Hi Ron, 
On 23 Dec'97, at 08:54, in a message to All, you wrote this 
about "Home Security": 
 RT> Recently I've been thinking about 
 RT> installing a home security system. 
 RT> I'm not sure it is justified. 
I think that really depends on your surroundings & the incidence of 
burglaries in your area. 
 RT> I constantly hear police dispatchs for 
 RT> "Signal 90" which is the local 
 RT> code for electronic alarm.  I've yet to 
 RT> hear one that was a result of 
 RT> actual break-in.  Most are from home 
 RT> owner error.  Judging from the tone 
 RT> of voice and response from the officers, 
 RT> it seems that they are less 
 RT> than enthusiastic about responding. 
False alarms can result from a lot of different things like wind, 
thunder, rodents, power outages or variations, among other things. I'm 
not very well versed on home security alarms, but industrial & 
commercial, I've had about 14 years expreience with, and I've seen a 
lot of false alarms, and as a dispatcher, I can tell they're false. 
That's when the owner or manager are contacted instead of the police. 
 RT> Do these systems work?   What do the bad 
 RT> guys think of them?  What type 
 RT> of alarm system is best? 
Yes, they do, but they're subject to the false alarms that I described 
above. As far as what the bad guys think, it depends on exactly what 
type you get. Some alarms are obvious like the metal tape on windows, 
or the contacts on doors and windows. 
As far as the type of system,  I think a zoned type system is best, one 
that uses a variety of sensors (sound discriminators, infared beams, 
motion detectors, etc.) By doing this, it's easier to determine if an 
alarm is real or false. In a zoned system, with an actual intrusion, a 
series of alarms are triggered in a specific order, where you can tell 
exactly where an intruder is at, and the route he went to arrive at the 
location. On the other hand, an alarm triggered deep inside a perimeter 
without disturbing outer alarms would suggest a glitch or rodent, but 
not an intruder or burglar. A door or window alarm without out an inner 
perimeter alarm would suggest that something was left unsecured or the 
wind might be jarring it. If the window alarm was a sound 
discriminator, then that would suggest a tree branch or someone tapping 
or hitting the window. 
I think the system should be connected to a central office instead of 
being connect directly to the police. That way, a trained dispatcher 
could tell if it's a false alarm and contact you instead of the police, 
and you as the owner can give him further instructions or go out and 
check it out yourself. If all alarms are sound at the same time, that 
would indicate a power failure or blown fuse. 
Here in Philadelphia, if a owner has more than three false alarms in a 
30 day period, he is slapped with a hefty fine. This includes fire 
alarms. 
... Life's a disease... enjoy the symptoms!
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