Let’s continue our discussion about protecting your assets — inside your home. You should know that an alarm system is just one part of the security protection program. I have to tell you about those central station alarm systems. When properly installed and applied, they become an integral part of your program, another line of protection in your interrelated barriers. However, unless you are aware of certain issues, they could be dangerous to your health!
Around the House….
Normally treated as perimeter protection, the central station system looks at the windows and doors (“openings”) in your home as the perimeter. The windows get taped with a type of aluminum foil, and so on, terminating in a signal box on premises that will transmit a silent alarm to the guard company off premises. Okay, you (a woman alone) are in bed asleep, say with your baby in the next room. Bad Guy breakes in through a window. Maybe the alarm sounds in that remote (distant) alarm monitoring location. That is your central station. According to the terms of your contract with the alarm company, the person attending the alarm panel waits a given number of seconds for you to call and say that you goofed and set it off yourself. If that does not happen, he calls you….
… And Inside the House
It’s two AM. You hear the phone, and damn near wet yourself. Groggy, you fumble for the phone and answer on the third ring, your heart pounding, concern rising because the baby is now crying. I want you to visualize this: The burglar is inside your home, he hears the phone, and maybe even hears your voice, and the baby crying. Hmmmm….
Gosh, maybe he will leave. Or not.
Maybe the alarm company wrote a better contract with you. It says that if the alarm goes off between the hours of midnight and six, they automatically call the cops. So here’s another pulse-racer: The cops arrive and surround the house. You are inside. With your baby. And the burglar.
Noise Is Nice
Here is an alternative to that silent alarm: A BIG-ASSED LOUD NOISE! Electronically-generated, right there at the window where Bad Guy broke the glass. A klaxon-type horn goes off, all your lights go on — and the signal is passed to the alarm company. The Bad Guy is still outside your house. What do you suppose he would do? Well, what would you do? If you had an ounce of sense, you would run like the dickens.*
So the cops come, look for evidence outside your home, and calm you down. You avoided a confrontation with a strange, hostile man inside your home.
One more thing. You avoided a hostage situation.
*There are 3 elements necessary for a successful burglary, for the health and well-being of the burglar: 1.Silence 2. Darkness 3. Time.
Every professionally designed security program incorporates Sound, Light, Delay.
Photo by Michelle Stella Riordan
Photography By Exposure
http://photographybyexposure.wordpress.com
My in-laws had a system that they installed that went off (loudly) when the connection was broken. They were pretty good about keeping it on and armed at night and I think it would have scared any burglar away. Unfortunately, I think people don’t install these systems because they are so frequently tripping them up themselves. Maybe the 4th element a burglar needs is un-committed occupants!
Pat
Pat, the “false alarm” syndrome has not gone away in 30 years. Why? Because the system goes into alarm state when the owners fail to pay attention to proper use of an otherwise good system. The fail safe feature you mention should be on all alarm systems, no matter where they are installed or what they protect.
Thanks for writing.
Fantastic blog! Great!
You ought to be a part of a contest for one of the highest quality blogs online. I will recommend this website!