Burglar alarms

Like Sparklefizz we have special sensors in the basement so that we can leave the cat down there when we are out. Our cat is 19 so unlikely to climb the curtains and there is nowhere else in the room that is high enough to activate the sensor!
We don't set the alarm at night, although it is possible to activate everywhere but the bedroom floor using a key fob.
We've been burgled in the past in other houses and I must admit that I like the reassurance of knowing that the house is alarmed when we are out or away. One of our neighbours has a front door key and the code for the alarm.
It did go off once during the day when a courier shook a side door by throwing a parcel - all the neighbourhood were outside when we came home.

I think burglar alarms can act as a deterrent, even if they're not set. I also think it's important not to have easy access to the rear of your property, and a "beware of the dog" sign can be useful, even if you don't have one! I'm not sure about CCTV cameras. When I see them I wonder whether it is a risky neighbourhood, or are there neighbour disputes? Would be put off buying a house with CCTV for example.

I have a burglar alarm in the hope it will discourage any attempts. If it goes off I am alerted on my mobile phone and if not nearby I contact a neighbour who has a key and can switch it off. Never needed so far. Also have a security camera which again I can view via phone. Many feel if you have an alarm it's because there is something valuable to be had. Many are like myself and feel it would help deter.

Oh SalsaQueen, I hope you reduced the cat-sitters payment by 27 minutes per session! What a cheek!

Have had one for years. When I worked in a Magistrates court it was commonly assumed that the n'er do wells would go for the easy option ie no alarm. In our last home we lived next door to a farm. Window cleaner one day got a shock when he set off alarm and neighbour and 6ft 2in son turned up with guns over their arms! Hasten to add they had been shooting rabbits and all perfectly legal!

It might help reduce your insurance premium and many people say it’s a deterrent to a would be burgler

I can't understand why everyone hasnt got an alarm .I put mine on all the time when I leave the house and at night. It gives me piece of mind .

If it will make you feel safer, definitely you should get a burglar alarm. It may also make the premium on your home insurance cheaper - ask your insurance company about that.

Perhaps have a word with the local crime prevention squad at the police. They should be able to advise you as to whether a burglar alarm is a good idea in your area, or just and added expense.

Perhaps you would consider a small safe to keep jewellery, passport etc, in. If so try to find some place a thief won't think to look for it, to place it in.

We, too, have not had our alarm go off without cause and our current one has been installed for over 20 years.

The problem with accidental soundings was a problem when alarms were first introduced, but it is very rare nowadays.

I cannot see the point of CCTV, what good is it if you are not in the house at the time? I want to stop a break in at the time it happens- as our alarm has twice. Not view it in detail after the event when the house has been burgled. What is the point in watching it happen from elsewhere, especially if you are abroad? By the time you can contact the police and they have investigated, assuming they do, once again it is too late.

I am surprised your neighbours have had the problem you mention Borntosew, the noise our alarm makes in the house would drive any intruder out- or stop them coming in, once activated, its pitch and volume is agonising on the ears. We had to sit through it for an hour and a half (with a cushion to each ear), when a squirrel ate through the wiring one night. The alarm only went off in the house, thankfully, so we were the only people affected.

We, too, have not had our alarm go off without cause and our current one has been installed for over 20 years.

The problem with accidental soundings was a problem when alarms were first introduced, but it is very rare nowadays.

I cannot see the point of CCTV, what good is it if you are not in the house at the time. I want to stop a breakin at the time it hapens- as our alarm has twice. Not view it in detail after the event when the house has been burgled. What is the point in watching happen from elsewhere, especially if you are abroad. By the time you can contact the police and they have investigated, assuming they do, once again it is too late.

I am surprised your neighbours have had the problem you mention Borntosew, the noise our alarm makes in the house would drive any intruder out- or stop them coming in, once activated, its pitch and volume is agonising on the ears. We had to sit through it for an hour and a half (with a cushion to each ear), when a squirrel ate through the wiring one night. The alarm only went off in the house, thankfully, so we were the only people affected.

We lived near a house with an alarm. They were broken into several times. Turned out (police told us) they knew how long they had after the alarm went off before security arrived. Youth was caught with a street map showing alarm and time. Our house was marked with an X2, to show to leave us alone as we had 2 large dogs!

A big YES. Hopefully you may never have to experience a break in but unless you are one of the rich and famous whose alarms do not seem to deter the 'professionals' then your average 'chancer' will be put of by the sight your property has an alarm system.
Some of these alarms can send a signal to your local police station that there is an intruder and it may be a false alarm but 'better safe than sorry'.
Tough if the 'locals' are 'miffed' by the sight of your alarm. That is their problem so get in touch with a reputable company who will advise what is best for you.

I’ve always had burglar alarms, our present house is in the country and the alarm for me is a necessity. Our neighbours are very good and have phoned us previously when it went off for no apparent reason. The alarm makes me feel secure at night times too..... except when little grandchildren get up extra early and wander downstairs !!

We have a proper alarm which is serviced every year and it has never gone off when it shouldn't. What I find useful is that we can part-set it (to just cover the doors) when we go to bed in case we've forgotten to lock any of them. I found that particularly comforting after waking up in the middle of the night a few years ago to see a man walking up and down the driveways opposite and trying the side doors to see if they were open!

I had one once, it was a pain, went off when the battery needed changing and we had to call the specialists out. It was wired in btw. My experience is that alarms are a nuisance to neighbours. I am not having one in my new build even though the wiring is there. I would rather have cctv if I feel unsafe, which I doubt. Depends where you live obviously

Our local Neighbourhood Watch PC advises they are a huge deterrent.
We had one but following a flooded house it stopped working, We still have the box though at the front though & the little lights still flash in rooms which can be seen from outside.
One of these days I must get it fixed. One of my neighbours also has a video camera thing which I am considering as we do live in a very quiet cul de sac.

I’ve never bothered before because I’ve never had anything that you couldn’t go to the shop and replace fairly cheaply.

The surveyors report recommended installing an alarm and I think it’s that that’s given me the jitters!

Because it’s a totally new area to me I have no idea if burglary is a problem.

In the area I’ve just left people left their doors and windows open all day (and night)and nothing ever happened!

Our burglar alarm has gone off so many times the neighbours just ignore it, but one of them keeps a diary of when it goes off and presents it to us every so often as proof of how annoying it is! Problem is there doesn't seem to be a pet sensor that can come with cats climing into high places, such as the top of the large American fridge, or the cat tree.

We set the alarm when we go out, and overnight, with the cats only having access to hall, stairs and landing (and utility and downstairs loo for their litter trays), and that largely seems to work, but if a door isn't shut properly they will make their way in and trigger the alarm.

We have had one for the last twenty years and the smoke alarms are part of it too. There is also a button on the key fob and the also hub you can press to start it yourself if you answered the door and were attacked for example. We set ours each night.

lovebeigecardi Pet sensors are available instead of the ordinary sensors which are not set off by one's pets. I have them and can still set my burglar alarm at night time and when I go out and let my cat have the run of the house. This house was burgled 3 times before I moved in, so the neighbours told me. I had an alarm installed immediately, and so far .... 22 years ... touch wood.

My detective ex-husband said that burglars will always choose the easy option unless you are known to have antiques, thousands stashed under the mattress, etc. A brightly illuminated alarm box on the wall plus sensor security lights will usually be enough to make them look elsewhere.

I wonder whether your local community police officers may offer advice about this issue? Might be worth checking this out? (Online searches might be helpful here initially.) My own advice would be to invest in excellent locks, lighting and general security areas, rather than an alarm. But it has to depend on where you live, and your own circumstances - hence the suggestion that you get advice from the local police.

We put in an alarm after we had break ins in two consecutive houses, one rural, on urban. We have moved back to a village now and the alarm in the urban house and the one in our current house saved us from two other break-ins. The intruder scarpered as soon as he alrm went off.

When we had our alarm system put in we deliberately put no alarm sensors in the large kitchen breakfast room so that pet owners could have a cat flap in the kitchen door and could safely give the cat the run of the kitchen without the alarm going off by simply making sure the door between the kitchen and the rest of the house was shut. Equally a dog could be left in the kitchen with the door shut.

I suppose it might depend where you live, to some extent.
We live with neighbours very close around us, and are all on chatty terms with each other, so if one of our alarms goes off, the rest of us (well, those of us who are in, anyway), are out checking that everything is ok.

Purpledaffodil!!

I believe they act as a deterrent. Certainly in our area it is the ones without which get burgled. Always leave fob and keys with neighbour opposite if away and we do the same for them.
I find it gives peace of mind during the night. Ours has a nighttime downstairs only setting, so if I hear a worrying noise, I can tell myself it’s nothing or the sensors would have picked it up? And DH no longer sleeps with an axe under his pillow which is a relief all round.?