Home Security

Home Security Monitoring

Of all the home security features that are available with home alarms the system’s capacity to dispatch the police is often the most overlooked. Traditional alarm systems are designed to simply send a signal to a dispatch station which, in turn, contacts the local police department for dispatching an officer. As with all alarms, of course, the dispatch station will contact someone in the home in order to verify the authenticity of the emergency. Without over-the-phone confirmation of the emergency, however, the police can only be dispatched on an unconfirmed break-in which doesn’t carry nearly as high a priority. The significance, then, is that during a real home emergency how could anyone expect an intruder to answer the phone and verify the break-in?! This has resulted in many poorly dispatched break-ins because many service providers (even though the actual alarm system hardware may be the newest the industry has to offer) simply don’t provide the best monitoring services available.

Two-way voice intercom service has quickly become the superior monitoring service available and certainly has eliminated the limitations that occur with the previous. The feature is very simple: instead of the dispatch station calling you at your home phone number during a break-in they can actually immediately communicate with the homeowner, or verify that there’s an intruder, via an intercom (that works through your phone line) that is built directly into your alarm system. Once activated, the intercom feature’s highly sensitive microphone can easily detect up to 2-3 times more than the human ear is capable of hearing thereby giving the dispatch station the advantage of hearing any movement or communication throughout the entire home. The intercom’s speaker enables a live operator to speak to anyone in the house as well. Obviously, this feature is meant to allow the operator to determine who is in the home or what the intruder is doing. Additionally, this feature provides something of false alarm prevention in that the homeowner, if they’ve accidentally activated the alarm themselves, can simply provide the operator a password which identifies them as the homeowner and the police won’t be sent.

Overall, this service provides a greater level of security by providing the means whereby the police can be more quickly dispatched as well as more efficiently. No longer is it necessary for monitoring companies to guess whether the alarm signal they’re receiving is legitimate or accidentally. Instead, they can just listen!

Burglars usually avoid homes that have people in them, but not always. What will you do if someone breaks into your home while you’re there? While this is very unlikely to happen, there are exceptions to every rule, and it’s best to prepare now rather than try to figure out what to do during the actual event.

If someone breaks into your house while you’re not home, you are safe and only your valuables are at risk. If they break in while you’re home, your life and the lives of your family members are at risk.

There are several things you can do to help avoid being robbed while you’re at home.

Don’t invite strangers into your home. Salesmen, repairmen, and so on, should not be allowed into your house under most circumstances. Sometimes this is unavoidable, such as when you have to call the plumber. Obviously the plumber, electrician, etc., has to come into your house to solve your plumbing or electrical problem. However, it’s possible to build a rapport with these people over the phone or on your front porch. You should research the company before you hire help. Only allow people you feel safe and at ease with. If they give you a funny feeling, there might be a good reason not to let them into your home.

Don’t give out keys to your home to people, no matter how much well you think you know them. Be especially wary if someone offers to house sit for you while you go out of town. If they wanted to rob your home, it would very easy for them to walk into your house, take your things, and later stage a robbery and “show up” to the scene and call you and the police, alerting everyone that there has been a break in. You could end up saying “thank you” to the very person who stole your valuables and your family’s sense of home security.

Setup lamps with timers. You can purchase timers that you can plug lamps into. These timers control when your lamps turn on and off, giving potential intruders the impression that you’re at home even when you’re out of town. You can also use these regularly, but be sure to vary the time the lamps turn on and off, so robbers don’t discover your routine.

Taking the time to invest in a safe home, especially a home with an alarm system, is a very smart move that is sure to bring you peace of mind.

Although all homes differ they do still have one thing in common: they can all be protected. One of the first questions that many new homeowners ask themselves is “Is this neighborhood safe for my home and family?” The good news is that regardless of neighborhood, your home can be protected if three simple guidelines are followed:

1) Make sure everyone can see that your home is protected. Homes with security protection should always have a sign in a conspicuous area indicating that it is protected with monitored security (meaning that the police are automatically notified during a break-in). Some people might ask, “Why would I want to advertise that I have something to protect?” yet, everyone knows that there is no such thing as a home without something or someone valuable to the owners. Letting would-be burglars know that your home is protected is the first step in deterring break-ins.

2) Install an alarm system with an audible siren. Some burglars might be brave enough to take their chances in entering a home that has a security system, but very few are brave enough to stay in one once a 90+ decibel siren is blaring in their ears (and, more importantly, in those of your immediate neighbors who will want to know what’s happening!). It is well known that loud sounds and bright lights (many alarm systems can also be connected to lights so that they turn on when your alarm is activated) can disorient and unnerve those that would unlawfully enter your home causing them to them change their mind and leave before having the chance to cause any further harm.

3) The police must automatically be notified! Naturally, it is the exceptional burglar that will continue to stay in a home with a siren that is blaring in their ears as well as attracting the neighbors’ attention. However, it is precisely for those rare individuals that decide to stay that the police need to be at your home AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Obviously, you can’t be at home all the time so having a monitored security system that will automatically notify the police of a home invasion is of utmost importance since time can’t be lost. In fact, the newest in home security technology will also have a two-way voice intercom that will allow a live operator from a dispatch station to literally hear into your home and communicate with whomever is there. This will result in not only a faster response from the police, but they’ll also be completely prepared when they arrive to the scene.

Above all, remember that no matter what your home looks like or where you live, following these guidelines will bring greater security to your home and family.