Is It Necessary To Have A Burglar Alarm?
Owning a home comes with a number of other responsibilities. It’s up to the homeowner to take care of things such as purchase furniture, make any necessary repairs and ensure that their home is a great place to live. We tend to look at these things as investments in our dwelling, rather than expenses that could otherwise be avoided. What’s interesting is that so many homeowners view these purchases in this manner while simultaneously foregoing security.
Is it necessary to have a burglar alarm? As it turns out, many homeowners never take the time to ask themselves this important question. Alarms provide protection to the things a homeowner has already spent so much time purchasing, yet many people think of them as an unneeded expense. This is a curious trend, and a disturbing one at that. The fact is that numerous homeowners and renters never seriously consider the prospect of owning an alarm.
Property crime is the most prevalent form of crime in the United States today. According to the FBI, a total of 10.3 million crimes were reported during 2010. Of those, nearly 9.1 million were property crimes. Nearly 70 percent of these crimes involved some sort of larceny or theft. These statistics help to prove two things. First, property crime is too broad of a threat to ignore. Second, even those who feel that they live in relatively safe neighborhoods are still exposed.
With the use of home security systems, such as the ones offered by Home Security Concepts, homeowners have a proactive way to protect themselves and their homes from invaders. Not only does a security system alert authorities and residents to the presence of an intruder, but they can also serve as deterrents for would-be criminals. Fortunately, security systems come in different packages so that they are scalable to the needs of the resident. Because of this and the ability for the systems to deter crime, the question homeowners ask themselves shouldn’t be “is it necessary to have a burglar alarm?” Instead, the question should be what level of protection their dwelling needs.
A few components of the security system can change based on how much protection the homeowner needs. One aspect that is different from system to system is the different number of door and window sensors that can be integrated into the system. These sensors are programmed to alert the monitoring service when tripped. Other components, such as whether or not the system includes a high-decibel siren, can vary based on the level of security system purchased. This customization ensures that homeowners get a burglar alarm that fits their needs without spending more than they need to.
Despite this level of flexibility, some security systems stay the same no matter what package a resident purchases. For example, most systems offer a keypad with quick controls to contact emergency services. This gives residents a fast, one-touch method to contact police, fire or medical personnel if a threat is present. Even when knowing these facts, many homeowners are still hesitant to invest in a burglar alarm or security system.
One of the most frequent forms of resistance displayed by homeowners, even when understanding the benefits of the security system, is that they already carry homeowners insurance. Because of this, many people feel that a security system is doubling up on the protection. They figure that if a break-in does happen, they’ll just file a claim with their insurance provider and get reimbursed for any property loss or damage. While this is technically accurate, it is also somewhat misleading. Declining the purchase of a home security system ignores the psychological stress that typically occurs as a major side effect of a home invasion.
After a burglary, nearly all victims report some sort of psychological stress. Sometimes the emotional fallout of the burglary can fade within a few months, but a large amount of victims report still feeling some sort of stress or unease even years after the break-in. Many of these people are the same people who decline to install a burglar alarm in the first place, feeling that it could never happen to them – and that’s the same reason they suffer from such a large amount of stress.
The threat of emotional fallout after a home invasion is also multiplied when children are involved. The personality of a child is much more impressionable than that of an adult, and many lack the capacity to simply put the event behind them. Owing to this fact, a number of children whose homes are broken into may require extensive counseling to help them cope with the stress of the break-in. From a logical perspective, the best way to avoid this problem is to prevent it from ever occurring in the first place.
Obviously, having a burglar alarm installed doesn’t completely safeguard homeowners and families from the threat of a break-in and the emotional stress that can come with it. Whether a burglar alarm is installed or not, criminals can still make an attempt to break in. However, the burglar alarm does guarantee some major benefits. Thanks to the signs that accompany systems such as those made by ADT, criminals will be less likely to target a home that has a burglar alarm. Additionally, the rapid authority response offered by a burglar alarm can guarantee that the trauma of a break-in will be of a much shorter duration than if an alarm isn’t installed.
With all of that said, that brings us back to our original question: Is it necessary to have a burglar alarm? Between the statistics on the prevalence of property crime and the heavy emotional toll that a break-in can have on a family, the answer is an overwhelming “yes.” Homeowners who want to start the process of having a security system installed are encouraged to visit Home Security Concepts at www.homesecurityconcepts.com. They are an authorized dealer offering professional systems and installation, serving as a one-stop solution to purchasing a burglar alarm. For anybody who wants to protect their home and their family, Home Security Concepts is the company to get in contact with.
