| Every 13 seconds a burglary is occurring in the United States, with 74 percent of these burglaries consisting of residential burglaries. Most of these burglaries happen during the day, particularly between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when nobody is likely to be home. Not having a home security system makes it about 300 percent more likely that your home will be robbed. However, no one security system is right for everyone. The right home security system for a home depends on a number of different factors. What works best for a home in the suburbs with nearby neighbors won’t necessarily be as successful for a homeowner that is more isolated. For example, a system that mainly includes a loud alarm without any additional monitoring probably won’t have much of an effect on burglars if there’s nobody else around to hear the noise. Certain components of a security system can be particularly beneficial when it comes to protecting a relatively isolated home. Driveway Alarms Being prepared is key to keeping your family and your belongings safe. An isolated home isn’t close to police or neighbors, so it could take some time for help to arrive in the event of someone targeting the house for a burglary or home invasion. Installing a driveway alarm is one way to have a little more time to prepare, as it will notify you when someone is approaching the home. Many times, these alarms are set to only notify in the case of a vehicle approaching to limit the risk of the alarm going off every time someone walks on the driveway. Burglars aren’t likely to come without some type of transportation, so this is usually fine. Adding video monitoring and having the driveway alarm notify you on your cell phone with the video whenever someone comes is a good way to keep an eye on the home even when you’re not there. Then, you can call someone the authorities, should the video show an unauthorized person trying to enter your home. Monitored Alarm Systems If your home security system isn’t monitored and you aren’t home, there’s nobody to report a problem, such as a break in or a fire. As mentioned above, in an isolated area, you can’t rely on the loud noise of an alarm to cause neighbors to call 911. The monitoring company will call once or twice to try to make sure that the alarm isn’t a false alarm, as are more than 90 percent of alarms, and then report the alarm to the authorities. It’s a good idea to have the alarm company call twice on your cell phone, as some police departments now charge a fee for every false alarm. Because burglars typically look for the homes that are easiest to break into, posting the signs and stickers that the alarm monitoring company provides may cause some burglars to look for easier pickings somewhere else. Approximately 60 percent of convicted burglars said that they avoid homes with a security system in one survey conducted by the University of North Carolina. Video Monitoring Another beneficial component of a home security system for someone living in an isolated home is video monitoring. This means you can have real-time access to what is going on in and around the home. Having video monitoring to verify that there is someone actually breaking into your home while you’re away will also move the alarm up on the priority scale used by the police, as they know it’s not a false alarm. This can mean a much faster response time. Typically, police response times can vary anywhere from about 5 minutes to about 45, depending on the circumstances. The police arriving sooner may mean that they actually catch the perpetrators. Even if they don’t, the video will provide valuable evidence that can be used to help identify and prosecute the perpetrators. Only 13 percent of burglaries are actually solved because there typically isn’t much evidence that can help with this process. A video helps to solve this problem. A Very Loud Alarm and Strobe Lights The typical alarm won’t be enough to cause much of an effect in an isolated area because the burglars know that there’s nobody around to hear it. However, having an extremely loud alarm will make it unpleasant for them to stay in the home and potentially cause them to leave sooner and without taking as much property from the home. Adding strobe lights to the alarm system will make it even more likely distant neighbors notice that something is wrong while making it even more unpleasant for any intruders. Window and Door Sensors In approximately 30 percent of burglaries, the crooks walk in through a window or door that the homeowner left open. They don’t even have to actually break in. If you’re someone that typically forgets to lock doors and windows, having window and door sensors as part of the alarm system for the home will have two functions. First, it will inform you when you turn the system on whether any windows or doors are open so you don’t forget to shut and lock them. Second, it will set off the alarm if someone opens a door or window or breaks the window in an effort to enter the home. With a monitored system, this means you’ll get a call and if it wasn’t you that accidentally set it off, so will the police. This makes it harder for burglars to be able to enter the home discretely and thus less likely for your home to be targetted. |
