Quote:
Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy
I believe that burglars list a dog as the #1 theft deterrent.
An honest question, does a basic alarm system really detect most typical break ins? To give further detail, our home has a system installed by a previous owner that has motion sensors and door/window open sensors. My doors have deadbolts, my windows are locked, and I wouldn't arm the motion sensors while I was in the house. So how does it help? I'm assuming that most burglars will simply break a window or kick in a door, which will wake me up just as fast. Am I wrong in my assumptions?
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Specifically basic systems, hard to say. Depends on the house. I think these days a basic system covers entry doors and will include a couple of motion sensors.
My last house in NY we did a basic system. The front and back door were opposite each other at the ends of a common hallway. We had one motion sensor set up by the back door that covered the hallway. If someone were to break in through a window in one of the rooms off the hallway they'd trip motion sensor as soon as they left that room. The 1st floor of the house sat on an 18 inch high foundation so the windows were high off the ground making them an unlikely point of entry anyway.
We had a second motion sensor covering the stairway leading to the 2nd floor where all the bedrooms were. So at night we would bypass the upstairs and leave downstairs active.
We also had the Mastiff and 3 cats. A competent alarm installer can set up motion detectors to eliminate a false from pets but still pick up people.
If I or my family are not home I could care less what they steal. Leave my pets alone and you can have the rest. They are only possessions and are not what are most important to me.
If I am home with my family my last resort is confrontation. If the alarm does not scare them off and they get past the dog then I have a pretty good idea of the type of criminal I'm dealing with and it's shoot first.
Here's another reason why I like alarms. My daughter will occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and stand next to my bed. When you wake up cause you sense something and there is a shadowy figure hovering over you it's startling to say the least. If the alarm is going off I know it's most likely not one of the kids.