Concealed or open yard sign

[Harold]

Had an alarm system installed today at my home. Installer sticks one of those protected by yard signs in plant bed next to front door. Later he hands me pile of stickers I can put on the windows if I like. All this gets me to thinking do I really want all that? Sort of the open vs. Concealed carry debate. In this case do I want advertise with stickers and yard signs "hey I have an alarm so go away" or is it better to not tell and let them find out hard way I have an alarm? What your thoughts? For the that have alarms what did you do? Any LEO's have insight as well?

[56FordGuy]

My .02: put up the stickers. The only thing your alarm is going to do in the event of a break in is call the cops to make the report. Think about it. It takes what, 30-40 seconds for the alarm to stop waiting on the code to be entered, then the alarm company calls you to make sure you didn't trip it accidentally, then they contact authorities. By that time, it's probably been 3-5 minutes since the original break in. Add in the police response time (depending on where you live), and you could be anywhere from 5 minutes up to 15 or 20. Most 'smash and grab' thieves will be long gone by then. Then again, putting up the stickers/ signs just tells the robber "Hey, cut the phone line" before they smash the window. I'm a big fan of wireless systems for that reason.

[eapking]

I've heard of folks putting up signs who didn't even have systems.

[Guest jackdm3]

It'll be YOUR windows you'll replace with no assistance from the ins. company.

And cutting the phone line when it's armed sets off the alarm at mi casa.

[Guest jackdm3]

And my wife keeps posting her decently-shot man-targets on the back door?

[vontar]

I've heard of folks putting up signs who didn't even have systems.

I know several people that believe in this.

Free advertising for the alarm company plus a deterrent.

It'll be YOUR windows you'll replace with no assistance from the ins. company.

And cutting the phone line when it's armed sets off the alarm at mi casa.

Some alarms now use Cell signals to report problems to prevent them from being disabled by disconnecting phone lines. I found this out as my home has no connected phone line.

Edited August 13, 2010 by vontar

[jcj]

At the end of the day, the alarm system itself is nothing more than a deterrent. Yes, the monitoring central station will notify authorities, but nothing will happen in time to stop a determined intruder. The signs and stickers add to the deterring effect. The 100db siren blaring at 2am won't encourage them either.

Modern options for central station communication include Internet and cellular although the standard phone line connection is still the most widely used.

Don't forget to send your security system certificate to your home owners insurance company. Most give a 20% discount for having a monitored system.

[kb4ns]

My .02: put up the stickers. The only thing your alarm is going to do in the event of a break in is call the cops to make the report. Think about it. It takes what, 30-40 seconds for the alarm to stop waiting on the code to be entered, then the alarm company calls you to make sure you didn't trip it accidentally, then they contact authorities. By that time, it's probably been 3-5 minutes since the original break in. Add in the police response time (depending on where you live), and you could be anywhere from 5 minutes up to 15 or 20. Most 'smash and grab' thieves will be long gone by then. Then again, putting up the stickers/ signs just tells the robber "Hey, cut the phone line" before they smash the window. I'm a big fan of wireless systems for that reason.

This.

The sign/stickers might deter thieves. Can't hurt much. In Memphis, it can easily be 30 minutes or more before the police arrive on a residential alarm. Not much point in an alarm here except for the noise it makes and hoping that it'll scare off an intruder or alert the neighbors. I still have a system in my house, but I don't understand why I'd want to pay $20+ each month for monitoring. Even in the suburbs where we have 2 to 3 minute response times, it didn't take me long to realize that the time between the alarm going off and the patrol cars getting the call was usually close to 10 minutes.

[safeandsecure]

I put the signs up. Probably won't deter "professional" thieves, but it would seem to deter the "crimes of convenience" type thieves. If you have a security system, and your neighbor does not, it would seem that they might target the unprotected property instead of your place.

And the others are correct about the siren and the cellular. My system is programmed to sound the horn if the phone wire is cut, and I have a cellular backup, along with some cameras that are recorded off-site. The cameras won't keep them from breaking in, but they provide a pretty good view of "who-done-it." I've got them that cover the front, sides, and back of the property, with a really good view of the driveway and street. Hope that vehicle info, along with some good facial shots, will help catch and put the bad guys behind bars.

Just my two cents.

[Erik88]

My dad worked for ADT for a short time and he was told that studies had shown the signs actually help deter criminals. I'm not sure how they test that but either way I doubt the sign will hurt anything. If it were me I would put up the signs and stickers. JMHO

[dralarms]

well coming from a "professional" the signs and stickers are your first line of defense. Most theives decide to "go somewhere else" than take a chance on getting caught because of a alarm. And yes there have been studies, they talk to theives that are in jail and most of them will tell you the sign gives them pause.

That said, the signs you buy off the web (the generic ones) don't really help, only the ones from a true alarm company, with company name, ETC on the sign.

[DaveTN]

I’m a former cop and for what it’s worth I don’t want any signs and I want the ability to make my alarm “silent†when I am not there. If I’m going to be broken into I want the cops to have a chance to catch them in the house.

(Of course I have a Doberman, so this scenario is not going to happen. )

[Bassoneer]

I think the stickers and the security alarm are fine. I have a security system but no stickers.

Personally, I have a 100-pound Doberman and a 100-pound Husky that make a great "real time" security system. They are good family dogs and very gentle with kids (mine are) but they go Ape-S**t when somebody is outside. I want to be a friend of that Doberman...not somebody breaking into his house. He looks very scarry. But some folks don't like big dogs in the house...B

[mikegideon]

well coming from a "professional" the signs and stickers are your first line of defense. Most theives decide to "go somewhere else" than take a chance on getting caught because of a alarm. And yes there have been studies, they talk to theives that are in jail and most of them will tell you the sign gives them pause.

That said, the signs you buy off the web (the generic ones) don't really help, only the ones from a true alarm company, with company name, ETC on the sign.

It depends though. A guy I work with lives on a culdesac in a good neighborhood. He has a monitored alarm, and the only visible signs. Thug kicks his front door open in the middle of the day, grabs some valuable stuff, and leaves. In that case, the signs said, "valuable stuff inside, you have at least 15 minutes".

[tnhawk]

I had an alarm system for several years but discontinued their service. My dogs seem to do a better job.

[Guest db99wj]

Someone breaks in, the alarm goes off, that is good, don't care if it takes cops 15 minutes to get there. The robber, if the even stay around, will grab something, and take off, without an alarm, they can just camp out and look for stuff. Another scary part is if they are going through our stuff, no alarm, no hurry to get out, what happens if my wife and kids come home. If I'm at home, it doesn't matter how long the cops take to get there again, there are going to be other things going on besides a robbery, and they couldn't get their in time to help me, unless they were already there. Sticker or sign, we are concealed at the moment.

[Punisher84]

I like these...

They have window decals as well. www.readytodefend.com

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

I like these...

They have window decals as well. Ready to Defend

Never seen those, but those are pretty nice... Except the spanish ones are a little off grammatically

[mikegideon]

Never seen those, but those are pretty nice... Except the spanish ones are a little off grammatically

Bet they figure it out anyway :-)

[Guest jackdm3]

My wife says her targets are international language. I can at least agree about that.Gotta love the chicks that are ready to kill.

[vontar]

That said, the signs you buy off the web (the generic ones) don't really help, only the ones from a true alarm company, with company name, ETC on the sign.

I agree with that, You would want a real brand name, current new sign.

Plus, if you had an alarm and sign and still had to shoot someone in your home. Lets say it went to civil court, your defense would be, hell, I had a signs up and an alarm and he still didn't leave.

BTW, I like this one.

Just a bit concerned about advertising the fact this home might have guns available to those that might be smart enough to try to sake it out.

Much like OC verse CC, I don't want to tip them off that my house is armed.

BTW, I have been considering connecting my motion detector in my back yard to a few yard sprinklers.

[BigK]

This will sound like we are paranoid at my house, but we aren't: I have the ADT security signs, the system is hooked up to VOIP (internet phone) instead of land line, 2 big scary sounding dogs, 2-way deadbolts on all doors with glass near by, enough guns to start a small war, plenty of ammo, and everyone in my house is a decent shot. Wow, it does sound paranoid when I list it all out like that.

The alarm was free for one year when we bought the house, so I'll let the monitoring lapse when the contract is due to renew. The rest is just good old fasioned common sense to me.

[vontar]

This will sound like we are paranoid at my house, but we aren't: I have the ADT security signs, the system is hooked up to VOIP (internet phone) instead of land line, 2 big scary sounding dogs, 2-way deadbolts on all doors with glass near by, enough guns to start a small war, plenty of ammo, and everyone in my house is a decent shot. Wow, it does sound paranoid when I list it all out like that.

The alarm was free for one year when we bought the house, so I'll let the monitoring lapse when the contract is due to renew. The rest is just good old fasioned common sense to me.

Does not sound paranoid to me.

I have Dead bolts as well, but you know as well as I do, locks only keep the honest people honest. They won't stop a criminal

Your dogs are just family pets or as we call them here in TN, extended family members. Your vet probably gave them your last name.

Most everyone on this board has a few guns and a couple boxes of ammo for them.

Almost everyone has family time that include time at gun ranges and other places to practice gun safety.

Home alarms are not uncommon.

I personally like alarms that can wake the dead 2 houses away, instead of silent because I want everyone to know if the SHTF. I would rather scare the primal off with an alarm if I am not home then risk him getting away with more stuff waiting on 10 minute plus police call, assuming an alarm company gets it reported in a timely manor.