Burglar Alarms - are they worth it?

[BjornMorg]

All,

Thinking of getting a burglar alarm before being burgled which seems to be a common trigger to get one.
The question is; should I bother with a more expensive 'real' system or just go for a good fake box?

Whad'ya reckon?

[Gittins Gal]

Just got the empty shell of one on prominent display on the front of the house.

[scooterscot]

As a part time burglar, I think to myself there must be something worth swiping from the place with the shiny new alarm.

[Scrag Meister]

I was unlucky in 2012 and got burgled.

We now have an alarm system and CCTV. Stable door, Horse, bolted jumps to mind.

What we have been told by police and other folks too is that all things being equal burglars would go for the house without the alarm/cctv.

Whether that means that a fake box is sufficient or not, I don't know. Certainly wouldn't do any harm.

[vetran]

I was unlucky in 2012 and got burgled.

We now have an alarm system and CCTV. Stable door, Horse, bolted jumps to mind.

What we have been told by police and other folks too is that all things being equal burglars would go for the house without the alarm/cctv.

Whether that means that a fake box is sufficient or not, I don't know. Certainly wouldn't do any harm.

+1

[suityou01]

If that burglar alarm was 60lbs of snarling fur then yes, worth it.

[stek]

If that burglar alarm was 60lbs of snarling fur then yes, worth it.

You mean SY02?

[administrator]

You mean SY02's beaver?

FTFY

[Support Monkey]

Only if it's monitored

When your walking down the street and you hear a car alarm go off do you rush over to see if it is being broken into, same with a house when an alarm goes off do you jump out of bed and call the police.

The alarm might scare the burglar away but it might not, and apathy will stop anyone else checking.

If it's monitored there will be an instant response, there is a better chance of stopping or catching them in the act
same with CCTV go for something that pushs the images to your mobile as a minimum then you can alert somone, whats the point of watching the footage after the event.

[VectraMan]

What we have been told by police and other folks too is that all things being equal burglars would go for the house without the alarm/cctv.

Whether that means that a fake box is sufficient or not, I don't know. Certainly wouldn't do any harm.

So the best thing is to ensure your neighbours don't have an alarm. Perhaps go out in the night and rip it off the wall to make it obvious which house to burgle.