On Edge - House Burglarized

[dsabot]

I have an Elk M1 Gold system.  Of course I didn't have the system armed and left to run an errand and came home to a burglarized house.  Yeah they stole a bunch of stuff.  Yeah the police will never catch them.  Yeah I am a total idiot.
 
So lesson learned.  I've been arming my system on a religious basis now and have been doing an audit to ensure all areas are covered, etc.  
 
So two nights ago the alarm goes off at 3:45am and scares the living heck out of the wife and me.  I'm thinking the crooks are back and it is go time.
 
As I am typing in my code on the keypad the phone rings and central tells me that it is a window violated.
 
After I turn the alarm off I remembered I was futzing with the window sensor earlier in the day and apparently the adhesive came undone and the sensor fell off the window, triggering an alarm.
 
So I guess my question is this.  All windows and glass breaks are set for instant alarm, obviously doors are on a delay.  Does it make sense to make the windows and glass breaks on a delay as well so IF a sensor fails I won't jump out of bed with a heart attack, because these things only happen when you are asleep.

 

[JonW]

Properly installed, GB's and window sensors shouldn't fail.  I wouldn't change the programming "just in case".
 
I would however be keeping my loaded firearm in close proximity.... as I already do.  h34r:
 
Also, sorry to hear of the break in.  It definitely leaves you with that violated feeling.

 

[dsabot]

Properly installed, GB's and window sensors shouldn't fail.  I wouldn't change the programming "just in case".
 
I would however be keeping my loaded firearm in close proximity.... as I already do.  h34r:
 
Also, sorry to hear of the break in.  It definitely leaves you with that violated feeling.

 
I've got a curious 4 year old boy and 3 year old boy.  Last thing I want is a handgun.  Actually, the last thing my wife would let me get is a hand gun.

 

[JonW]

Of course, the kids safety is always top priority.  Just remember though, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

 

[bucko]

You said your contact fell off? Nobody should be using the adhesive stuck on a contact to mount it. Use silicon sealer and that problem is solved.

As for the false alarm, bottom line the M1 did it's job perfectly. If you arm your system in stay node, you instead SHOULD be using night mode instead, so that even your doors are instant (no entry delay). Nothing should be delayed at night!

Finally, you should have an emergency plan set up for when you have an alarm event. Then family will know what to do and not be so scared or confused. Just having a security system is only half the battle. Otherwise no need to use one anyway.

 

[pete_c]

+1 Bucko
 
Sorry to hear about your break in David.
 
When my children were young I recall using text to speech for the security panel.  I asked them to name the voice as it was protecting them and they did.  (did also install optical beam driveway sensors and had CCTV outside at the time).

 

[mikefamig]

I have an Elk M1 Gold system.  Of course I didn't have the system armed and left to run an errand and came home to a burglarized house.

 
Sorry to hear about your burglary and it's a good idea to think about preparing for the next time if there is one. The only advise that I have is to attach your contacts with screws, not tape.
 
With all of the talk about building and fixing security systems here there's very little talk about what to do when you do have a break-in when you're home. I don't have a plan but would love to hear some thoughts. I have been thinking of buying the brightest LED light that I can get my hands on and I have a taser and keep pepper spray around but don't keep a gun loaded. I'm pretty sure that law enforcement will tell you to get out of the house if possible and let them have your stuff but That's a little hard to swallow.
 
So what do you do when your alarm wakes you up in the night?
 
Mike.

 

[dsabot]

I personally don't trust myself with a gun in the house.  
 
What I was thinking of doing is linking my ELK to my HomeSeer.  When there is an alarm event have all the Z-Wave lights in the house come on 100%.
 
Then I was thinking of having an audio recording play through the house audio system saying something like, "This is central dispatch, we have received an alarm.  Police have been alerted and are en-route. We are recording all cameras and will stay on the line until police arrive." 

 

[pete_c]

What I was thinking of doing is linking my ELK to my HomeSeer.  When there is an alarm event have all the Z-Wave lights in the house come on 100%.

 
Or you can just control you Z-Wave lights from the Elk M1 and have Homeseer manage them via the Elk - Homeseer plugin.
 
Sight and sound works just fine. 
 
Here my Leviton HAI OPII talks to X10, UPB and Z-Wave.  Homeseer talks to X10, Insteon, Z-Wave and UPB.  The OPII panel talks to Homeseer and vice versa.
 
Relating to flashlights; the original Cree 1 watt LEDs I played with were literally blinding.  That said for a bit Walmart sold HID / Xenon gas flashlights that folks were purchasing and converting to HID for automobile lamps (DIYing them).  Halogen is still popular.

 

[mikefamig]

I agree with scaring the burglar away as a first choice as opposed to confronting them and I do have UPB lighting that lights on an alarm. My garage lights up nine flood lights (three in each bay) and two staircase bulbs. I also thought of rolling the three bay doors open once the lights are on to expose the thieves to me up at the house and the rest of the world. I figure what the heck they are already inside at that point and standing in a lit garage with all bay doors open has to make them feel exposed. After a minute or so I would lock up again.  I haven't installed UPB switches in the house yet but plan to.
 
pete_c - I prefer the led bulbs to xenon because I think that they are tougher and can take more bumping around in a handheld light and use less power for longer battery life.. Maybe cooler too.
 
Mike.

 

[video321]

I truly am sorry about your break-in. The trauma to my family is my biggest fear - the rest I have insurance for.
 
Yes, you really should have a plan for when the alarm goes off. Where does everyone go, or stay, and what is the next stage if someone is still in the house. I know you don't like guns and I completely understand that - I would NEVER tell someone who isn't comfortable with one to have one. Though, neither was my wife at first, especially since we have kids, but now she would never want to be without one. There is no reason to go off looking for trouble, but if trouble finds you at least you have a fighting chance. My defense pistol is always locked away with a security code and the magazine isn't even in it. Worst case - the kids figure out the code, they would still have to know how to put in the magazine and also to know to rack the slide (which I doubt my boy is even strong enough to do).
 
I see it mentioned to have the lights turn on in the event of a burglary - that is a great idea! In fact, I have every light in my home turn on in the case of any type of alarm condition - think fire too. That also provides me with "target recognition" for those moments that I'd rather not think about.
 
I also use "screamers" for when my alarm is armed away. 118 dB sure helps to drive people out of the house!
 
Again, I hate hearing about these cases, but at least no one was injured - at least physically.
Best of luck in the future.

 

[mikefamig]

My problem with screamers is that I don't want them screamin when I'm near them. Maybe I need to get a set of earplugs.
 
Mike.

 

[pete_c]

Curious David if there have been reported break ins in your neighborhood or do you think you your home was targeted for a reason?
 
 
@Mike; you can utilize screamers for armed away and just piezo's for night time triggers.

 

[ano]

Doesn't the M1 Gold have a "dial out delay?" The OMNI Pro II does.  You can have your doors and windows so the siren goes off instantly, BUT the police are not called for 10 or 15 seconds.  15 seconds is plenty of time for you to deactivate the alarm if you need to, yet the siren would scare anyone away.  If course, the trick might be to tell if the alarm was real or not. In some cases its probably better to let the police come and investigate it. 
 
Your panel likely has many other false-alarm preventing features as well, like swinger-shutdown, and cross-zoning. Understand how these work and use them where appropriate. False alarms should be a very rare event. 

 

[JonW]

What I was thinking of doing is linking my ELK to my HomeSeer.  When there is an alarm event have all the Z-Wave lights in the house come on 100%.

 
This is probably the single best thing you can do.  Thieves like to work under the cover of darkness.  If you expose them (hopefully at the perimeter), they will likely flee. All lights on inside & outside, some flashing police notifiers outside and an alarm siren will usually drive them away. This is my primary method - firearms are just the backup!