Demystifying Your Burglar Alarm System

Thinking about having your home protected by a burglar alarm?  Did the previous home owner forget to give you the passcode?  Do you think that good property insurance can compensate for a burglar alarm installed after a costly break-in?  Perhaps you’re considering leaving your teenager home alone after school.  Got a new swimming pool and you’re worried about the kids and the sitter while you’re at work?

Home invasions & Property crime

According to Insurance Bureau of Canada data in 1998, about 1.38 million incidents of non-violent property crime (e.g., breaking and entering, fraud and possession of stolen goods) were reported to police.  In 1999 62% of B&Es occurred at private residences.  The highest rate of residential B&Es occurred in Regina and Saskatoon, while the lowest were in Toronto and Thunder Bay.

According to the FBI, property crimes accounted for over $8 billion in the U.S. in 2003, excluding motor vehicle theft and arson.  Over 86% of property crime criminals are male, and 30% of those are juvenile.  They also go so far as to say that 70.5% of pc criminals in 2003 were white and 27.5% were black.

While no strict definitions have been agreed upon for the term home invasion, consensus among law enforcement authorities suggests that the difference between a home invasion and a B&E is the intent to rob and/or inflict violence upon the occupants of the house.  This often starts as a B&E in an unoccupied house,  with the criminals waiting hours for the owners to arrive.

Vancouver police, who collects data on home invasions defines the trend:

“where the suspect(s) choose a residential premise in which they know a person or persons are present with the pre-formulated plan of confronting the occupant(s), attacking them, holding them or binding them thereby committing assault and unlawful confinement, then a theft is attempted or completed, thereby committing robbery”

In Canada’s Criminal Code, there is no specific offence cited for home invasions.  However, trends are becoming less ambiguous and data collected by 106 police forces across Canada between 1995 and 2000 can be found in the UCR2 database, which suggests that two thirds of home invasions are done by strangers.  Half of all home invasions in this time included a weapon such as a knife, crowbar, or firearm.   Half of all home invasion victims reported physical injury, and some of these required immediate medical attention at the scene of the incident.  The trend also suggests that the elderly over 60 are more targeted than any other specific age group.

Unfortunately, many home owners wait until they’ve become a B&E statistic before investing in home security.  Many others, wait until they’ve been robbed twice!  Many professional robbers often attack twice because a) they already know how to break into your home and b) the old VCR and TV have been replaced by a DVD player and HDTV, making their second visit even more fruitful.

Professional B&E’rs will where gloves and look for the easiest way into your home unseen.  They tend to choose back basement windows than having to bring a ladder and climb to the second floor.

Psychological Relief

Burglar alarms provide a lot more to the home owner than a deterrent to potential robbers.  They can provide security when you’re alone at night or if your adolescent has to spend an hour or two home alone until you arrive from a busy work day.

 

Virtual Guard Dog - If That's Your Thing

Let’s define the purpose of a burglar alarm – or intrusion detection system - as a system put in place to deter unauthorized entry into the home or property.  Will not prevent unauthorized entry.  Not a life-saving device in case of fires or swimming pool drownings but can be used in conjunction

Every intrusion detection system must provide adequate protection of doors and windows, and sometimes gates or other access points to the property.  In other words, the perimeter must be supervised.  Properly installed motion detectors will provide the homeowner additional sense of security.  This type of protection is known as volumetric or interior.

The control panel is the heart and brain of the system.  It consists of an electronic circuit secured inside a wall-mounted metal cabinet installed out of plain view inside a closet or basement utility room.  All the components and detectors are wired to the control panel, which decides when to sound the alarm and report to the monitoring station.  It also validate dozens of user codes to arm and disarm.  The control panel must be equipped with a backup battery in case of a power failure.  The backup battery will provide auxiliary power to the entire system for up to seven hours in case of a power failure.  When power is restored the control panel will recharge the battery to its full capacity usually within the first hour that the power is restored.  The control panel should be monitored by a reputed monitoring station.  Many insurance companies offer discounts if your system is monitored by a reputable or ULC listed central monitoring station.  The system should be tested monthly.  This can be done by arming the system, waiting for the exit delay to finish, then deliberately tripping one of the zones by opening a windows or door, or walking in a movement detector’s detection range.

The keypad is the system’s command centre.  All system programming takes place at the keypad such as adding user codes, changing entry and exit delays, arming and disarming activities.  The keypad also displays the system’s status.  If the system isn’t ready to arm, the keypad will display which zone is in alarm; if there’s been an alarm, the zone will be displayed; if there’s a system trouble such as a broken link with the telephone line or a cut siren wire, it’ll be displayed at the keypad.  There are two main types of keypads:  LED (Light Emitting Diode) or LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).  LED keypads can only display numbers illuminated numbers indicating troubled zones and can be intimidating while in programming mode.  While LCD keypads are more expensive, they are becoming increasingly common.  Text labels tailored to the home owner’s needs are easy to program – Johnny’s playroom motion detector in alarm and system programming is done in plain English.  LCD types also offer access to an event log which indicates dates and times of the last 100 events.  The keypad should be installed near the front door and made visible to anyone peeking in through a side-light or door window.  Up to four keypads can be installed on most systems.  Consider placing keypads at every service door.  Keypads usually offer panic buttons for medical emergencies, an added value for the elderly.

The siren can be installed outside in plain view but should be sheltered from direct sun, rain, and snow.  It can also be installed in an attic near the end of the roof’s truss, where it’ll be heard just as loudly.  Sirens are usually programmed to yelp for up to four minutes at a time, which is an excruciatingly long time at 3:00am

Simplicity

Today’s burglar systems provide event log:  What time did your teenager come home?  When did the cleaning crew leave the premises?  Who was the last employee to leave last Friday?

You can also set up multiple user codes for different cleaning crews or dog walkers

Bypassing zones:  bypassing windows in the summertime

Panic button

Lawn signs and warning stickers

Types of Sensors

Motion detectors - (aka PIR/microwave/Ultrasonic/pet immune) & proper adjustment.  Don’t install in direct sunlight.  Much improved over the years.

Smoke detectors – Not to be confused with flame or heat detectors.  Must be used with complementary battery operated smoke detectors.  Can be configured to contact the monitoring station in case of an alarm.  Fire departments, unlike police charge around $200 for the first false alarm so be careful when burning your toast.

Flame detectors

Carbon monoxide detectors

Swimming pools – Adult supervision and a closed backyard are always a must.

Low temperature detectors

Typical costs

Insurance discounts & guidelines (UL/ULC, monitoring)

False alarm costs (3 = a fine in most cities)

Service calls cost

Maintenance contracts

Things they don’t teach you at school

How long will my siren cry if I’m not at home?

Factory setting for the siren cutoff are usually 4 minutes but can be adjusted from less than a minute up to more than 10 minutes

If I’m not at home and the air conditioning sets the curtains to move, will my movement detector repeatedly set off the alarm?

No.  Swinger shutdown (for defective detectors or contacts)

If I’m not satisfied with the service I’m getting

What if I get too many false alarms?

In large metropolitan areas, three false alarms are permitted during a 12 month period.  Typical fines range from $25 for a fourth false alarm, $50 for a fifth and so on.  Police and security firms usually stop visiting the premises by the fourth false alarm.

Do I have to provide my PIN code to the local police department?

No.  What good is an access code if they haven’t been given a key to your castle?  Why would the police enter your house while you’re not there? 

However, you may be required to provide a code to the building owner, if you’re a renter or to the condo manager even if you own.  It’s ok that these people should also have keys to your home in case of plumbing emergencies or if  the electrical switch box or gas heater counter is located within your space.

When providing PIN codes to other people, always remember to provide them with an additional code, not the master code, nor your own code.

Or you would simply prefer a dog.

6 ways to secure your home whether you’re there or away

1.      Always keep outside doors locked.  Don’t forget the garage and shed

2.      Install warning stickers on doors and windows to deter thieves

3.      Always keep your property well lit at night

4.      Always inform neighbours or other family members of travel plans and arrange to have your mail picked up.  You can even ask a neighbour to put their garbage at your curb on garbage day.

5.      Install a secure dead-bolt on your front door and inspect its hinges.  Hinge pins must not be able to be removed from the outside

6.      Back doors such as sliding patio doors must have a locking mechanism preventing the door from being opened from the outside (such as a slide bar)