Security and Alarm Systems Blog

By using sites like Facebook or Twitter you may be leaving yourself open to burglary due to the personal information you may be sharing. This finding is supported by a report from insurance company Legal & General warns. Anyone who goes on Facebook or Twitter and posts a vacation or even just a dinner, is leaving themselves open to a burglary. This is because they are advertising that their home will be vacant. If a user’s first and last name can be found on a social networking website, then they are susceptible to burglary because of the ease of using the internet to track down the person’s address. Applying a little bit of common sense to what people post, a burglar can estimate the better homes to burglarize. For example, if a person’s tweets always have them going to expensive restaurants, then their home may be a larger target for burglars.

Here are some tips to prevent burglary from a social networking site. First, make all of your accounts private, and only let trusted friends and family have access to your site. If a friend starts behaving erratic, or they betray your trust, do not be afraid to un-invite them from your posts. The most important preventative measure you can take is to have a security system that is well designed, and to use it. There are many security system installation companies that do not install an air tight system, in order to assure the sale or increase their profit. Another great tip is to be careful of what you advertise. For example, do not post that you will be going on a vacation, be out of town for a weekend, etc.

In many communities in San Diego, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside and Temecula a security system can prevent a burglary. These cities are all great places to work and live, and the social networking websites are very popular in these cities.

This year to date, Orange County Sheriff has arrested on 20% of reported crimes, which is an improvement of 5% from 2008. There have been 888 total property crimes across several different categories (burglary, robbery, theft, larceny, motor vehicle theft), and this is about a 6% drop in property crime since last year. So, crime in Orange County has dropped while arresting activity has increased. These statistics are a good sign for the people of Orange County.

Even though these numbers show improvement, however, there is still a large need for protecting your home or business with a security system. Whether you are securing a business in Irvine, preventing theft in Anaheim or getting a security system in Santa Ana, a burglar alarm has been proven to increase the probability of catching your burglar and retrieving your assets.

Property Crime in California Homes and other property went down every year in the 1990’s, but then there was a rise from 2000-05. The most recent data available on California’s crime statistics is from 2007, with the California Department of Justice. There was a total of 681,235 property crimes in 2007 in California, which amounted to a Crime Rate of 1,803. This means that nearly 4% of the population in California was the victim of Burglary, Larceny or Theft. Another half of a percent (0.5%) of Californians were victims of a more severe property crime, such as Robbery or Aggravated Assault. The probability of being murdered in California in 2007 was one sixth of one percent, and the probability of being raped was one quarter of one percent.

The majority of these crimes happen at home. There are many ways to prevent burglary, larceny, theft and robbery. And even rape and murder can be prevented with a security system designed for full protection. Full protection means that your security system has a contact on every door from the outside, and every window is contacted as well. Also, a strategic use of motion detectors and glass break detectors will act as a secondary measure in case the intruder finds a way into the home that does not trip the contacts.

The sad thing is that many people have security systems, and they just don’t use them. The number one reason is that their system has had false alarms so they simply don’t use it anymore. Others never think of the value a security system in California can offer, until it’s too late.

Murder and rape are obviously the worst crimes imaginable, but being burglarized can have a very dramatic effect on someone’s feeling of safety. In a burglary, an intruder breaks into your private residence, touches your things, takes your valuables. The psychological impact of a robbery is sometimes very difficult to overcome. Some long term effects of burglary are a lack of sleep, mistrust, and paranoia.

There are many home security companies in California, so how do you know which one to use? There are three important criteria. First, they must be licensed by the state of California (CSLB) or you are liable for any damage they do to your house during the installation. Second, it is much better to go with a local security company that has a good reputation for installing and servicing your security system. This is important because if the company is too small then they probably ore unlicensed, but if they are a nationwide security installation company then their service will be horrible.

The third important criteria is the old adage that your dad always said, “You get what you pay for.” It is smart to get at least three quotes for a home security system. If one or two of the quotes seem abnormally low, then they are low for a reason. In my opinion it is irresponsible of a company to offer to install a security system that will not fully protect the customer, just for the sake of underbidding the competition. A security system’s function is to protect your family, and does not deserve compromise in any way. The best way to handle the quotes is to look at what you will get for the price they have offered, and do the research on the company. If their BBB rating is bad, or there are bad reviews on www.yelp.com, then you may end up being one of those victims who has a security system but never uses it because it is dysfunctional.

From 2007 to 2008, there was a drop in every criminal category except forcible rape in Los Angeles County (View the PDF Report). Property Crimes saw a drop between 4 and 8%. Stolen property in 2008 amounted to $310 million, and 27% of that was recovered, down a percent from 2007.

There were 38,000 larceny theft cases in 2008, making it the most popular crime by far. Burglary was also very common, there were 16,000 burglaries in Los Angeles County in 2008.

Burglary, Robbery, and Theft can all be prevented with a well-designed security system. We offer installation services for burglar alarms, fire alarms, security cameras, and door access control. All of these electronic security systems can decrease the possibility of theft in your home or business.

For the first time since 2001, a there is a steady increase in the crime index relating to property crimes in San Diego (view graph). There have been over 82,300 total property crimes in San Diego County in 2008, with the highest months being April, September and December. This increase in crime can be attributed to the economic recession. Now, more than ever, is the time to invest in a security system in your San Diego home or office. Even just having a few motion detectors and contacts on doors and windows can help protect your family or business from break-in in san diego county.

There are several types of electronic security available. For example, if your business involves keeping an inventory of anything valuable, then you would gain from a surveillance camera system, or a cctv security system. A cctv security system will allow you to view and record happenings around your office, warehouse or outside surroundings. Often times, just the presence of a cctv security system prevents burglary because the burglar knows they are being watched and they know that it is more likely that they will be captured.

Another great option for a business with valuable inventory or valuable trade secrets is door access control. San Diego is a hot spot for technology and pharmaceutical companies, and protection is very important in these sectors. A door access control system or intercom only allows access to restricted areas to pre-approved people. This system can use a numeric keypad, magnetic swipe card, RFID keyfob, or biometric devices to allow or deny access to vital areas of your business. These systems are very big in the federal government, where national secrets and expensive technology must be guarded. A door access control system in San Diego actually saves money because it drastically reduces the need for security guards.

Preventing burglary can be as simple as locking your doors and windows, yet 14% don’t have window locks and 18% of people don’t even have proper door locks.Homes are frequently targeted by burglars over the summer holidays and households with no security are 10 times more likely to be burgled than those with only simple (or no) security measures. Progressive Technology has a wealth of home San Diego home security products to help deter burglars from entering and burglarizing your home.

On Monday an article came out about security cameras in China. China’s police say they have installed 2.75 million surveillance cameras since 2003 and plan to expand the system into the countryside, which is home to about 800 million of the country’s 1.3 billion people.

The cameras are the most visible components of police surveillance, mainly in urban areas, according to a news release posted Monday on the Chinese Public Security Ministry’s Web site.

These camera security systems have proved controversial in other countries, like Britain, which reportedly has 4.2 million surveillance cameras installed – which is about one per 14 people. The ratio of cameras to people stands at only one to 472,000. The camera-to-person ratio is believed to be much higher in China’s cities, with the capital Beijing having 265,000 cameras.

No dialog or privacy rights has arisen in China, where tight communist political control and broad and intrusive police powers have been the norm for half a century. However, China’s plans to combine surveillance cameras with face recognition software has raised concerns about how the equipment will be used.

The Associated Press reported “Thefts, burglaries and purse snatching have all more than doubled since the 1990s amid rising wealth inequalities and relaxed social controls, with about 4.75 million cases reported in 2007, the last year for which statistics were available. However, police say violent crime has declined in recent years with better enforcement of rules governing weapons and explosives.” The Chinese police believe that the expansion of camera security to the countryside should “put the safety of the broad masses of the people first and foremost.”

California must reduce its prisoner population by around 40,000 inmates over the next two years, a panel of federal judges ruled on Tuesday. Earlier this year the same panel issued a preliminary ruling that California’s prisons are so overcrowded that they offer unconstitutionally poor levels of medical and mental healthcare for inmates. The preliminary ruling had mandated that the state reduce its prisoner population. The state made further arguments and tried to demonstrate that it was making a good-faith effort to improve prison conditions, and the ruling hadn’t been enforced.

California’s prisoner population has gone from around 30,000 in the late 1970s to around 170,000 today. These numbers grew because of laws like Three Strikes and You’re Out, mandatory minimum sentences for categories of drug offenders and a stringent parole system. Generally, over the last 15 years, the crime rate has dropped.

It is difficult to say if there will be a backlash from these released prisoners, but common sense say that drug dealing, violence, burglary, theft and even murder rates will increase. It is likely that California cities with large populations, such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino will all see a rise in the crime rate because a majority of the prisoners will be released into their populations. However, it is also possible that small suburban cities such as Irvine, Anaheim and Santa Ana will be effected by the prison releases also.

The Los Angeles times wrote “The order cited Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s own words when he proclaimed a state of emergency in the corrections system in 2006 and warned of substantial risk to prison staff, inmates and the general public, saying ‘immediate action is necessary to prevent death and harm.’”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the judges believed “by changing parole practices and releasing some low-risk inmates to local custody, treatment programs or electronic monitoring, the prison population can be reduced ‘without a meaningful adverse impact on public safety,’”

PDF of Court Order

U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow told fellow judges Saturday that she believes that a home security system could have helped prevent the murder of her Mother and Husband two years ago.

A Chicago Judge’s Mother and Husband were shot by angry litigant, and she has become an advocate for judges having home security systems installed. “We just didn’t do it,” she said. She said judges must make up their minds that “for the sake of my family, for the sake of myself, I just have to do it.”

The overall lesson of this story is how important a home security system can be. Generally, the larger your house the more expensive the security system, but it is still a measure that can prevent a lifetime of regret. Judges, who have taken great monetary sacrifices, are entitled to federally funded protection because they are in harms way by the nature of their job. I just hope that the other 30% take Lefkow’s advice and get a home security system really soon.

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Just having an alarm system may reduce your chance of a break-in, according to recent studies.
With the economy still faltering, police expect to see more home burglaries. And alarm companies report plenty of customers.

“Our business numbers are up,” said Mark Thompson, of Smith-Thompson Security. “There’s a certain sense of urgency.”

Two recent studies show alarm systems do more than just alert authorities.

“We used to joke about the yard sign being out front as being deterrent,” Thompson said. “We do believe, at this point, it very well may be.”

Neighborhoods with an increase in alarm systems also saw a reduction in crime, according to a study at Rutgers University.

A different student at Temple University found that alarms reduce the chance of a break-in by two-thirds.

“If you’re going to get an alarm, put the stickers in the window, put the sign in the yard where it can actually be seen from the street,” said Todd Dearing, of Grapevine police.

The Trimmier family said their security system buys them an extra peace of mind.

“With the economy how it is, we decided we probably need to go ahead and activate the alarm system we’ve had for six years and start getting it monitored,” homeowner Janelle Trimmier said.
The systems are also becoming more popular because they’re now more affordable. An average system can be installed for between $300 and $1,000.

In addition, thanks to wireless technology, alarm systems no longer require wires to be run through a home.
republished from NBC Story on July 22, 2009