People buy motion detectors, and then arm the system when going out, and leave their pets in motion inside the house. McDonald’s hangs hamburger ads from the ceilings, and the heaters spin them in front of the motion detectors. One place I worked, the hot air swirling out of the furnace in an empty office was enough to trip the detectors repeatedly. Another place I worked, the glass-break sensors tripped repeatedly when certain tractor-trailers on the State highway out front applied their brakes and vibrated the plate-glass windows.

I’d guess much more than 9 out of 10 break-in alarms reported to police are false alarms due to system problems.

The alarm company takes your money, and if an alarm comes in, they just call the police. The police do all the work. They are probably fed up enough about all the false alarms taking them away from dealing with real crime. Then add to the frustration homeowners who won’t return from a night on the town to check the house with them, and business managers who won’t come in at 3 AM to assist police with a sweep of the store.

Someone driving 70 in a 55 mph zone may be taken as a more serious crime, especially if this is the 10th time they are advised your alarm is going off. After about 25 false alarms, the undersheriff or sergeant knocks on your door and advises you no one is coming to your alarms any more.

OK, you still want an alarm. Get a service with a RADIO link to the alarm company. Thieves know most alarms go in by telephone and TV cable, so they just cut the wires at the lightning protectors outside before they smash a window. This also keeps you from dialing 911 if you happen to be inside. The only people who would know how to defeat a radio alarm are the people inside the alarm company.

Another thing: most telephone alarm systems control your phone line. The phone line goes to the alarm box first, and then to all your phones. When the alarm box is sending data to the monitoring service, your wired phones are dead and you can’t dial 911.

If you have a choice between dialing 911 and hitting an alarm panic button, dial 911! You eliminate the procedural delays in reporting the problem, and will be better able to relate the urgency of your predicament than would a bored alarm company operator. The alarm company won’t even give the police your name or contact information, beyond saying “It’s the Renovator residence.”

To assist the police with a more precise address display, use a wired phone to dial 911 before using a cell phone. Either way, even if you can’t talk, 911 operators are trained to listen to get a feel for what’s going on.

My advice is keep a cell phone or Tracphone by your bed (if you have a signal in the house), and use the money you save to buy the pizza. Share some pizza with your neighbors so they watch out for you and vice-versa. Keep your insurance up to date to protect your ‘stuff’ when no one is home.

Alternately, invoke Psalm 127:1. The monitoring is absolutely foolproof.