We can talk about the statistics of property loss like the number of stolen cars, the dollar value of jewelries, collectibles and other valuable things taken during a burglary, but the kind of loss that we would never be able to determine the value of is the kind that is most debilitating. It is the loss of our sense of safety and security, and sometimes the loss of a life of a loved one.
Although the number of occurrences of burglaries and theft are in a steady decline, they are still pervasive. So unless you are willing to risk losing your possessions as well as your lives and risk suffering from physical and psychological trauma, then you should bother yourself about getting some protection. Every one of us should be willing to spend on the technological advances in home security and alarm system. When deciding whether to get a security system installed or debating whether to get a good but expensive system or a cheap but unreliable device, take into consideration the statistic which states that installation of a decent security and alarm system makes your house or office or business establishment 1/3 less likely to be burglarized, robbed or invaded.

The Losses in Property-Related Crimes is a post from: Five Star Alarm

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False alarms are usually triggered by factors which can be easily categorized as User Errors and Faulty Equipment. There are some other minor causes like alarm control center and alarm line errors and bad weather, but the first two are the major ones which falsely trigger alarms.  User errors include house owners who do not fully understand how the alarm systems work who might open a window or a door without knowing that it was armed or keying in a wrong password, children or pets who cluelessly  trigger alarm.  Faulty equipment refers to improperly installed alarm and security devices, alarm having low batteries or a simply malfunctioning system.

In one year alone, it is recorded that the public loses hundreds of millions of dollars that got spent on the police fire department responding to false alarms. Although initially this number may seem too much, we soon realize the correctness of this statistic with the help of a report showing that there are approximately 6,000 cases of false alarms which are recorded daily in the United States, and this number is on a continuous rise, perhaps because there is also a continuous increase in the number of people using alarm systems. This is made worse by the realization that there are lost opportunity costs since the police are unavailable to respond or work on actual crime problems because they had to respond to cases of false alarm. An alarm causes people to act hastily and accidents have happened to firefighters and police while they are on their way to respond to false alarms. Firefighters and the police force risk their lives every time they respond to alarm calls. There have been instances when vehicles and equipments were damaged and lives were lost.  So as much as false alarm incidents are funny and embarrassing and sometimes, innocent, there are some serious consequences.

While some states have continuously devised methods on how to curb down the instances of false alarms, to the homeowners, avoiding instances of false alarms and thus avoiding fines still remains quite tricky. Some people, upon an instance of false alarm, would choose to permanently deactivate their alarm system thinking that it is malfunctioning. This is very dangerous since there is a chance that the alarms weren’t actually false alarms. There is a probability, although a rare one, that someone was actually trying to break in to your house. So before deciding to turn off your whole security and alarm system, why not do the most logical thing to make the sure the whole system works fine? Make sure everyone in the household is well educated about how the system works. In events of accidentally triggering the alarm, take the proper steps to disarm it and inform the control center so they can check the effectiveness of the system. If you ever enter a wrong code, use the instructions supplied by the manufacturer on how to be able to rekey the code.

It is undeniable that false alarms waste too much money, time and human effort. These are the resources which we direly need in instances of real emergencies. However, we have to make sure that we take the most rational and less risky of method of solving it, otherwise we negate the very purpose of having a security and alarm system.

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• Most security and alarm professionals refer to it as ‘smash and crash’. Most alarm systems allow homeowners a main entry door where they usually use to enter their house. The alarm system detects the entry and expects that the homeowner would go straight to the alarm system control panel and disable it, so it would not go off. This process is taken advantage by criminals. They break in or walk in thru the main entry door, just as the homeowners would do, and quickly look for the alarm control panel. Since the criminals won’t probably know the code to deactivate or disarm the alarm system, they instead destroy it so it would altogether not send out any kind of alarm.
• Some criminals take a page out of the fable ‘The Boy who Cried Wolf’. They intentionally break in or do something to set off the alarm system of a house or a business establishment. But that’s all they do, set off the alarm and nothing else. They repeatedly do this so the homeowners and the police would think that the security and alarm system is defective and would decide to just totally shut it off. Once this happens, the burglars would then break in and carry out their whole plan.
• By cutting off the power and telephone lines, the burglars render an ordinary security system useless. There are some systems which have an internal power back-up but unlike a few which use cellular or satellite transmissions, most of them still transmit signals using the telephone lines. Although the security company is automatically notified about the disruption of the transmission signals from the house or business establishment, the burglars can easily enter the premises quickly and finish their job, before the police comes.
• Some burglars are technologically savvy. They know how different security systems work and how to fool the system. Depending on the security system installed, they can ingeniously use some simple things like a piece of foil which they attach to the sensor in windows and doors. This makes the security system believes that there is no disruption in the flow of its electrical current, even when the burglar has already removed the magnet which transmits the electrical current, and replaced it with a piece of foil. After they’ve done this, they can then freely enter the house.

Whether you are a security professional or a simple property owner, it would certainly still pay off to be aware of the different tactics and Modus Operandi of criminals. This way, we give ourselves a fighting chance to keep up with the dangerous ways of criminals and deter their plans.

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There have been documented incidents of home invasions gone very wrong, even deadly. Burglars, home invaders and thieves are known to carry weapons like guns and cutting instruments like knives. Once their initial plan of a simple burglary goes awry, things usually quickly spiral to more destruction of properties and sometimes, of life.

The effects of home invasion incidents on victims cannot be underestimated. The loss of material possessions, though usually the major one, is just the obvious effect. Material things are easily replaceable. There are worse and long lasting effects on victims that they have to deal with possibly for the rest of their lives.

The major emotional effects on victims are fear which is associated with the loss of their sense of security. This becomes worse when the victims were at home during the burglary, and they experienced being physically threatened or actually harmed by the burglars or home invaders. Most victims have confessed that this fear, even with the help of psychological therapy and counseling, does not easily fade away. Instead, the fear increased over time.

They have experienced the disregard and total violation of their primary rights of security and safety. What was just then a small probability has become their lives’ harsh reality. They feel very vulnerable and become fearful of the possibility of being re-victimized. This is understandable since every one of us see the inside of our homes as the only place where we can feel complete safety and protection, and feel comfortable letting down our guards.  So when they are violated inside their very homes, it would be difficult for them to feel the sense of inviolability anywhere else. They would usually experience sleepless nights and days and extreme anxiety. For some, they remain at a higher-than-average heightened sense of alertness that persists throughout the rest of their lives.

Things are expectedly worse for the victims who were actually harmed. Some home invasions led to victims being raped, in some instances, family members get killed. The survivors are left to suffer what they have witnessed. They are left to mourn their losses at the same time to feel the utter helplessness due to their inability to fight off the criminals.

Although the emotional and psychological effects are serious, human beings are built to survive and outlast the challenges of life. With the right counseling and help from friends and family, victims can fully recover. However, as much as possible, one should aim to avoid ever experiencing these security-related crimes, and there are many ways to do that. The first and foremost is to install a reliable home security and alarm system.

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Although the South African Police has charged Pistorius with deliberate murder, his defense team has disclosed that what happened was unintentional, it was terrifying and sad, but it was an accident. According to his lawyer, Pistorius shot his girlfriend accidentally, thinking that she was an intruder. This is not far from happening in a country where the threat of home invasions and similar crimes is serious. In fact, a lot of upscale neighborhood in South Africa are barricaded and are protected by armed security. Pistorius has also expressed and shown in the past how jumpy and nearly paranoid he is about being fully prepared to fight off an intruder in his home.

The police and the prosecutors, however, paint a different picture of what happened. They say the shooting was pre-meditated. This is supported by the earlier domestic incidents that Pistorius’ neighbors reported to the police.

At the present time, no one can really be sure about what truly happened. Whether it was a pre-meditated murder or a tragic accident rooted in the serious issue of home and property security threats.  However, it does bring to light the seriousness of residential security problems in South Africa, a country that has been previously plagued with racial issues. It also shows how volatile a threatened homeowner can be when faced with the possibility of an intruder invading his home. Although some details of the crime and Pistorius’ extreme behavior or mindset about home invasion are quite suspicious, it bothers us to think that given the right circumstance, this same thing could happen to every one of us, and that his defense team could be telling the truth.

It also makes us think not just about the importance of having an effective security and alarm system for our homes, but also about how to effectively balance the security and alarm system and the homeowner’s mindset and behavior.  This is the main reason why security experts always advise property owners to use a security system that they trust and which effectiveness has already been proven time and again, a system which they are comfortable with and would give them that much needed peace of mind. The balance between the homeowner’s mindset and psychological behavior and the efficiency and intelligence of his/her security system should be a top priority, lest we want to mistaken our loved ones for intruders and do them harm.

For a system to be effective, it should be intelligent and as foolproof as possible. You trust it with your life and that of your loved ones, so there is absolutely no enough reason to not be cautious when choosing an alarm and security system company. That which you choose should be able to get the burden of constant worrying and even paranoia off your head.

Again, we don’t know for sure what exactly happened with Blade Runner and his girlfriend, but let’s take a lesson from this incident. There is no totally safe place to live in nowadays, and this threat on our privacy and security is playing with our minds. The security system which we should choose should not intensify our worries, instead it should give us the peace of mind that we deserve when we are inside our home.

The Blade Runner’s Defense: A High Profile Case on Security Threats is a post from: Five Star Alarm

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From the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting incident to the more recent case of a 15-year-old teenager  who killed his parents and younger siblings at their own home, the terror is no longer just outside of our nation’s soil. It is now inside our own territories, our schools and our own homes. Our government is rushing to strengthen the laws on gun control to stop the gun-related violence. This leads to passionate arguments between those who are pro-gun and those who are against giving citizens the right to own a gun.

For an ordinary citizen, this issue becomes a more basic one, a question of survival. If we agree to prohibit guns, then how do we protect our properties and our own life and those of our loved ones? Even with the strictest gun control law, it is a reality that some individuals and groups with ill-intentions would still manage to get guns from the black market. If they do, then it becomes an unlevel playing field. We cannot expect the police authorities to always be present at all times. When push comes to shove and we are left alone to secure and defend our lives and our properties, how would we do it?

Guns are undeniably good means of protection, if properly used.  It deters criminals from entering our house once they know that we have a gun and can use it on them. However what we forget is that Security comes before Defense.  Securing our properties comes before the possibility of defending them from threats. Although these gun related tragedies makes us more vigilant, cautious and able and ready to defend, we have to realize that defending our properties and our lives makes no sense if we  are unable to secure them first. Moreover, securing your properties makes it less likely that we will ever have to defend them. Before we bother to put forth our arguments whether we  need to be allowed to own a gun or not, we have to busy ourselves first with installing security system and alarms on our homes, our lands, our shops, and other properties we value. Installing a security and alarm system is much safer than hiding a gun on your nightstand drawer. Our young kids will not be at risk and gun accidents can be averted.

However, this is not to say that you should not have a gun. If you feel adept, comfortable and fully responsible, then you earn that privilege to own a gun. The stress should be made on it being a privilege and not a right though. There is too much risk involved in using a gun that we should do everything to keep us from the need of having to fire that gun. We have to focus our efforts in securing our lives and properties. We should not hold back in investing in a decent home safety and security system, lest we are ready to risk exposing our children to guns and gun-related violence.

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Steve Jobs
A former football player Kariem McFarlin was successful in burglarizing the home of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. According to the news McFarlin crept into a garage, found a set of keys and looted the residence. Among the items he took were $60,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. jewelries, several Apple gadgets and the driver’s license of the CEO. Unfortunately, McFarlin was captured the next day using the same technology Jobs helped create.

Nicolas Cage
The Con-Air star woke up one night and saw burglar standing at the door of a bathroom. The funny thing is this man was standing there naked. Cage told reporters “It was two in the morning; I was living in Orange County at the time and was asleep with my wife. My two-year old at the time was in another room. I opened my eyes and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket eating Fudgesicle in front of my bed.”

LL Cool J
Jonathan Kirby, 56, was also successful in breaking in but failed to get out of the house when the rapper and star of NCIS: Los Angeles busted his nose, jaw and ribs. The LA Times reports that LL Cool J was “upstairs in his home when he heard noise coming from the kitchen area. When he went down to see what was happening, the suspect came at him, leading to a fight.”

Kourtney Kardashian
Famous reality star Kourtney Kardashian and boyfriend Scott Disick arrived at their Calabasas town home only to find out that their home was broken into and expensive jewelries were reportedly taken. A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman tells an entertainment news program that the invader made off with around $108,000 of Kourtney’s bling including her $30,000 Cartier watch and Scott’s Rolex.

These are only few of the rich and famous people who encounter incidents of burglary and theft in their homes. We can continue with the stories of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities. Some of us might not believe these stories and might suspect that it’s all for publicity. However, we can gain insights from them. Being rich and famous doesn’t make anyone safe from burglars and thieves. In some instances, it makes them a more attractive victim. These are people who have their own bodyguards and yet they’ve fallen victim to burglaries and theft. Although people of ill-intention might not be easily attracted to the properties of ordinary people like us, still we are not safe from them. We cannot leave our properties unguarded. We worked hard, harder than those celebrities, to achieve what we have, thus we cannot risk losing them just because we’re hesitant to invest in security and alarm system. Celebrities can easily buy again those that they have lost. Ordinary people, most probably, cannot. Our hard-earned properties are too valuable.

We might not have the financial capacity to employ bodyguards, but we have to realize that we need to invest in a decent home security system. Arming our houses with a security and alarm system makes burglars think twice about their plans. Most probably, those celebrities got the scare of their lives and somehow regretted losing their valuables. Most probably, it could be worse for us ordinary people.

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Installing smoke alarms will serve as an early warning device in the event of fire. Nowadays, smoke alarms are no longer too expensive. These devices are now affordable and are available at nearly all hardware and department stores. A lot of different brands and different systems or devices are now available in the market. A consumer would just need to decide which one is best suited to his or her home or the property he or she wants to protect.

So as we make a decision to install a smoke alarm device or system, we should also be fully educated on how to install, use and maintain it:

• Place a smoke alarm in every key area of your home including basement and outside bedrooms: Fires usually starts from the kitchen, but there are some instances when fires start from the basement or an empty room, thus the start and spreading of the fire gets unnoticed unless the house, particularly the room, has working smoke alarms.
• Test your smoke alarm at least once a month by pushing the test button and listen to the beep. Like any other appliances in our house, a smoke alarm device or system needs to get tested every now and then to make sure that they are properly working.
• If you have a battery powered device, replace the batteries at least once a year. The alarms that are hard-wired (and include battery backup) must be installed by a qualified electrician.
• Do not disable the alarm while cooking. You can turn on the range fan, open a window or wave a towel near the alarm. The comforting thought that the alarm is working as it should outweighs the nuisance caused by the its going off.
• The entire smoke alarm unit should be replaced every 8-10 years. Nothing lasts forever, even if unused, and a smoke alarm device or system is no different.
• Practice a fire escape plan. A smoke alarm, as the name implies, alarms us to the possibility of impending danger so that we can save our property and escape with our lives. It is the start of your safety plan, not your whole safety plan. Thus, make sure that if ever the alarm goes off and there’s an actual danger, you have a clear fire escape plan to follow which every member of your family is aware of.

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This is not a new problem though. This two-faced role of technology has always   been there. The conflict has always been a challenge to those who want to stay secured and those whose intention is to violate other people’s right to security and privacy. Thus, it becomes an endless race and what’s stake could be much more than just your valued material possessions, it could be your life and those of the people you love.
Security system developers are tirelessly inventing new security gadgets and more and more intricately designed systems, each time promising that the invented gadget or system is the one that is impossible to disable or disarm. The most recently released security systems are now making use of biometric authentication such as Eye Scan and Voice Recognition technology, full-HD surveillance and wireless communication system. But since technology is not owned by only one entity, this same level of technology, sometimes even better, is also available for the hackers, the burglars and the thieves. As soon as new systems and devices are released in the market, they painstakingly study each component so they can devise a way to quietly disarm them, and you can bet your hard-earned dollar that they will be successful at it. Rest assured though that before, or as soon as the bad guys learn how to disarm these security systems, the developers have already updated and armed them against the new threats. Although this race to preserve security and privacy is as tight as any race can be, it’s still a good thing that the good guys are still one step ahead.
In the end though, technology is not to be blamed. By itself, technology cannot be categorized as neither bad nor good. It is the user’s intention that renders technology as productive or destructive to human lives, as it is everyone of us who decides whether we should value or forsake security and privacy.

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Can Provide Security

Today’s home automation provides security because it is always on guard and ready. These cameras are now much cheaper so anyone can get one and can get it installed. Starting with a security camera, it acts like a virtual eye constantly scanning everything from the inside and outside of your home to make sure no intruder gets in. Also, there are what we call water or electrical sensors that will immediately alert you if there are any leaks or problem with the circuits of your electricity and water system. We are also very familiar with fire alarms that doesn’t only detect fire and smoke but can also detect other harmful chemicals like carbon monoxide.

Offers Convenience

These smart homes offer the control that the owner needs but eliminates all the hard manual settings that makes it complicated. You can easily control every appliance or security device in your home even if you are not there. You can use your mobile phone to take control and change the settings of these devices whether you are there or miles away and even if you are in a different country. Amazing right? This smart home innovation works effectively and efficiently for convenience, security and believe it or not even in saving money.

Includes Control Over Lights and Doors

As the system mostly aims for maintaining security, it has the ability to control the lights from wherever part of the world you are. When we were kids, this may seem as if something that is out of a future-themed movie but now it’s readily available. Be able to control each individual lights that are located in different parts of your house from the kitchen, bathroom, garage and garden. This will also make sure that possible theft is prevented as it may seem that someone is always at home.

Security Systems & Access Control

Be able to open and close your garage door remotely and do the same with your other doors inside and outside your home. With a smart home system, the monitoring home system would be able to contact you, give updates and alert you real time if and when a certain issue arises. The most common issues that may happen are gas-leaks, intruders or even changes in temperature.

What We Should Know

Basically its best convert to a smart home for safety – because you can make sure that you can monitor your home no matter where you are. Secondly, you would be at ease with leaving your appliances turned on while you are gone because you can control them. Lastly, for having convenience because everyone wants peace of mind with maintaining security and most of all you can even turn on your oven, start the television and control almost all your electrical appliances using your mobile phone or an all-in-one remote control.

Try it and enjoy the convenience and safety of a smart home. In making this major change, it is you who decide on how a specific device should function, when and how it needs to start and you also can control the device as if you are doing it manually. You just need to set up the schedule and everything would be automated and everything would be based on your overall preferences so you would have over all control as well as convenience, money savings and of course – a smart home.

Smart Homes – The Automated Homes of the Future is a post from: Five Star Alarm

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