Intrusion alarms (or burglar alarms) get less respect every year, while flashy video surveillance products garner the bulk of the attention in the security world. Don’t overlook the value of a well-designed intrusion alarm system when building your security plan.
If your business is the unfortunate target of a break in, a properly designed and installed alarm system can minimize the extent of the inflicted damage. Strobes and sirens draw attention, and criminals don’t like attention: a 120-decibel siren and red and blue flashing strobes will make them nervous, to say the least.
The alarm results in an interrupted crime and can limit your losses to only a broken door or window. As a result, you keep your staff and business safe while keeping your insurance costs down. In nearly all cases, a monitored intrusion alarm system qualifies for insurance discounts, which help defray the system cost.
Better yet, you receive immediate notification when an alarm is triggered, and law enforcement is dispatched to the scene. This improves chances of an immediate apprehension and means that you don’t find out about the incident only after arriving at the office the next morning.
Intrusion alarms also add peace of mind and a level of personal safety for your employees in three ways.
- If you have an employee working early in the morning or late at night, outside of business hours, they have the assurance of being in the building alone. The alarm keypad requires a passcode and does not let anyone in without one.
- When working alone, the employee can arm the alarm in “home mode.” This keeps the perimeter zones active while bypassing the motion detectors. Employees can move freely about the facility while the perimeter is secured.
- Panic buttons can be placed anywhere in a facility: at reception desks, in individual offices, at cash registers, and more. In the event of intrusion, an employee can summon help within the building as well as from law enforcement at the push of a button.
A properly designed intrusion alarm system can do much more than intrusion detection. These systems also let you:
- Monitor building temperature and get alerts if frozen pipes are a risk
- Monitor and set temperature alerts in coolers and freezers
- Detect moisture if a pipe bursts, a toilet overflows, a sump pump quits, etc.
- Perform a variety of basic building automation tasks (lock and unlock doors, control lighting, control thermostat settings, and more)
When it comes to intrusions, video evidence is important in telling a story after the fact—but an intrusion alarm can deter criminals before they get into the building. Don’t overlook the unsung hero of the security world!
Contact Jeff at Time Management Systems for expert advice in designing your intrusion alarm system.
