Are You Turned On?

Are You Turned on?

Last week we received an enquiry from a very distressed woman. She wanted to beef up her security after a break in the previous night. The break in had occurred while her family slept and CCTV footage showed that the intruders had been in her home for over an hour going through drawers and cupboards for valuable items and cash. Luckily no-one woke up and disturbed them and they were intent on property. No-one was physically harmed however it will be a very long time before this woman or her family rest easily at night. The psychological impact of a home invasion should not be underestimated.

What makes this story remarkable is that it was avoidable. The family home has had a modern, high quality security system. If it was turned on the intruders would not have been able to enter the home without alerting everyone inside.
Unfortunately this isn’t unusual. All too often we are contacted by victims of crime who haven’t used the systems that they have had installed.  An alarm system or CCTV is a great deterrent but it works far better when it is activated.

People have a number of reasons for not activating their systems. Two of the most common reasons we hear are that they are concerned that it will be triggered by their children moving around in the night, and that people simply find it an inconvenience to arm and disarm the system every time they leave the house.  These are issues that can easily be overcome.

If you are concerned that people in your home will trigger the alarm you can ask your security provider to show you how to isolate the entry points of your home or use sensors on all your doors and windows. If you find that using an alarm panel to arm and disarm your system is too inconvenient for day to day living ask about remote entry. A remote control similar to that used by many cars can arm your system with the click of a button.

Being specific and detailed about your lifestyle and expectations with your security provider will allow them to tailor a system to suit your needs. The better suited to you a system is, the more likely you are to utilise it. If you are not utilising your system fully please consider contacting a security system installer and asking them to adjust your system to suit you better.

It is important that you use your system properly because no matter how good your system is, if it is not turned on, it can't protect you the way it should.