Preventing False Alarms

Security alarm systems are the most effective way to keep unwanted intruders from entering your home, but  even the most high-tech systems are not without their flaws.  False alarms are a growing problem across the country, and police departments are reporting staggering figures that reveal the frequency of false alarms throughout the year, as well as the costs of responding to them.

An estimated 32 million security alarm systems are installed in homes and businesses nationwide.  In 2002 alone, however, police in the United States responded to approximately 36 million false alarms, which amounted to an annual cost of nearly $1.8 billion.  This means that between 94 and 98 percent of all alarm calls police departments are false (Sampson)!

Burglar alarms are there to protect you from just that—burglars—but when alarms are being falsely sounded, it not only drains the resources of your local police department (which could be attending to actual emergencies), but it could also drain your wallet.

Recently, New Haven, Connecticut has taken extra precautions in their fight to crackdown on false-alarms, and they’re now including hefty fines.  Beginning in February, every resident with a security alarm system will need to have it registered at their local police department, while repeat false-alarm offenders will be required to pay a $75 dollar fine for their second offense,  $150 for their third, an astounding $250 for their fourth, and  increasingly higher fees for further offenses (MacMillan).

These fines certainly seem high, but as 96 percent of the 10,000 – 12,000 security alarms going off in New Haven every year are reported false, there’s no question that—especially given our current economic atmosphere—something must be done.

If you have a security alarm system installed in your home, chances are you will experience a false alarm at some point.  It’s inevitable.  But there are certain things you can do to minimize those chances:

1)Batteries
It’s true that the batteries in alarm systems tend to have a relatively long life-span—but they still need changing! Faulty batteries are one of the main reasons for false alarms, and you should change them every 6 months or so.

2)Pet Movement
If you have dogs or cats in your home, beware!—they could be tipping off your motion sensors. There are a variety of pet-immune motion sensors on the market that will prevent your animals from setting false alarms.  If none are readily available for you, there are noise detectors that will sound at the breaking of glass or any other loud noise rather than movement.

3)Faulty Contacts
Home security systems operate  through contacts on your doors and windows. When someone opens or breaks in while the system is armed, the alarm sounds. But if the contacts are faulty or loose, they might trigger the alarm even when no one has touched them. You should have a technician come out and make sure they are operating correctly.

4)Air Vents
You should always make sure that all motion sensors are facing away from air vents, windows or ceiling fans.  Some motion sensors are so sensitive that even a light breeze can set them off. Or, pay the extra buck to get a decent quality motion sensor!

5)People
Communicate with the people you live with!  Sometimes people arm their systems when other members of the household haven’t come home yet, and when they do it takes a while for them to get to the keypad in time to shut it down.  Always let the people you live with know when you’re going to arm your system (Thompson).

Sources:

MacMillan, T. “Crackdown On False-Alarms Set.” New Haven Independent. 7 January 2010. Web. 11 January 2010.

Sampson, R. “False Burglar Alarms.” Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. Web. 11 January 2010.

Thompson, S. “How to Prevent Home Security System False Alarms.” The Associated Content. 30 November 2006. Web. 11 January 2010.