Can you really protect your stuff?

$75,000 taken

This burglary in Henderson (see below) occurred while the home owner was in California. Her system notified her that she was being robbed. The security firm watched the robbers also. The gate guard was notified. The police arrived not long after, and the guys got still got away.

Short of sitting in your house and wait for them.

http://www.8newsnow.com/story/27484438/henderson-home-burglary-caught-on-camera

Most burglar alarms are false signals, even those that truly reflect an attempted break-in force a burglar to do a prompt retreat and blend into the neighborhood. Even if the call went out as Silent Alarm Felony in Progress the cops rarely expect to get there in time.

Push button alarm deactivation? Burglars know to use infrared and see which the hot and clean buttons are.

Cleaning services often provide data as do catering services. Where the stuff is and which of it is good stuff is available and makes the job real quick. Most guards are college students making the minimum wage while the Guard Service keeps most of the money. The most the guard can do is close the gate but in a sparsely populated project what good does that really do?

At the same time the remote and sparsely populated area of Henderson was robbed someone was knifed on a Strip pedestrian overpass. Which crime gets priority. Sure Henderson police and Metro are different but you know household burglaries are so low on the list that often the only thing the owner really expects is the report number for his insurance company.

I recently served a stint as a Dog Sitter in an gated community. Primarily I'm there to feed the mutts, keep their water bowl filled, keep my vehicle visible, keep the lights going off and on at reasonable times. Having someone on the premises works, the guards are a joke.

You get some great ideas about how to be a criminal watching programs on TV!

For example one showed some Conn. cat burglar types that went forever without being caught. One of their really good techniques was to cut the outside wire for the alarm system and wait. The police would come by, see nothing, and report it must be a false alarm. When the gendarmes tootled off, next all the silver and jewels were gone. They took their time.

They broke door down in my house cased the place in the 30 seconds before the alarm went off, then came back a week later and used the 30 seconds to remove the TV and XBox

I have been in the alarm business for 40 years and burglar alarms in residential applications are far down the police priority list. Fire and duress alarms get treated in a timely manner. Most professional crooks know this and that they have some time before anyone will arrive so it is a little more than a smash and grab. One of the values of alarms is they act as a deterent for crooks who don't want to take the chance on a protected home. The sirens will also scare away the kids and amateurs that are just trying to do something for a lark. With luck the kids are scared straight.

What the alarms do protect you against is a complete clean out by the pros. These are the ones that drive up and park in the drive way with a cube van and empty the house. This usually happens in the daytime and the neighbours, if they notice, think that it must be legitimate because they are so brazen.

There are also "clean out" jobs by pros who read year old wedding announcements and figure the couple will eat out that night while some anniversary gifts are lying around as bonuses. Or Gypsy teams that can move through a room quietly: open drawers from the bottom, don't close them; don't take junk that can't be fenced.

Quote: kenarman

I have been in the alarm business for 40 years and burglar alarms in residential applications are far down the police priority list. Fire and duress alarms get treated in a timely manner.

So why not hook your burglar alarm up to your fire and rescue alert system as well ☺

Yes, you can protect your stuff. A heavy safe (half-ton and up) installed in an obscure location (not on the main floor) can hold any jewelry worth insuring, any precious metals, any substantial sum of cash, and any guns, along with tax records, real estate and auto titles, etc. Yes, it costs some money, but so does the deductible on the insurance. Why would someone leave $75K of "stuff" lying around the house, unless this sum is not a substantial concern to replace?

Quote: Daddydoc

Why would someone leave $75K of "stuff" lying around the house, unless this sum is not a substantial concern to replace?

I'm sure whatever business she was in previously she learned to inflate insurance claims. These thieves were wearing forensic suits and walking on plastic so as not to leave footprints. In and out fast, leave the cameras alone, don't look directly at them. Ceiling cameras rarely get facial shots.

That would work once if you want the firemen to show up for a burglary. Duress is if you are imminent personal danger, your alarm will be put on a do not respond list if you abuse the use of a duress/panic alarm.