Eric Chorley, MD of GuardHome, in interview explaining what’s so bad about being burgled based on what he has seen.
Having a professionally fitted Burglar alarms can greatly reduce your chances of being burgled as Eric explains.
I spend most of my time when I am out and about looking up at the eaves of the properties that I pass. No, it is not because I have a neck muscle infliction, it is because that is where most intruder alarm sirens are installed. It is a concern to me that I am seeing so many bell-boxes that do not have a logo printed on them, they are blank.
What does this tell me? The chances are that this installation was carried out by some amateur installer or possibly an electrical contractor, installing alarms on the side. They may not be familiar with the equipment and certainly will not be familiar with the regulations concerning burglar alarms ie by law all burglar alarms must switch the sirens off within 15 minutes, failure to do so may result in prosecution. Maybe this installer does not want to be identified, so when a problem arises they are not worried about the adverse publicity or the problems it might cause the owner, because they are nowhere to be found. Furthermore, how do you know that the installer of this alarm is not a criminal? They now know the layout of your home and how YOUR alarm system works!!
Insurance companies do not recognise alarm systems that are not professionally installed and maintained and certainly the police will not entertain providing a police response for anyone other than those with systems installed by certified alarm companies. Formally accredited alarm companies must also ensure that all members of staff employed by the company and who might have access to sensitive information are security checked to BS7858.
A professional alarm company will always put a logo on their external sirens because it sends out a clear message.
To the public – we are proud and confident in the installation and we are prepared to put our name on it, because in the event of a problem we can be contacted and will remedy the problem.
To a burglar this is a professionally installed system and is properly maintained, I suggest you look elsewhere for your ill-gotten gains.
So when you are shopping around for security and are tempted by a cheap system without a logo on the box, think about why that box might be blank.
Not surprisingly the answer is not Brent Cross, Bluewater or the local high street, they target you and I, members of the public.
Let me tell you about someone who lived quite close to me who were really delighted to have shopped early and bought the “must have” gifts of the year for their two children. They had carefully wrapped them up and put them under the tree with all of the other presents, in preparation for the delight, fun and laughter of the big day. A few days before Christmas Eve they went out as a family to celebrate the festive season and relax, knowing that all the stress and hassle of Christmas shopping was over for the year.
Sadly, this was before they became a client of mine, because when they returned the parents discovered that the house had been broken into and that all of the presents had been stolen. They managed to hide this from the children to avoid unnecessary distress, but were then faced with the problem of trying to obtain replacement gifts. Of course all of the “must have” presents were sold out, so it was a case of damage limitation and disappointment for the children. Of course soon after this event they contacted GuardHome and we installed a wireless security system for them and now every time they leave the property or retire for the night, even on Christmas Eve, with a simple press of a button they know that their home is secure.
A burglar does not show remorse or pity, they do not care about your children and are ruthless in their pursuit of your property and possessions.
So remember this variation on a famous Christmas Carol.
We three thieves from the East End we are
To steal your gifts, we travel quite far
Gifts large and small, we’ll ave them all
We might even nick your car!
We recently suffered a widespread power cut in the Old Harlow area. The power was off for no more than about twenty minutes and it was during daylight hours, but in that time it still caused some inconvenience to local residents. Fortunately I had already made my cup of tea, but I still needed to change the electronic clocks that were flashing at me when the power was restored.
However, there is a more serious and very irritating side effect to power cuts and that is the chorus of alarm bells that start to ring when the mains power is lost. The old fashioned bell has been mostly replaced by electronic sirens, but we still tend to call them bells, and the problem can also afflict these modern counterparts. The problem occurs where alarm systems are incorrectly installed by uncertified installers or inadequately maintained and no matter what you do at the operating panel you cannot turn the bells off, sometimes even after the mains power is restored. For professionally installed and maintained systems we are legally required to prevent bells ringing continuously for more than 15 minutes.
In the event that alarm bells ring continuously for greater than this period, your local council, under their environmental health and noise nuisance obligations, have the power to serve a legal notice to the owner or forcibly enter a property to have the bells silenced. Fortunately, this is usually achieved from the outside using the services of local alarm companies like mine to “kill” the bells. The cost of this action can be quite high, especially if it occurs during unsociable hours and the council will recover the costs from the property owner. The following web link provides further guidance from Harlow council on nuisance burglar alarms.
When considering buying or replacing a burglar alarm, use a company that is accredited with the NSI or SSAIB. Then your alarm system will be installed and maintained professionally and fully compliant with all of the regulations and you will not be one of those undesirable bell ringers.
This is a question I am often asked by prospective clients, and the simple answer is no! However I am never one to give an answer unless I can explain why, so here is my explanation.
Like all radio transmitters, a wireless alarm system occupies a small part of what is called the radio spectrum and for professional alarm equipment this is in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band at almost 869 MegaHertz (MHz). Each piece of equipment has to transmit within clearly defined limits to prevent interference with other equipment that occupy adjacent channels. This is called Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) and all certified equipment has to pass stringent tests to demonstrate compliance with this criteria.
Think of it a bit like Olympic swimmers in an eight lane Olympic swimming pool. Each of the swimmers has a lane allocated to swim in and being professional swimmers they know that creating excessive waves and general water disturbance is a waste of energy and will result in a slower speed through the water. So whilst they do create some disturbance as they travel through the water, it is not enough to interfere with their fellow swimmers. If an inexperienced swimmer was occupying one of the central lanes, it is quite likely they would not only disturb more water, with their thrashing around, but they would also wander across their lane venturing into the adjacent lanes and thus upsetting the rhythm and therefore the performance of their fellow swimmers.
Of course as wireless routers occupy a totally different part of the radio spectrum 2.4 Giga Hertz (GHz) our 869 MHz wireless alarm “swimmers” are almost swimming in a totally different pool!
