Burglar Alarms - are they worth it?

[d000hg]

I was unlucky in 2012 and got burgled.

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

I've heard repeat visits are not uncommon.

[chef]

I don't disagree with your points, and I'm certainly not saying your average piece of filth is smart enough to think about, but why would you go to to the expense of fitting covert equipment and then adding stickers to warn everyone

with the point that they then know that they are being filmed but they dont know from where to then disable them

[chef]

We have an old alarm system but I always wanted that bit more and went through a number of wish list stages:

1. At first I thought of getting a fake CCTV camera, right down to the blinking LED on it that makes it look operational.
2. Then I thought of buying a basic set of CCTV cameras and HDD from Maplins (around £400) and fitting it myself.
3. Eventually I decided to pay a professional to install 7 cameras and a 1TB HDD (around a month's worth of recording).

I mean in the whole scheme of things, £1200 spent is neither here nor there. I spent it and the money is gone (and I don't have a lot of money at this time).

The cameras are definitely more of a deterrent than anything else, but I can keep my eye on the house from anywhere by using a simple phone app and I can also keep an eye on the wife and kids!

which company/brand did you go with in the end? finding any decent non biased review site is hard to come by

[SantaClaus]

For anyone buying an alarm, don't forget you will also be paying an annual servicing + monitoring charge.

A neighbour was nearly burgled in broad daylight a few days ago. The thieves were walking around the area in high vis jackets so they looked like workmen. I didn't think anything of it at the time.

They chose a house where the wife was in and the car was parked outside. They obviously prefer to go for houses when the alarm is switched off and attack the occupants instead... scary stuff.

On a side note, the house they chose only had a standard entry door, whereas the other houses have the 2nd protection of a porch door.

Just a thought.

I was nearly burgled a few years ago. They tried to crowbar the sash windows open whilst we were sleeping upstairs. Unfortunately for them, and luckily for me, I had done a bad paint job and the windows were stuck down

We had an alarm, but didn't arm it at night for fear of setting it off on the way to the toilet. After that, I bought CCTV.

Another point of note. The Victorian door frame of my old house had metal reinforcement all the way round. Maybe that's why they tried the windows.

[northernladuk]

I tend to find that only people that haven't been burgled ask if burglar alarms are worth it.

I also find that people who have been burgled tend to think 1200 quid is peanuts if it could have stopped it.

Get a nice highly visible system from the same company that many houses around have. Burglars will know the company and know it isn't a fake box. Having the PIRs in sight of the windows will also confirm their suspicions and they will go find a house that doesn't have one.

Nothing is really gonna stop a smash a grab burglar but a good alarm should deter the ones that will destroy your house or worse.

Worth every penny IMO. Don't scrimp.

[eek]

An alarm is worth the money.

So is a baseball bat at the end of a disposable mobile....

[Gittins Gal]

I tend to find that only people that haven't been burgled ask if burglar alarms are worth it.

I also find that people who have been burgled tend to think 1200 quid is peanuts if it could have stopped it.

Get a nice highly visible system from the same company that many houses around have. Burglars will know the company and know it isn't a fake box. Having the PIRs in sight of the windows will also confirm their suspicions and they will go find a house that doesn't have one.

Nothing is really gonna stop a smash a grab burglar but a good alarm should deter the ones that will destroy your house or worse.

Worth every penny IMO. Don't scrimp.

Or alternatively live somewhere outside of the radius of any urban area from which these people make their thieving forays.

The only time we need to be vigilant down here is when members of the "travelling community"are in residence on a local grass verge.

I don't discount the possibility that the gypsies are being used as a convenient foil for another bunch of thieves but there is a definite upturn in crime when they are around. Contents of garden sheds, garages etc seem to be their favourite targets.

[d000hg]

Some gangs will target rural dwellings though, since entry is often less well secured and there are less potential witnesses. Not as common in the general sense though.

[OwlHoot]

...

Nothing is really gonna stop a smash a grab burglar but a good alarm should deter the ones that will destroy your house or worse.

Worth every penny IMO. Don't scrimp.

So any specific specific recommendations for tip-top quality house security specialists & setup company?

Are there any Rolls Royce equivalents with reputations superior to the others, whose kit and/or service burglars would be much more likely avoid the risk of involvement with?

Banhams perhaps?

[Zero Liability]

Look up Amco (the alarm monitoring company.) Their alarms are good value and well priced, and they take the monitoring thing a step further. I've had very good service from them. Personally, I would couple an alarm with good, decorative looking bars on the easy access windows and a CCTV system.