Burglar alarms - useful, or a complete ****ing nuisance?

Burglar alarms - useful, or a complete ****ing nuisance?

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Discussion

Mastodon2

Original Poster:

13,818 posts

164 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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An old codger across the street has a burglar alarm has been ringing for half an hour. The old duffers in the house are probably so deaf they cannot hear it, or perhaps have expired within. Despite the alarm ringing incessantly, no one has been over to check their house, the police have not arrived to see what is going on.

I can see the use of a burglar alarm in a commercial property, where it could be connected to CCTV, and activating the alarm immediately flags up to the monitoring client, who can then view the cameras and alert the necessary authorities - this is also possible for home security but few outside the mega rich would spent their money on such a system.

In day to day, residential use, when was the last time you actually investigated the cause of a burglar alarm, other than to tell the owner of the house to shut the fking thing up? I'm not looking with concern for potential intruders to their property, I'm just wondering why at 10:15pm, everyone in a half-mile radius of their house has to go deaf with this horrendous wailing.

On a brighter outlook, the heap of st has started to warble like it's battery is dying. How long do these things last? I can't see the alarm box surviving the night if this continues!

Dave 500

6,280 posts

241 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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Does it go off often?

If not why haven't you been over? One of them could be in trouble and hit a panic button.

Mastodon2

Original Poster:

13,818 posts

164 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
quotequote all
I've never heard it go off before, but I've stuck my head out of the window to see what is going on. Not sure how the oldies would respond to a random bloke turning up on their doorstep late at night, if they are not injured and just can't hear it. It scarcely seems credible that they could not hear it. Also, I thought those help alarm systems were client based, not annoy apathetic neighbour based.

The Apprentice has so far proven too irresistable to leave the house for, I've just turned the volume up. Doesn't look like anyone else has gone out yet.

I wonder when last a burglar was caught in a residential property in the UK due to someone hearing a burglar alarm.

MX7

7,902 posts

173 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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Mastodon2 said:
I wonder when last a burglar was caught in a residential property in the UK due to someone hearing a burglar alarm.
What about scaring off the burglar?

I've got one near me that goes off too often. I think that's the problem with them, they lose all value if they go off more than a handful of times.

bigandclever

13,741 posts

237 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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Mastodon2 said:
I wonder when last a burglar was caught in a residential property in the UK due to someone hearing a burglar alarm.
Since the world has been populated by babies like you, never smile Get over there and have a look.

Thankyou4calling

10,593 posts

172 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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My house has an alarm fitted, I've never set it. Would my insurance be void if Ihad a burglary?

prand

5,907 posts

195 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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In the meantime the poor old feller has died of an aneurysm because there was something more interesting on tv. Why not be a hero and find out if all is ok? Nothing to lise, surely?

Smells a bit like watching a man beat up his wife, and taking photos instead of helping.

Brother D

3,689 posts

175 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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I'd say they are useful. - I really can't recall the last time I heard one go off without reason (unlike back in the 80's 90's etc)

Plus having one means 3.14 keys will always prefer the house without one.

Secondly, I like keeping an eye on things, and having an alarm that will call your phone if it detects a break-in/fire/CO alarm is useful for those of us that can't quite afford to have someone sitting in an annex watching cctv 24x7.


dfen5

2,397 posts

211 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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prand said:
In the meantime the poor old feller has died of an aneurysm because there was something more interesting on tv. Why not be a hero and find out if all is ok? Nothing to lise, surely?

Smells a bit like watching a man beat up his wife, and taking photos instead of helping.
I saw six blokes beating the ste out of the mother-in-law. Bystander says 'aren't you going to help?' No I replied, 6 should be enough..

My alarm is with ADT. Never had a false alarm in 2 years. Doesn't affect the neighbours, brilliant peace of mind.

djglover

423 posts

216 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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Thankyou4calling said:
My house has an alarm fitted, I've never set it. Would my insurance be void if Ihad a burglary?
Same here, new build house came with one, never set it. I asked the neighbour to keep an eye on the house rather than set it an annoy them at 4:30 am when the wind set it off or some such...

BrettMRC

4,010 posts

159 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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The value of an alarm is dependent on the location of the property and type of support it has.

A prominent alarm is a deterrent in itself, as is properly assessing your property and making a few changes. (Your local policing team will come round if you ask them and make recommendations on securing your property, and what actions to take in making the property less attractive to the more socially challenged)

Personally I would always advocate a monitored alarm service, with an agreed response plan for any given situation. Any alarm installation should also have a few panic buttons installed in the property.

As stated above, if the alarm has no track record of sounding then it's time to take action - if you don't fancy getting involved, dial 999 and give them the info. In all probability the call would take you less than 5mins and you could be doing an elderly neighbour a huge favour.


littlebasher

3,764 posts

170 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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In my last place, the alarm I the house people went off every day without fail for exactly 28 minutes at a time.

After 10 years nobody gave a st about it, so couldn't have cared less I'd they were being broken into or not,

Makes me wish I had an air rifle, so I could have filled the ringer box full of pellets!

Westy Pre-Lit

5,087 posts

202 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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Thankyou4calling said:
My house has an alarm fitted, I've never set it. Would my insurance be void if Ihad a burglary?
Did you declare it to your insurance company ?

What does your policy say you need to do if you have declared it ?


Westy Pre-Lit

5,087 posts

202 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
quotequote all
littlebasher said:
In my last place, the alarm I the house people went off every day without fail for exactly 28 minutes at a time.

After 10 years nobody gave a st about it, so couldn't have cared less I'd they were being broken into or not,
Alarm goes off for 28 minutes every day for 10 years and you said nothing or tried to do anything about it......really ?

Blue Oval84

5,276 posts

160 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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When I was a kid my folks always used to set the alarm, even at night when we went to bed.

Twice it has gone off in the middle of the night and alerted us to burglars in the garage, twice it saved his motorbike that they were after. smile

Following those experiences I'm sort of in the habit of setting the one at my house, in six years I've never had one false and I always have the peace of mind of knowing that my neighbours would check it out as they're very good.

Thankyou4calling

10,593 posts

172 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
quotequote all
Westy Pre-Lit said:
Did you declare it to your insurance company ?

What does your policy say you need to do if you have declared it ?
Thanks, I will check. I've not declared it but there may be a clause.


Edited by Thankyou4calling on Wednesday 3rd July 23:21

Westy Pre-Lit

5,087 posts

202 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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thumbup

joewilliams

2,004 posts

200 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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Least you can do is go over to check everything is ok.

Heathwood

2,517 posts

201 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
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Well, if I were a burglar walking down a typical street looking for possible targets, everything else being equal I'd chose a house without an alarm.

Also, if you have a reliable alarm and it goes off in the middle of the night, at least you are forewarned of a possible intrusion.

However, I wouldn't expect neighbours to come running to my aid in this day and age, which is why my alarm is monitored.

Mastodon2

Original Poster:

13,818 posts

164 months

Wednesday 3rd July 2013
quotequote all
Tried ringing the local nick - I'd bet the bobbies down there in a quiet rural town have turned off a few house alarms in their time, no answer at the front desk. Didn't think it was worth ringing 999 or 101 until I'd tried the door. However, I had my concerns about going on my own, I'm not particularly powerfully built, but I'd understand old folks having reservations about opening their front door at half 10 at night.

However, when I noticed her blinds were open I thought something might be amiss, so I went down and got her neighbour, who is an old bloke himself, and knocked on her door. Turns out the old dear was sitting watching the F1 and didn't even realise it was going off, while everyone else was probably bleeding out of their ears. The code was not working consistently, though I did manage briefly to silence it, before she set it off again by going to check another alarm panel in the house. At this point, I considered shutting it up and gaffer taping the sensors so she couldn't set it off again, but she phoned her daughter and son-in-law to come round. She was keen to cut the wires, but I suspected there'd be a battery backup that would put the unit into a permanent alarm until the batteries ran out (turns out there was, according to google, so I'm glad we didn't do that). However, after consulting the manual for the thing and looking at a wiring diagram, we did manage to disconnect the mains and hopefully quiet the beast forever. Turns out she had set it off 10 years ago and couldn't stop it, so never bothered setting it, and it was alarming tonight due to a fault or a battery on it's way out.

While I agree that monitoring client based alarms, or alarms which alert you by phone immediately, rather than wailing on in the street. The Apprentice was also really good, I'll be catching up on the last 20 minutes shortly.

45 minute job, was offered a chocolate cake but politely declined. The pays not that bad being an on-call alarm deactivator I suppose.