Does anyone here have a home security system?

[Hammer]

Hi all,

I was recently the victim of a break-in at my home (yep, if you read the dreams thread I had a dream about it happening the night before...freaky). Do any of you have a system that you really trust? Maybe a system that you absolutely hate (any why)? My wife and I have been on pins and needles the last two nights and need to find some "security" in order to sleep now...especially w/ a 2 1/2 year old that now sleeps in our room as well...

Thanks,

Hammer

 

 

Edit - please PM me if you don't feel safe letting the whole world know about you security/lack of it...

[eanelson4]

Be a real American, get a gun. Nothing says security like a shotgun in an intruders face http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Brian the Automator]

Any interest in getting a dog? Even a small dog, because of the noise, is enough to deter someone trying to break-in.

[lcbj68c]

As I often do, I'll allow my law enforcement experience say a few things.

 

1) I would NOT personally invest in an alarm system. There is nothing in my personal belongings that I could not live without or hold enough value to justify an alarm monitoring system that you would pay $20.00 a month for on average, plus the cost and installation of the system. (Yes, I realize there are companies out there that are not charging for the hardware and installation, but get you on the monthly fee.) Secondly, depending upon where you live, from the moment an intruder enters your home, sets off the alarm, the alarm company calls you first to verify it was not false, gets no response, then calls the police department, the operator takes the information, sends out an officer (if one is available at the moment), the officer gets to your home takes a minimum of 6 minutes, but averages 13 minutes. The typical burglar spends 8-10 minutes in your home.

 

2) I would invest in a gun, safe, and a dog.

Gun - Obvious...as I said before, my personal belongings are not important enough to me to justify the alarm system, however the safety of my family and my own life

are. Therefore, should somebody be stupid enough to break into my home when I am home....the gun.

Safe- Never have a gun that is not secure. Should you have something really important, put it in a safe, or better yet, keep it in a safe deposit box in a bank. The fees and cost is much less than the monthly alarm monitoring fees. Make sure the safe is standalone, good quality and can be bolted or installed into the wall.

Dog - While this kind of defeats the monetary discussion we've had as to the cost of the alarm system (dog food, leash, time, treats, toys cost money) there are certain other benefits that owning a pet does to somebody's life and general disposition. A survey of convicted burglars shows that 85% of them do not enter a home with any kind of dog. Dogs make noise and every dog has an ability to bite. The bigger the dog, the better.

 

Now all of that said, if somebody wants to enter your home bad enough, they are going to get in. You should have that mindset and try to protect your belongings in another way as discussed above. Conduct a self-survey of your home or contact your local police department as they will also send out a community policing officer to conduct a safety survey of your home if you aren't sure what to look for. Things like cutting back your trees and bushes. A majority of burglaries are conducted by smashing a window in the rear of the home, especially homes that do not abut another home to the rear.

 

I could go on and on, but the general idea is you can do much more at a better value than a home security alarm system.

[Hammer]

lcbj68c - I appreciate the advice here! I wasn't thinking about response times...

Gun, safe and dog.

Gun - Have plenty of these (chedderhead through and through). This collection is what the thief was after in my opinion (and the LEO's that responded to the call). One of my rifles (carbine, non-hunting) was out of place...meaning that the case was open and laying across my bed. I have a gun safe that is currently empty and in my garage. Dumb move but one that is changing this afternoon/evening. While I know that I could use a weapon if push came to shove it doesn't help when I'm not at home.

Safe - I have the gun safe as well as a personal safe. Neither was found and I'm happy about that. These will both be bolted to a stud from the inside of the safe after this evening.

Dog - Allergies...unfortunately this won't work.

Alarms - I'm probably going to get a couple of self-installed motion sensitive alarms for my entry doors for when I am at home (activated at night). There are a couple on the market that are deafening type of loud and they look like they would do the trick. Plus, they would mask the "click, click" of my shotgun, rifle or carbine...whichever comes out of the safe first http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[dadofandrew]

As someone who replied to dozens of false alarms over the years in retail, you'll have a loud alarm for nothing every few months, which are enough to deter most from setting it unless you are gone for a day or more. Police departments do charge you if you have more than a couple false alarms in a calendar year.

 

I'd be tempted to buy some sort of decoy signs and stickers that you have an alarm system...that's enough to keep most criminals away, as they are idiots. Motion detector lights and such work wonders too.

[lcbj68c]

very good point from pops of andrew. We started charging for the 4th false alarm in a calendar year. I've seen people lose their whole allotment in a matter of hours from something as simple as a ceiling fan blowing a helium balloon all over the residence .

[JimH5]

I have a security system installed by Able Security. No complaints. A couple of motion sensors, sensors on all the points of entry, two keypads, and a control box that makes a wireless call to the security company whenever the thing is tripped.