The Story of the Burglar

In my opinion the most important information a consumer, ready to purchase a home security system, should know is exactly how the burglar typically breaks in. Without this information, you really can’t configure a proper security system for your home. So, I will lay this out in terms of what my experience has been over the last twenty-seven years. If you are looking for statistics, you came to the wrong place. Every time someone writes an article on this subject the statistics are different.

Unfortunately, I’m usually called to the home after the damage is done. In every instance, the burglar went straight for the master bedroom. Most of the time, the locksmith is not needed, but the door damage is extensive. You see, after ringing the doorbell a couple of times, with no answer, the burglar just kicks the door in. The heavy duty metal dead bolt is just fine, but the door jamb is blown away! It’s only made of wood.

In most cases, Americans leave their cash, jewelry, credit cards, and checks somewhere in the master bedroom. After all, it’s convenient. Once burglar has gathered up their stash there, they are out of the house within four to eight minutes. The second most common place to break in would be through your first floor windows or back doors (including the slider). You would be amazed what damage a brick through the slider will do. Then the last, and most inconvenient entry, is through the second floor windows. Two trains of thought here. The most common second floor window is the one where they can boost themselves up onto the roof and then enter the window. The other option is to use your extension ladder that you conveniently left out for them. I must say I have not seen this type of break in all my years.

So before we design the system, let’s discuss how they picked your home. Burglars are not the most brilliant individuals. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be breaking into houses. But, they are street smart. So next time you take a walk down your neighborhood at night take a look at who has lights on, who appears to be home, who’s house has shrubbery concealing windows and doors. Now you know the biggest target. Hope it wasn’t your home?

Cutting shrubs back, installing outdoor flood lights with motions sensors, putting lights on in the interior of the house, installing a twenty-four inch piece of metal above and below the dead bolt, and installing an alarm system, all cut your chances of being a victim of burglary.

Let’s design a home security system. Ok, so most of you will notice that the basic systems start with all your perimeter doors and a motion. Now, if you live in a two story home, you need to put the motion in the second floor hallway. Why you may ask? Two reasons, first you want to cover the master bedroom approach (typically the hallway) and secondly, since you have no protection on the second floor, you want to make sure that if the burglar enters through a second floor bedroom they are stuck inside the room they entered. Once they walk out into the hallway, they are caught by the motion.

This brings up the first problem. You can’t really arm a motion detector when you are home. Otherwise, you are stuck in your room like a prisoner. This brings us to the next level of protection.
Depending on the type of windows on the first floor, typically double hung or crank-out style windows, will determine the next level. So, if you have the standard double hung window, we need to contact them first. This means installing a contact and magnet on the window so that when the window opens the alarm goes off. Now with a double hung window, you have both a top and a bottom piece. Be careful here. If you are hardwiring the window (meaning the alarm company is bringing a wire to the window), then you have to consider doing both the top and bottom. If you are installing wireless transmitters, then a transmitter by the middle lock can protect both the top and bottom. Now with a crank-out window the first line of defense should be a glass break sensor. Why? Well if the crank-out window is locked down it isn’t easy getting it open from the outside. More than likely, they will break the glass and come on in. So a glass break sensor should be installed as your first line of protection followed by a contact. Most glass break sensors are installed on the wall and cover approximately twenty five feet. So depending on the size and layout of the room, it will determine the appropriate amount of glass break sensors needed. The contact on the crank-out window is secondary.

Now let me say this. If you ask me what should I have installed? I will tell you the same thing every time. The more protection you have installed the better chance you are covered. But, it usually comes down to dollars and cents. So the ultimate protection for the windows (all levels, including the basement) would be contacts and glass breaks sensors. I strongly recommend a contact on all windows of your home to help insure that ALL your windows are closed before you leave your home. An open window is surely an invitation for an easy entry. With that level of protection, the burglar should be stopped outside your home, as the siren begins to ring, once the perimeter had been breached. They can’t step inside the house without being detected. When we set the alarm at night, we can sleep easy knowing that we are covered.

A word on motion detectors. If a customer just needs protection when they are not home, in other words, they have no intention of arming the system while they are in the house, by all means; strategically install motions on each level of the home and you are covered. The burglar won’t be detected on the perimeter but will eventually walk through one of the motion sensors and trigger the alarm. In most cases, people are looking for protection for both scenarios so motions alone are not a viable option since we can’t arm them while we are home.
The last point I want to make is about monitoring the alarm system by using a central station. The majority of alarm systems are monitored by a central station. They receive the alarm signal from your home and in turn dispatch the police. In the old days (couple of years ago), we used the existing telephone lines to transmit the signal to central station. The alarm is armed, the burglar breaks in, and the modem inside the control panel picks up the phone lines, dials the phone number to central station, and transmits its information to the operator to respond. Everything works well, so what’s the problem? When you get a chance look outside your home and find the box that either the Telephone Company or Cable Company uses to bring your phone lines into the house. It’s in the wide open isn’t it? All anyone needs is a sharp tool and your whole investment goes down the drain! No signal can transmit. No way for the central station to know anything is wrong! So what can you do? Have a long range radio transmit your signal. Scrap the phone line. Radios were long considered to be a backup, but with advances in technology, it’s both affordable and is now used as a primary means to transmit your alarm signal. With the convergence of VOIP (voice over IP), most homes today have gone to Cablevision, Comcast, or FIOS. Read the contract. They don’t like alarm systems. There technicians have no training on hooking up an alarm system and in many occasions, just disconnect what they don’t understand. This can happen on the initial installation or a service call in the future and you as the customer would have no idea.

VOIP is designed for voice transmission not data transmission. Your security system sends data. Plus your security system is still vulnerable to being cut. In my opinion, any alarm company still installing security systems utilizing telephone or VOIP lines to communicate to the central station, just aren’t looking out for the customers best interest. Make sure your company explains the options available.

I hope I answered some of your questions on how to design the proper home security system. Always feel free to contact me at 800-252-7626.