may be a registration fee which helps to offset the administrative burden created by the registration system and the high number of false alarms. Some communities charge a registration fee annually.
As a result of the high rate of false alarms many communities require that alarm systems be monitored (no systems that automatically dial emergency services and no systems that are audible that only directly inform the premises owner) and that the monitoring company make several attempts to contact a key holder before emergency services can be called. There may be a fine if emergency services are called repeatedly for false alarms at a given address.
Burglar alarms are not more effective in helping police catch suspects in the act. A Department of Justice study actually showed slightly higher rates of red-handed apprehensions in cases where no alarm was present.
Think about what you want out of a security system. The four legged variety is often the most effective.
I don’t have an actual alarm system, I just have the big, scary looking ‘“STAY OUT”…this house is protected by Guardian Alarm’ sticker stuck on the window near my front door. I’m cheap and I feel I get the same (or similar) security as a system.
Thank you for all your advice (and any more you care to give me). I’m not a dog person
so a dog is out of the question. I have been thinking about whether it would be worth it to move back
to a condo. Moving from a condo to a house and back to a condo would be a major loss of $$ but
I would probably be less stressed and worried. Feeling very depressed about this right now.
I have cameras at my house which nabbed some guys who vandalized my SUV just a few weeks ago, and have caught other events of note. Given how inexpensive they are I am shocked fewer people use them.
The guys who damaged my car paid me cash not to press charges.
The argument that they don’t deter crime is countered when the criminal is caught and reparations occur. Even better when you discover it wasn’t just some random people, it was the neighbors.
i had a brief chat with a RE agent.
I mentioned that the current tract-house wall of 3/8" particle board and 5/8 sheetrock would not seem effective against the advent of the cordless circular saw.
He gave me an odd look (was I speculating on a post-retirement income strategy?), and then said:
“They can clean out a house in 20 minutes”.
If you PD waits 15 minutes because of sloppy alarms, I’d go with cameras well hidden so the bad guys don’t even realize they’re being recorded.
You aren’t going to stop them, so you might as well give the PD good pics - they will probably recognize the perps.
This house seems to have had some interesting uses (it was a foreclosure) - it had an alarm screaming when I first came in, and I spent the first month removing the dog pen in the front yard and the bars from the patio doors and most windows.
I left the bars on a side of the house which would be the logical entry point - after testing the quick-release features of the bars.
I finally found the battery on the ancient alarm control. It uses a first-get motion detector, not cameras. Ancient.
I checked out the neighborhood before I moved and was assured that it was
reasonably safe. There have been one or two other break-ins since I moved in but
the crooks were spotted and the police captured them.
One neighbor who already has a large dog is getting an alarm system and another
is thinking of getting a dog to replace the one that died a couple years ago.
I was in a condo for eighteen years previous to moving here - nothing like this
ever happened to anyone in the condo building. There was some vandalism in the
common areas a few times but no one ever got broken into.
