Preventing False Alarms on Your Home Security System

False alarms from your home security system are annoying, nerve-wracking, and expensive if your home security company charges for them. Read on to learn a few ways to avoid them.

False Advertising: The Accidental Alarm

The vast majority of calls that police departments receive from home security alarm companies are the result of false alarms. Even medium-sized cities receive thousands of such calls every year. When you add up the costs of false alarms to the homeowner, the home security company, the police department, and the taxpayer, the figure is staggering.

There is also the danger that false home security alarms can result in police carelessness when investigating reports (the "boy who cried wolf" effect). In addition, police officers that are tied up checking into false alarms are not available to patrol and cannot respond as fast to more pressing calls.

How Can You Prevent False Alarms?

• Be sure your home security company does the installation properly.
• Make sure your whole family knows the override codes for your home security system.
• Keep the number for your home security company handy so that you can call them quickly in case of a false alarm.
• Notify your home security company when doing any home repair or maintenance that might cause a false alarm.
• Call your home security company if you adopt any new pets.
• Schedule regular maintenance of your system to ensure everything is working properly.
• If you do have pets, be sure to secure them in areas that are not motion-sensored.

By following these few steps, you can save yourself and everyone else a good deal of expense and worry.