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Neighbours of ours have an alarm system wired to a central office - sophisticated system as described above. If one access point is disturbed, the alarm goes off. Also lots of alarm stickers in the window, alarm sign up front, etc.
Despite all these preventative measures the thieves went in, looked around the bedrooms, found several valuable items, and left. The ringing alarm they set off may have made them run faster but alarm stickers did not put them off from entering the house. They know they can be in and out in less time than the alarm company can respond, and they know they can be long out of there before the police are able to be on the scene.
Sadly, fancy home alarm systems might save a few dollars on insurance but they don't always stop burglars.
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What they do is limit the time a burglar has on site the average 8-10 minutes still way too long.... but better than all afternoon
another plus is the panic feature... for those of us living alone and doing dumb stuff... all i have to do is hit the keyfob if I get a little happy with the chainsaw or ladder
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Youser, you are right,they do not always stop burglars but if there are other homes in the same area without alarms that have just as easy of access, most thieves would go rob them first unless they know that there is something really juicy in the house and know for sure that they will not encounter animals or humans there. By the way, since you are neighbors, didn't the loud alarm ringing make you want to check on your neighbors?
I think our neighbors are a better safety measure than the alarm system. They are always watching out for each other.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com
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Naturally, we would have run right over to investigate, Devany, but we are not home 24/7 and were far away when the break in happened. We work away from home.
And I'm afraid you don't understand the mentality of the thieves in our area. There are many houses around our area which are not alarmed, in fact I would say 80% are not. However they chose to hit this house which does look like people of means live there - could be what attracted the thieves, or it could be the fact the house is surrounded by lush gardens that help block the view from some angles. As I mentioned the house has alarm stickers on all windows and a beware of a dog sign posted in the front.
Your neighbours may be watching out, but they are not always home and don't have eyes in the back of their head. Crime waves seem to be that, waves, and they shift from area to area. Your area may be next, so don't count on your alarms or neighbours to stop a break in.
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"Despite all these preventative measures the thieves went in, looked around the bedrooms, found several valuable items, and left. The ringing alarm they set off may have made them run faster but alarm stickers did not put them off from entering the house. They know they can be in and out in less time than the alarm company can respond, and they know they can be long out of there before the police are able to be on the scene."
how long did it take the cops to arrive? Im curious.... As a rule alarms will save lives and property... at 1-2k$ a cheap investment for armed response... seems dumb for crooks to hang out knowing cops and guns (never mind the owner) are on the way...
Id look to other measures (and my buddies' buddies "the" factor in many break ins) if I were to be burgled with an alarm in place ... a very rare event indeed - speaks to burglars with very big caho or a death wish - grin
I would not use the neighbors as an example ... exception rather than the rule me thinks
"† The electronic industry cites a study of three suburban locales. Residences with alarms faced a 1.4 percent risk of burglary, while residences without alarms faced a 2.3 percent risk (Hakim and Buck 1991). Due to research limitations, these findings should not be presumed to hold true for all jurisdictions."
http://www.popcenter.org/problems/burglary_home/
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So many houses have Alarm signs outside, maybe the burglars have realized many are a sham.
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I understand that people posting here who have spent a lot of money on alarm systems like to think they are immune to burglaries. Unfortunately they are not.
In our neighbour's case it took the police several minutes to respond to the call. This is because the alarm companies do not send the police immediately, they first try to contact the homeowner to see if the alarm has been tripped accidentally. If they don't get a response they then alert the police. All this costs valuable time. The police don't just jump in their cars and speed off to the location when an alarm goes off - they are alerted by the alarm company that it is a valid call. Obviously, the alarm company doesn't want too many "false alarms", as the whole system would become a joke and the police wouldn't bother reacting to any calls. (Boy who cried wolf)
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"I understand that people posting here who have spent a lot of money on alarm systems like to think they are immune to burglaries. Unfortunately they are not."
I don't think anyone is making the point that
1) we have to spend a lot of cash ...... I think Im in for 250 in parts for top of the line honeywell basic system another another 250 for some really leading edge upgrades - do the prewire before the drywall goes up ....
2) - we are immune to burglaries - nope ... but I do know if some one is / has been in the house when I get home That alone has enough value to me
Its about my space for me... not my stuff I have been traveling light for years now ... the 15 year old burglars not interested in my 35 year old pioneer even if they could lift it.
The odds of having my space violated, like so much of life is just a crapshoot in my opinion, I keep a real sign out front just in case, Its up to the invader to decide if the cops (if he is lucky) or whether I am 150 feet away in the jungle with a cell phone
or whether the sign is bogus
I recognize two local companies out here - by signage so do the bad guys I think
