burglar alarms?

[eytonxav]

I'm just curious how many of you out there have installed burglar alarms?a friend of mine across town had his front door kicked in and his house completely ransacked. And then on New Years Day all the vehicles were out of sight at my home and at 8 a.m. In the morning 3 sketchy looking men knocked on my front door..... as I was getting ready to answer the door the knocks got progressively louder, they seemed startled when I answered the door and all they had to say to me was "did you lose a cat? "This seemed really wrong to me and I firmly believe had I not been home they would have kicked in the door and robbed the house.

I hope you called the police to report what happened.

 

[nuke_diver]

Obviously you have to like dogs to have a dog. The dog's first purpose is unlikely to be as an alarm. That said I think a dog is likely superiour to an alarm system since the alarm is unlikely to bite and the dog might. That is going to be a deterrent unless the burglar knows the dog (in which case they might know the alarm system as well and the weaknesses that have been pointed out)

Granted the dog might be traveling with you (or at a kennel if you are out of the country/area) so it's only good during the day/nights when you don't travel. We used to have an alarm that came with the house that was just a very loud horn. But we removed it as the system was breaking down and we couldn't leave the house armed since it would go off randomly (and also if the power bumped). Getting an alarm is something we have considered but right now we have not been travelling so we are ok for now. Additionally we always ask our neighbour to watch out for our home when we are going to be away

A gun isn't much use if you aren't there as mentioned unless you set up some kind of booby trap...I think there have been some Darwin awards for those in the past

 

[meierlde]

One other idea that I did after my house in Houston was broken into 3 times in 3 months, was to put plastic film on the windows so that they would not shatter, making it much harder to get in. At the time the response time for the police ran 20 mins for an emergency call, so an alarm system would not have done much good other as burglars would not stick around till the cops arrive.

 

[rbmrtn]

One drawback is many systems require a landline for monitoring or an expensive cell option.

I found one that is IP based, it uses your internet connection for monitoring, It can use your existing system ( reprogrammed ) or they sell their own system. It basically uses a custom voip device for connectivity . They have a self monitoring option where the system will send email/sms text to you and then you can call 911.

www.nextalarm.com

 

[Mulligan]

One other idea that I did after my house in Houston was broken into 3 times in 3 months, was to put plastic film on the windows so that they would not shatter, making it much harder to get in. At the time the response time for the police ran 20 mins for an emergency call, so an alarm system would not have done much good other as burglars would not stick around till the cops arrive.

Your situation would make my blood boil. I think I would be forced to do what this elderly 97 year old man did a year or two ago in Kentucky after his house kept getting broken into. He waited up all night every night until two perps came again. And he then administered quick justice saving the tax payers the lengthy cost of a trial and incarceration.


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[ExFlyBoy5]

One drawback is many systems require a landline for monitoring or an expensive cell option.

I found one that is IP based, it uses your internet connection for monitoring, It can use your existing system ( reprogrammed ) or they sell their own system. It basically uses a custom voip device for connectivity . They have a self monitoring option where the system will send email/sms text to you and then you can call 911.

www.nextalarm.com

That's the beauty of the Simplisafe system. No connections required at all as it uses a GSM module. As long as the cellular system is up and working, It works great. They use T-mobile primarily and if that's not available in the area, it will use Verizon. The base station (what communicates with the dispatch center) also has battery backup so there is no need to connect anything to the system.

I wouldn't like the system that has to connect via landline or IP based since many robbers will cut any lines that might transmit to a dispatch center. This is also why my camera system has a UPS hooked up in case someone decides to cut the power to the house.

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[zinger1457]

There are a couple homes on my jogging route that are fenced in (chain link) and have mean looking dogs (pitbulls and rottweilers) that stay out in the yard when the homeowners are away. They definitely do a great job of letting you know you're not wanted on or near the property. I purposely move to the other side of the street when I come close to these homes and without fail they're at the fence barking and growling as soon as I get within 100' of the property. I know if I was a burglar I'd be moving on.

 

[Tree-dweller]

Most / all the replies so far seem to be from residents of stand-alone housing. As one myself, that's understandable. But I'm curious whether living in an apartment or condo building eliminates the usefulness of alarms or monitoring for individual units. When DW and I consider moving to a multi-resident building, one of the plusses is what we perceive as the luxury of the ease of reasonably worry-free "lock and leave" travel, but I'm sure apartments and condo get broken into as well. What do such residents do for peace of mind?

 

[eytonxav]

I suspect having an alarm sign in the front garden bed is as effective as having an alarm system.

 

[travelover]

There are a couple homes on my jogging route that are fenced in (chain link) and have mean looking dogs (pitbulls and rottweilers) that stay out in the yard when the homeowners are away. They definitely do a great job of letting you know you're not wanted on or near the property. I purposely move to the other side of the street when I come close to these homes and without fail they're at the fence barking and growling as soon as I get within 100' of the property. I know if I was a burglar I'd be moving on.

Years ago some teenagers broke into the next door neighbors house and took a bicycle and some small items. The neighbor's response was to get a German shepherd and confine it with a wireless fence. For ten years that dog threatened every time I went into my own yard, got the mail or someone walked down the road. Delivery people often left packages on my porch rather than be intimidated by the dog. We had once been close to these neighbors, but after the dog, their kids grew up as strangers to me. Eventually the dog died and it was not replaced.

Now my asshat neighbor on the back of my property has a Rottweiler doing pretty much the same thing. So, guard dogs come with their own drawbacks.

 

[razztazz]

I suspect having an alarm sign in the front garden bed is as effective as having an alarm system.

Used to work for ADT. Among security and police types they know but don't readily admit that having the sign is just as good as having an alarm as far as keeping people out. After a sign on the door you've pretty much reached the point of diminishing returns on alarms

If it's a real pro he's cased the neighborhood and your house and has his routine down pat. He will not be deterred even if you have an alarm because he knows(or has convinced himself) he can get in and out and split before the police arrive.

If he's an amateur, drunked up or stoned on his ass, an alarm will not stop him either because he probably didn't even notice the sign in the first place and has not thought any of this through and has no fear of getting arrested.

The bells going off would be good for YOU when YOU are inside the house. You get the heads-up and can call 911 or get the shotgun. Also, a nominal "noise maker" system (the kind you can buy for 10 bucks at Target or Home depot) would be the coup de gras to scare off anyone who was equivocating and possibly alert a neighbor if you live close enough to other people. But again it's the point of diminishing returns.

An exterior monitoring system with cameras would mostly be good for when you are
already home and just want to filter who answer the door for. If it records that might help the police catch the burglar after you come home from vacation

 

[MRG]

Now my asshat neighbor on the back of my property has a Rottweiler doing pretty much the same thing. So, guard dogs come with their own drawbacks.

Not to disagree but that's the a$$hat neighbor's fault not the dogs. The dog lacks proper training/socialization. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have a dog.

My a$$hats neighbor's small dog barks starting at 3:00 AM till 6:00 every day, they've had the dog for ~6 years. I've never seen it petted, played with or let inside the garage even at -10 F. I offered to find it a good home, that started the sparks flying!

Animal control out here is the sheriff. I have two options keep calling and they may declare it a nuisance dog and take it away, sheriff said that rarely happens.

Option two is if it's on our property and attacks us or any of our animals it's legal to shoot it. That condition was met last week, tried to bite DW on our driveway, but I couldn't do it(not for lack of equipment), it's not the dogs fault!

Law seems odd given we're 50 miles from the statue of "Old Drum", but I guess the state changed the law since 1870. Actually the first LEO that told us that was in Johnson County, where the Old Drum case happened.

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[yakers]

The neighbor connections are precious. A family moved in next door and gave us their phone number. In the first week or two I saw an rental truck in front of their place and two guys carrying out boxes. I called my neighbor on his cell number. it turned out it was his FIL & nephew but he was VERY glad to get the call.
I grew up in a Sh!t neighborhood in Chicago but we knew who belonged. Someone was always home and kept an eye out, 'say who is that messing with Frank's car?' out on the street. Except for fighting over snow cleared parking places we looked after each other well enough that alarms were not necessary and getting the police to come, forget it.

 

[travelover]

Not to disagree but that's the a$$hat neighbor's fault not the dogs. .........

I totally agree, but it doesn't make it any more pleasant to be charged by a growling 100 pound dog. It is simply a trained surrogate aggressor.

 

[calmloki]

Used to work for ADT. Among security and police types they know but don't readily admit that having the sign is just as good as having an alarm as far as keeping people out. After a sign on the door you've pretty much reached the point of diminishing returns on alarms

If it's a real pro he's cased the neighborhood and your house and has his routine down pat. He will not be deterred even if you have an alarm because he knows(or has convinced himself) he can get in and out and split before the police arrive.

If he's an amateur, drunked up or stoned on his ass, an alarm will not stop him either because he probably didn't even notice the sign in the first place and has not thought any of this through and has no fear of getting arrested.

The bells going off would be good for YOU when YOU are inside the house. You get the heads-up and can call 911 or get the shotgun. Also, a nominal "noise maker" system (the kind you can buy for 10 bucks at Target or Home depot) would be the coup de gras to scare off anyone who was equivocating and possibly alert a neighbor if you live close enough to other people. But again it's the point of diminishing returns.

An exterior monitoring system with cameras would mostly be good for when you are
already home and just want to filter who answer the door for. If it records that might help the police catch the burglar after you come home from vacation

Pretty much exactly our thought process that drove how we are secured. Well, that and being a helpful neighbor, especially to the houseful of crap car driving herb smokers. Want to be viewed as useful and not an other. Pretty easy to help a guy who's PU won't motivate and thinks changing the oil adds ATF fluid to the tranny. And thinks the oil pressure gauge shows ATF level. And adds then ATF to the power steering reservoir rather than down the ATF dipstick tube after getting the oil/ATF thing straaightened out. Thing rolls now, which made me look like a mechanical genius and... useful.

 

[MRG]

I totally agree, but it doesn't make it any more pleasant to be charged by a growling 100 pound dog. It is simply a trained surrogate aggressor.

You are correct. Any HOA or local ordinance against aggressive dogs?

Only one other thing I can come up with. In this area most insurance company's will not provide homeowners insurance if you own breeds like Rottweilers, Chows, Pitt bulls, Wolf hybrids. Any chance of finding out who a$$hat has coverage with and find out their rules? They will drop your coverage around here. Good luck.

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[unno2002]

[FONT=&quot]For more than a decade we had a sensor / alarm / light system using X-10 modules, which are available from many sources. Amazon has the components individually. The base unit we had can be programmed so that when the alarm is triggered it will call up to three different numbers and play a recording. A simple sample starter kit is at:
X10 Security Complete 15 Piece Kit System[/FONT]

 

[Amethyst]

While I agree in principle, are we supposed to somehow not mind a dog's rotten behavior because it's "not his fault"?

Amethyst

Not to disagree but that's the a$$hat neighbor's fault not the dogs. The dog lacks proper training/socialization. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have a dog.

 

[MRG]

While I agree in principle, are we supposed to somehow not mind a dog's rotten behavior because it's "not his fault"?

Amethyst

No I don't have the answer.
I have the same type issue with my neighbors dog. I could have legally dispatched him the other week, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Now if he had bitten DW, there would be one dead dog and my attorney would be making money.

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[travelover]

You are correct. Any HOA or local ordinance against aggressive dogs?

Only one other thing I can come up with. In this area most insurance company's will not provide homeowners insurance if you own breeds like Rottweilers, Chows, Pitt bulls, Wolf hybrids. Any chance of finding out who a$$hat has coverage with and find out their rules? They will drop your coverage around here. Good luck........

No HOA, but I'm sure I could cause the owner grief if I complained to the township. So far, the dog never leaves its own yard, so I won't escalate it. If it comes in my yard, all bets are off.

 

[Rosie]

I suspect having an alarm sign in the front garden bed is as effective as having an alarm system.

Quite possibly. Having a personal data set of 1, being broken into before we had an alarm sign on the front of the house, I can't say either way. FWIW it was our first break-in after about 18 years living there. But, one thing I realized after the fact was that about two-thirds of the homes in my neighborhood have signs from ADT (or other security cos). So there's that.

Following up on my own post:

Yeah, I know, if someone really wants to break in, they will. But the combination of the alarm sign and window stickers, the alarm permit in a very conspicuous location, the loud beeping noise when a sensor is triggered, and the very loud alarm if it isn't disarmed in time, will hopefully deter most.

But, as many have pointed out, that won't deter all thieves.

I mentioned earlier that after the break-in I was afraid to leave the house; in actuality, I was afraid to go back into the house if it was unoccupied for even a short amt of time (recall, we were out of the house for less than an hour when it was broken into). Not a debilitating fear, but, it was there. I could very easily have been by myself that afternoon, I still get chills when I think of it (which really is not all that often anymore; I only seem to be dwelling on it in responding to this thread, I'm fine, really! )

This is the main reason why we have a monitored system -- if someone still manages to break in, at least we'll know about it (via calls to our cell phones & emails, in addition to the police notification) before we walk into house. I don't like surprises, especially if I'm by myself. For us, the monitored system is worth the added cost for the peace of mind. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Donzo]

I'm sorry but I get such a kick out of 3 scumbags standing at your door trying to act all concerned about a kitty cat.

I know right?! It just felt so odd and fake...
And to DFW I did report this along with the license plate number to the Sheriff office. Also told neighbors about the 'kitty trio'

 

[freebird5825]

I had a full house alarm system installed after my husband passed, at the strong urging of some of my guy friends, some of whom were law enforcement. I had 2 dogs at the time, but the guys insisted I get an alarm system. So I did. I've never regretted that.

I am now dog-less and do not live alone. I live out in the country, but the road I live on is very well traveled. Not a good choice for burglars.

I never answer the door if a strange vehicle pulls up or someone on foot rings the doorbell and I am home alone. It just isn't a good idea.
If they were to start anything funny outside the house, all I have to do is hit a panic button for auto dial/dispatch police to 911. I can also trigger the screeching audio alarm from the inside.

 

[FUEGO]

I bought the stickers from ebay for $3 or so. They are all over the lower level windows and storm door on the front of the house. Combine that with the poorly maintained front yard and 15 year old cars with peeling paint in the driveway, and it seems like a pretty good theft deterrent system.

Unfortunately we just had new siding installed so our house looks pretty nice now. Hopefully that doesn't make us a target. Maybe a neighbor can be kind enough to spring for a new bimmer or something conspicuously indicating wealth so they can be a target instead of me.

 

[mpeirce]

I can't recall every having a proper burglary in our neighborhood. All the houses were built with alarm systems, though not everyone pays for the monitoring.

The problem we have here is about every year or two there is a run of people getting robbed because they leave their garage doors open and the thief just walks right in. Usually they just take something from the garage, but occasionally they go into the house too.

It's never pleasant to be robbed, but if you leave your garage door open all day you are just asking for trouble.