Burglar alarms. Deterent or not

[gregson74]

Following the spate of burglaries in the area I am thinking of getting an adt alarm for the piece of mind of my family but am wondering whether it actually draws attention to the fact that you have something worth stealing rather than putting burglars off. Very few houses on my road have alarms so I wouldn't want to draw attention to ours as somewhere with riches(which it isn't). What do people think? Are there any stats?

Thanks

D

[peterstorm1985]

Stats won't tell you the answer as other variables have just as great an effect. If there are two identical houses with identical things on display with identical means of access, then the one without an alarm will be a preferred option to a burglar, but if you live in the backstreets where no one walks along the street all day and an alarm would go unnoticed then it matters far more what can be seen through the window.

Do you leave laptops around, with a 42" HDTV in sight? Or does your living room suggest you're still living in the 50s?

[Frankito]

Please get an alarm but not because it will guarantee you will never get burgled but hopefully, if you are being burgled, the noise will be enough to either

a- frighten them off

Or

b- encourage them not to want to stick around.

Our house was burgled in June this year in the early hours of the morning and, had it not been for a very noisy alarm, and a big angry dog, who knows where they would have ended up. It's horrible to even contemplate the variety of possible scenarios that could have played out, and certainly not healthy to explore in any depth! However, having an alarm gives me the piece of mind that, should someone enter my home whilst I am there, that I will know about it right away.

So please, don't deliberate over it any longer, go and buy one and have some reassurance. As for the point ofit being a thief magnet, I don't think it will make your house look any more attractive.

They should sell cricket bats with alarms as it saves a double trip.. I have one that you could knock an elephant out with and trust me, it's always handy just incase!

[bob]

See post in General E/D

Break in Oakhurst Grove

If you have a Alarm installed, monitored is much better

Bob S

[Laddy Muck]

I used to live in Herne Hill - on a busy main road. No alarm. Got burgled 5 times over a period of around 14 years.

I now live in ED - quiet road. Have an alarm. No problems so far. Been here 14 years.

Make of that what you will. I would say, if you can afford an alarm, get one. We used a little family company (very competitively priced) called Sheba Alarms. Ours is not monitored but we do have an annual maintenance check to ensure its good function. Excellent service from Sheba over the past 14 years.

As for an alarm making a property more "attractive". I'm with Frankito: I doubt it.