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<p>Good friends were victims of a home invasion and the police explained a lot. They are akin to rape–crimes of power and dominance. The victims are often staked out. The invaders will choose someone they know to be home in an area where they know neighbors are not home. These are not your garden variety thieves looking for an empty house where they can take a few things and run.</p>
<p>So how much do alarm systems run – both the installation and the monitoring?</p>
<p>Installation depends pretty highly on how extensive your alarm system needs to be. Ours ran about $200 but we only had two doors to hook up, and our apartment was pre-wired. Monitoring, including a separate cell line to connect the system to the monitoring center, costs about $35 a month. I don’t know if that’s a flat rate or whether fancier systems are more. We’ve been really happy with ADT… we’ve been with them for about a year, maybe two.</p>
<p>A guy broke into the house next door to me by kicking in the front door. Their alarm went off right away. I actually saw the burglar leave and got his license plate number and car description. When the cops came about a half hour later they entered the house with their guns drawn but of course the bad guy was long gone by then. It turns out that despite the alarm blaring, the burglar still went into the house, went to the master bedroom, and went through the master bath, where most women keep their jewelry, and through the underwear drawers, where many people keep coin collections, other jewelry, and other valuables. I talked to the cops about this and they said that the experienced burglars usually don’t worry about the alarm systems since it takes them only a couple of minutes to hit the high return areas and it’ll usually take the cops quite a while to respond. </p>
<p>Probably the main benefits to the alarms are to alert the homeowner that there was a breach and also to limit the time the burglar will spend in the house - i.e. it might prevent a total ‘cleanout’ (as happened to a couple of people I know).</p>
<p>The question then is what to do if there was a breach while you’re at home. You could have an exit strategy to leave the home, hide somewhere in the home maybe, or arm yourself so you could defend yourself as a last resort. Some of the people breaking in are looking to harm the occupants more than burgle the house.</p>
<p>Our alarm system is turned on every night.</p>
<p>We have a dog.</p>
<p>I always lock doors-even during the day.</p>
<p>We are friends with our neighbors and we all watch out for each other. If we are going out of town I let them know.</p>
<p>The book “Burglars on the Job” is a great read!
The quotes below are from convicted burglars as reported in Reader’s Digest. </p>
<p>13 Things a Burglar Won’t Tell You</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.</p></li>
<li><p>Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier. </p></li>
<li><p>Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it. </p></li>
<li><p>If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway. </p></li>
<li><p>If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy. </p></li>
<li><p>A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom—and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too. </p></li>
<li><p>It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door—understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off becau se of bad weather. </p></li>
<li><p>I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)</p></li>
<li><p>Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside ta ble, and the medicine cabinet. </p></li>
<li><p>Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms. </p></li>
<li><p>You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me. </p></li>
<li><p>A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.) </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina, Oregon, California, and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.</p>
<p>My strategy:
My dirty 10yo 15 passenger van is in the driveway. It screams “low-class large family,” You just don’t know how many people might be in this house at any one time or how sharp their teeth and claws are. No $ for professional landscapers obvious by weed-filled garden. Already noted no $ for carwash. Not looking too promising.
If you look in my window, you will see a crucifix and picture of “La Virgen.” Stops burglars in their tracks, trust me. Vampires, too. </p>
<p>Truly there is nothing of value in my house. No cash, no jewels, no safe, artwork, no drugs (unless you want advil. . ) If you want my used appliances, computers, or books–good luck getting them out the door. I will happily buy new ones. Food? Please take it. Anyone wants anything from me, he can have it. </p>
<p>Whenever I leave my house, I leave it completely ransacked with broken toys, books, junk, clothes all over the floor. “Someone else has already been here” will be a thief’s first impression. (OK, I don’t “leave” it that way, I “keep” it that way).</p>
<p>When I was a kid, our suburban house was broken into. Doors were locked. They broke 3 windows, totally trashed the entire house, dumped every drawer–including kitchen and children’s rooms.Total take $6 cash and a box of cheap sandwich cookies–one bite taken out of one cookie and the whole pack dumped in the gutter! Made a big impression on me–feeling of violation–someone trashing your stuff. (Plus, a whole pack of cookies, wasted!)
When I was in Peace Corps, a young woman was stabbed to death while trying to prevent a burglar from stealing her radio. That made an even bigger impression on me. I never want to own anything “valuable.” I won’t hold onto anything. Everything on this earth is dust. That’s my attitude.</p>
<p>BTW, insurance companies often give discounts for alarm systems that pretty much cover the cost.</p>
<p>Dogs–a relative’s dog was shot during a burglary.</p>
<p>When we moved 3 years ago, the house came with an alarm system. One of the best features is that the outside doors are all equipped with a “chime” that goes off whenever they’re opened. I was sure it would drive me nuts, but now I’m glad we have it. Now that S is in school, there are many times, when H travels, that I’m home alone. Our dog barks like crazy when a car/truck comes up the long drive, but views all visitors as potential playmates – so no protection there.</p>
<p>We didn’t have an alarm system in our previous house – we kept talking about it, but never got around to it. We did live next door to a couple whose grown S was a town police officer, though, and he visited his parents a lot, parking the patrol car in their driveway. 
That said, we always put the cars in the garage, and always kept all the house doors locked. Both D & S had a house key to carry in their school backpacks starting in the 3rd grade. Our front door had a sidelight next to it, so we had a keyed deadbolt on that door. If you do that, it’s important to have a key readily accessible in case you have to get out of the front door in a hurry – in case of a fire, for example. We had a colonial style pipe box on the wall near the front door with a itlle drawer in it where we kept a key.</p>
<p>OP, since I also live in CT, actually not all that far from that terrible home invasion, I would seriously consider an alarm system.</p>
<p>CBBBlinker, that was a terrible, terrible situation. The older daughter would have been a classmate of my younger son’s at their college, had she not been killed.</p>
<p>I am investigating alarm systems. When we moved here, 22 years ago, we laughed at the previous owners who had had one. (So did our neighbors. Apparently it went off for any reason.) Since then, the world has changed. Anything is possible.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention several NRA bumper stickers on the back of that van. . .</p>
<p>My new security system - try to remember to lock the front door.</p>