According to research, 60 per cent of burglars will avoid properties with a built-in security system. However, your risk of being burglarised increases by 300 per cent if you don’t have one. The motion sensors, door/window sensors, and other components of your security system will monitor all the activity surrounding your house, and your control panel is prepared to keep you informed wherever you are. In the event of a break-in, your alarm will go off, but who would respond if you were absent or unable to answer? This is when the police response feature comes into play.
In this article, we will be going over how the police respond to burglar alarms to help you gain peace of mind on your next vacation.
What does “police response” actually mean?
The first thing to realise about a police response alert is that it is not directly connected to the police department. Instead, an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) is notified when the alarm is activated. Security professionals at the ARC will then respond, contacting the police if necessary and informing the property owner of the situation.
These centres are essential in decreasing unnecessary police response to false alarms, as they operate around the clock. The police may lower their response to your property if they keep showing up at your house because of a nosy cat setting off a sensor. Fortunately for us, modern-day alarm systems are pet-friendly and incredibly reliable at identifying a real threat.
How does the police response work in burglar alarms?
If you have a basic, unmonitored burglar alarm in your home, the police will not be automatically dispatched if the alarm is activated. You or a passerby will be responsible for notifying the police of a break-in or activated alarm. A monitored burglar alarm is the only way to assure an automatic police response in the event of an emergency. Discover what a monitored burglar alarm is, how it initiates a police response and the significance of having one installed in your home.
A monitored burglar alarm is a burglar alarm system that a qualified security monitoring company constantly monitors. They will monitor your security system for any activations and take action on your behalf in the event of a break-in or intrusion. A monitored intruder alarm is especially useful when a family is away from home or cannot be reached.
A sophisticated monitored alarm system will not always trigger a police response when activated alerts or sensors. When the ARC gets an alert, an operator will likely contact the designated account holder to determine if the trigger is a false alarm or a genuine emergency. If they are unable to reach the account holder, they can also employ audio and video equipment to confirm an intrusion. They will then contact the police, who will conduct a search of the property.
With unmonitored alarm systems, the police do not have sufficient time or resources to attend to every burglar alarm, primarily when numerous false alarms are caused by pets or improper system configuration. However, when they receive a call from an ARC in connection with a monitored alarm system, they can be confident that it is an actual emergency and not a false alarm.
Should law enforcement constantly be involved?
Depending on the circumstances surrounding activated alarms or the policies varying from different regions, the police may not always be involved. When the ARC gets the alarm activation, a member of the ARC will immediately assess the situation and determine if the police are required. Occasionally, a different measure is taken if there is insufficient information to warrant a police reaction. For instance, a security reaction from the security provider or an audio confrontation with the intruder through the security system.
Unverified alarms vs. Verifiable break-ins
Most companies in the home security business will attempt to call the homeowner or key contact not once but twice or even three times following an alarm activation.
If no contact is established or if communication is made, but the homeowners do not know why the alarm is sounding, the appropriate authorities are notified of a probable intrusion. It takes an average of eight minutes before the police are notified, not including the time it takes for them to respond.
This is where the traditional system fails: the majority of thieves can break in, steal what they want, cause damage to your home, and go within minutes. What about the police? The terrible reality is that they are most likely not arriving.
If no one can verify why an alarm has been activated, and data indicate that it is likely a false alert, the police will treat it as such. It is an unconfirmed crime. This shows a delayed response if any. However, police will respond if the home security company can confirm that a crime is in progress.
Typically, this verification involves the presence of human eyes on the site before notifying the authorities. It has been demonstrated to decrease false alarms by 95% while drastically cutting the average response time. However, sending officers to the physical place wastes precious minutes that we cannot afford to lose. What is required is not only a quick and convenient verification to reduce the average response time by minutes but also a system that interacts with perpetrators.
The best resolution?
- Rapidly eliminate bogus threats, including pets, guests, animals, and deliveries.
- Identify an actual threat at your property’s perimeter, not once someone has entered your home.
- Put real-time human eyes, ears, and voices on the scene immediately.
- When necessary, provide law enforcement with up-to-the-second details of a verified crime.
These techniques would significantly reduce the entire reaction time from minutes to seconds. Law enforcement would devise this answer for themselves and their communities. This technique avoids and discourages criminal activity rather than only detecting it.
In this regard, a proactive home security camera system is ideal. A home security system is preferable to none, but it provides a false sense of security at best without real-time human verification and engagement. Consider every second when selecting your next security solution because every second that passes is extremely valuable.
Why Monitored alarms are essential to every home
Installing a monitored security system in your house significantly enhances your home security, the protection of your loved ones, and your peace of mind that your home is being monitored. A monitored system is the sole means to receive an automatic reaction to an activated alarm, notably a police response, because of its connection to an ARC. An unmonitored alarm relies solely on being heard and acted upon by a neighbour or passerby to be successful. A police-response system guarantees that your alarm will never go unnoticed, and the ARC can contact the police when two sensors are activated.
This is especially useful whether you are away from home, on vacation, or at business and challenging to reach. It maximises your chances of halting intruders in their tracks, deterring them from continuing the burglary, or capturing them at the scene. If you’re interested in getting your own burglar alarm system, feel free to visit our website to get more info.
Casa Security’s Management team of highly experienced security members employ strategies that encourage efficiency through every aspect of the operations, passing on these benefits to the end user through lower prices and higher quality and expertise. Every organisation member is committed to operating honestly and ethically and following the stringent standards within the Security Industry governing bodies and the Western Australian Police department.