Scream for Security

Burglar alarms are the first line of defense in a good overall home security strategy.  Another component of your security strategy should be making sure that the outside of your home is well-lit at night.  Next, you should make certain that you have good dead-bolt locks on all the doors, and secure locks on the windows as well.  As a last line of defense, a good strong safe is a good idea.  If your other defenses fail to stop a thief, at least he won’t be able to easily walk away with your most valuable and important items.

Good burglar alarms consist of sensors on windows and doors.  Nowadays, you can get good wireless burglar alarms that you can install yourself.  These systems come with wireless transmitters for the doors and windows, and a base unit that connects to the telephone line.  In addition, they include PIR (Passive Infrared) motion detectors in case someone makes it past the door and window sensors — their movements will set off the alarm.

Another feature of good burglar alarms is the ability to call a predetermined number and deliver a recorded message.  Even better is the ability to call more than one number, in case the first number is busy or doesn’t answer.  You can have the alarm call you and one of your neighbors.  If you have a neighbor that is home during the day, you can have it call them to check things out for you.  You can also pay a small monthly fee to an alarm monitoring service, have the alarm system call them, and they can summon the police.  Most localities will not allow you to have your home alarm system directly dial the police — there are too many false alarms for them to deal with.

Wireless burglar alarms are easy to install because there are no wires to run from the sensors to the base unit.  You simply install the sensor on the window or door, and connect the sensor to the transmitter.  In the case of the PIR motion detector, you mount it in an area where it will sense the movement of someone who has entered your home.

Another feature to look for on burglar alarms is a loud, piercing alarm sound.  This should be at least 120dB.  Most burglars will not stay in a home with a loud alarm going off because of the attention it attracts — this will at least make the thief hurry and grab only what he can run with.

Although you shouldn’t rely on them as your only line of defense, burglar alarms are important in an overall home security strategy.  Good outdoor lighting and good locks on windows and doors help round out the picture.  And a good safe can serve as your last line of defense for your most important valuables.  For more information on home security and burglar alarms, visit the American Security Warehouse website.