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Want to feel a little more secure in your own home? Think
like a criminal.
What are your home's weak spots, the places that an intruder
can easily access? Once you pinpoint them, examine the ways
you can you strengthen your defenses.
Start by looking at your lifestyle and what you are trying
to prevent. Do you want to guard against burglars, who frequently
strike when the home is empty? Or are you more worried about
home invasions, which occur when people are home? Are you
high-tech or low-tech? Do you want something that sets off
flashing lights and sirens or a silent alarm?
Good security is a matter of layering, says Chris McGoey, president
of McGoey Security Consulting and author of "Security:
Adequate or Not?" He recommends starting with low-tech
improvements.
"Low-tech is consistent," he says. "Once it's
in place, it's in place. It doesn't require assistance, like
other monitoring systems or sensors, to detect. If you do
the low-tech stuff first and add onto it, every layer added
on works more."
Monitor mania
When considering home security, many people choose a system
monitored by a third party. If that appeals to you, it pays
to shop around.
Have the security company rep walk you through exactly what
happens when your alarm goes off. Who will be responding?
If it's the police, what is the average response time and
what kind of priority will the call get? If it's being answered
by an alarm company, how many patrol cars do they have and
how large an area do they cover? How often are they near your
block in a given night? And what's the policy for adding more
cars and patrolmen as they acquire more customers?
"The thing for people to really remember is that generally
the police won't be there for five to six minutes, and the
alarm company will not be there even that fast," says
Dan Sullivan, retired deputy chief of the Los Angeles police
department and president of Investigative Services Corp. "If
the alarm goes off, the company will call you to see if you
pushed your alarm."
Don't take jargon for granted. If a company touts "armed"
response, have reps define the term, says Sullivan. Do they
carry guns? Do they have instructions to shoot intruders?
Many services also advertise panic buttons. What do they
guarantee? What is the response time? What happens if no one
answers the door? If you're on the floor with a medical emergency,
someone standing outside doesn't help.
Verify their answers with your local police department. And
try to get a feel for what the cops think of the company and
system, especially for the crimes prevalent in your area.
While you're chatting with the police, ask about false alarms.
Many jurisdictions will allow you to have a couple of false-alarm
calls before they start charging you a fee. Find out how many
"strikes" you get and what the charge is when you
exceed it.
In general, monitored systems tend to work better for businesses,
where the purpose is to protect property, than in homes, where
the purpose is to prevent or stop crime in time to protect
people, says Sullivan.
Hiring a company
to monitor your alarm runs about $20 to $30 a month, says
Mark Visbal, senior associate director of standards and technology
for the Security Industry Association, a trade group. Many
companies offer a package deal: low-cost installation along
with a multiyear monitoring contract with monthly fees. Typically,
says Visbal, companies cover their installation costs after
16 to 18 months.
The one-time price to install an unmonitored system? "A
fair guess would be about $1,500," says Visbal.
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