Break-in on Oakview Ave - Wed Night

lanky

Jun 4, 2015 at 8:46am

Our system has an "Arm Away" mode and "Arm Stay" mode, the difference (I think) being the interior motion detectors. Most of our "false" alarms have come when we have opened the door in the morning before deactivating "Arm Stay" - typically we get to the alarm panel or phone app to disarm the screeching sound relatively quickly. A quick call from ADT comes and we tell it was an accident with no penalty.

And hell, the Pulse equipment we bought probably paid for itself last winter with the ability to set thermostat automations and adjust temps remotely.

mrincredible said:
3. What are the pros and cons of the various technologies? It sounds like a simple "door opened after the alarm system is activated at night" alarm would have sufficed. But there's motion detector technology and window sensors that could give a lot of false alarms.

grahamb

Jun 4, 2015 at 8:57am

We bought a unit from www.safemart.com and installed it ourselves. If you can stick stickers, you can install the alarm. The equipment and monitoring were much cheaper than the local options. Very happy with it. The customer service and tech support at Safemart have been fantastic to work with; probably the best of any company I've done business with.

rhw

Jun 4, 2015 at 8:58am

A dog....

krugle1

Jun 4, 2015 at 9:13am

Be careful about alarm company contracts. They can go on forever.

GGartrell

Jun 4, 2015 at 9:17am

krugle1 said:
Be careful about alarm company contracts. They can go on forever.

thats one of the things i like about frontpoint. 12 or 36 months.

lanky

Jun 4, 2015 at 9:21am

I think most contracts are portable to other homes if one moves prior to contract end. Honestly I have no idea how long our contract is, but I know we've had the service for 3 years now.

krugle1 said:
Be careful about alarm company contracts. They can go on forever.

mumstheword

Jun 4, 2015 at 9:22am

grahamb said:
We bought a unit from www.safemart.com and installed it ourselves. If you can stick stickers, you can install the alarm. The equipment and monitoring were much cheaper than the local options. Very happy with it. The customer service and tech support at Safemart have been fantastic to work with; probably the best of any company I've done business with.

GGartrell said:

krugle1 said:
Be careful about alarm company contracts. They can go on forever.
thats one of the things i like about frontpoint. 12 or 36 months.

Are these systems connected via cell, rather than hard-wired (which can be easily cut)?

pmartinezv

Jun 4, 2015 at 9:35am

mumstheword said:

grahamb said:
We bought a unit from www.safemart.com and installed it ourselves. If you can stick stickers, you can install the alarm. The equipment and monitoring were much cheaper than the local options. Very happy with it. The customer service and tech support at Safemart have been fantastic to work with; probably the best of any company I've done business with.
GGartrell said:

krugle1 said:
Be careful about alarm company contracts. They can go on forever.
thats one of the things i like about frontpoint. 12 or 36 months.
Are these systems connected via cell, rather than hard-wired (which can be easily cut)?

You do have that option.

debpod

Jun 4, 2015 at 9:45am Edited

First off, I echo what everyone has said about your incredible composure given the situation you were presented with. Really glad you're all ok and the police are dusting for prints. Can we ask if you have an alarm installed? I'm only curious because I question how much I of a deterrent our signs and alarm actually are.

I also love pulse and find it most helpful when coming home with my kids during the day. The peace of mind that comes with having cameras is worth every penny. I worry most during the day, when the majority of break ins occur. Which reminds me - does anyone have more info about last week's break in on Ridgewood? Resident came home and saw 3 guys run out of her house carrying pillowcases stuffed with her things. Im trying to find out the block to understand how far/close it is.

But back to this incident, please keep us up to date on what happens and I really hope they find the guy.

ETA - our ADTsystem uses cellular backup - no landline needed!

doublehappiness

Jun 4, 2015 at 9:49am

This terrifies me. I'm so glad you and your family are ok.. May I ask how he got in?

ZaneLikesPancakes

Jun 4, 2015 at 10:39am

A few months back friends of ours on Prospect had all four wheels removed from their Toyota overnight in their driveway. A few weeks later, the thieves came back and did the same thing over again. Ballsy.

cats

Jun 4, 2015 at 10:43am

http://safesoundfamily.com/blog/8-burglar-deterrents-to-consider-and-5-to-avoid/

max_weisenfeld

Jun 4, 2015 at 12:19pm

mrincredible said:
Well, nobody asked for it, and it's from a humor website, but if you're thinking about getting an alarm system it's worth exploring the facts: http://www.cracked.com/article_22458_our-mistakes-kill-you-5-lessons-adt-alarm-technician.html
So if you don't want to read the article (which I get) you may want to think about the following:
1. What's the alarm company's policy for notifying the police? How many calls are required before calling MPD?
2. What is the town's false alarm policy (some towns impose fines for too many false alarms)?
3. What are the pros and cons of the various technologies? It sounds like a simple "door opened after the alarm system is activated at night" alarm would have sufficed. But there's motion detector technology and window sensors that could give a lot of false alarms.
We periodically get calls from the company which monitors my in-laws' house when they have to call to check on an alarm. It's usually because of a power outage, and they want to confirm that it's real rather than someone cutting the power to break in.
There is a house in our neighborhood where the house alarm has gone off about five times this year so far, Usually in the middle of the day, and we've never heard about actual attempted break-ins so I assume they are all false alarms. I don't know which house it is so I can't ask (it may not even be on our block).
Just some thoughts about alarm systems.

From our experience:

1. The company should call YOU first. Normally, they ask for a password or other confirmation. No password, wrong password, no answer, call the police.

2. In Maplewood, you get fined for your third within six months, if I recall correctly. With a callback system like the one above, we have never gotten to that point.

3. First, secure the perimeter -- doors, windows. Then movement -- motion detectors or something similar. Breaking glass detectors can be big source of false alarms. We have had problems with spiders on our motions detectors, too. By that I mean the thing goes off about twice a year, for all reasons including the infamous "woke up early and forgot the motion detectors were on downstairs."

As for power outages, most systems have battery backup, and cell phone calling capabilities.

GGartrell

Jun 4, 2015 at 12:24pm

I believe most companies now-a-days try two numbers before they contact the police. Even with all those calls during my last (and only) false alarm SOPD was at my door in under 10 minutes from when the alarm tripped.

lanky

Jun 4, 2015 at 1:18pm

Between this thread and the threads about MMS and CHS, I'm starting to get a little creeped out...

lanky

Jun 4, 2015 at 1:24pm Edited

And suddenly my query from a few days ago seems relevant, ironically not intended for our Maplewood home.

https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/id/117434-Please-recommend-your-outdoor-security-camera-system

seaweed

Jun 4, 2015 at 8:03pm

The story is shocking ... so glad you were not harmed ...

This may sound silly, but I'm into archery and I sleep with a crossbow under my bed just in case someone does break in ... as for alarms, I use safemart and have been very happy with the system and service. I have a series of motion sensors and door/window sensors for all doors and windows and glass break sensors in multiple locations as well. Also have smoke detectors and basement water detectors connected to my alarm panel. For cameras I use Tenvis http://www.amazon.com/TENVIS-JPT3815W-Surveillance-Microphone-monitoring/dp/B006I0KL6Y with footage uploaded to a remote server -- I have these spread around the house and looking outside as well. Yah I'm paranoid about break-ins.... especially after being woken up by a cop at 4 am who was looking for a robber that broke into my neighbor's home...

Starsong

Jun 5, 2015 at 2:09am

Or mosey on down to your nearest shelter and adopt a beautiful loving appreciative soon-to-be big dog, and you will never be afraid! I like to think that if a potential "robber" hears a dog barking he may just go to the next house. Just another layer of security. But then again that applies to the mail carrier, the garbage people, etc.....but well worth the rescue oh oh

kibbegirl

Jun 5, 2015 at 4:36am

I read this yesterday and was totally freaked out! So freaked that I couldn't post. Read it again just now, to my 17 year old, and he was appalled that the perp couldn't be found.

So happy that you were unharmed. So happy that you were able to reason with him and that he left willingly. I wish many encounters ended on such a note.

We too have Metro Alarm and we've been quite happy. Osvaldo is a solid dude.

We've always had dogs and sadly, we lost two (RIP to my babies) but we adopted a fabulous rescue who uses her hound/pit skills to police the house/backyard.

Good luck to you. BTW, what did you say to him?

GGartrell

Jun 5, 2015 at 5:45am Edited

seaweed said:
The story is shocking ... so glad you were not harmed ...
This may sound silly, but I'm into archery and I sleep with a crossbow under my bed just in case someone does break in ... as for alarms, I use safemart and have been very happy with the system and service. I have a series of motion sensors and door/window sensors for all doors and windows and glass break sensors in multiple locations as well. Also have smoke detectors and basement water detectors connected to my alarm panel. For cameras I use Tenvis http://www.amazon.com/TENVIS-JPT3815W-Surveillance-Microphone-monitoring/dp/B006I0KL6Y with footage uploaded to a remote server -- I have these spread around the house and looking outside as well. Yah I'm paranoid about break-ins.... especially after being woken up by a cop at 4 am who was looking for a robber that broke into my neighbor's home...

Discussing this thread with one of my "Gun Grabber" "anti-2A" buddies yesterday and had to begrudgingly admit that he was right (in this case anyway). Even a well trained, responsible, law abiding gun owner may have found himself in a world of legal trouble in a situation like this. Surprised by an unarmed seemingly non aggressive burglar. I would like to think that if this guy had broken into my house and I came upon him in the same manner as the OP that he would have still been able to walk out under his own power (hopefully in the custody of the police). Hard to say though when fear and adrenaline are added to the mix. Kudos to the OP for keeping a cool head and getting out of a bad situation with no one hurt. Only way it could have turned out better is if the cops caught the guy.

Student_Council

Jun 5, 2015 at 8:05am Edited

Wow, scary for sure and I'm glad to hear nobody was physically harmed.

Like a couple others have asked, I'm curious to know what was said in your brief interaction. I'm wondering if the guy seemed on drugs or drunk or something. It's not good either way, but in a way I'd be creeped out more if he seemed coherent and sober, as that would suggest he's a professional and will soon be in someone else's kitchen at 4 am.

deborahg

Jun 5, 2015 at 12:02pm

Wow, what a story. My hat is off to you for remaining so composed.

We have a low-tech alarm system that works pretty well, but goes off at various times when we wish it wouldn't; protects us from squirrels, turkeys and the mailman as well as nocturnal intruders.

tjohn

Jun 5, 2015 at 12:20pm

http://mngboxers.com/home-new/resources-2/182-2/dobieomatic/

kibbegirl

Jun 5, 2015 at 12:50pm

@deborahg - ADORABLE!

Sweetsnuggles

Jun 5, 2015 at 3:38pm

I'd prefer that the burglar is a professional because the probability of an interaction escalating into violence is lower.

FC_

Jun 5, 2015 at 4:26pm

I stopped using the "Arm Stay" function when I set off the alarm five days running by opening the door to get the paper before I actually woke up. But maybe it's time to go back to "Arm Stay".

For me, the scariest thing in this whole thread is seaweed's crossbow under her bed and the mental image of an arrow through the throat of an intruder (or family member who walked in during a bad dream).

I'm glad the OP was able to get through this without anyone getting killed.

Sweetsnuggles

Jun 5, 2015 at 4:43pm

The image of Seaweed's crossbow under his pillow comforted me.

fastpitch73

Jun 5, 2015 at 5:20pm

FC_, you can set your doors on a delay (and choose how many seconds) in the Arm Stay mode, so that it will only go off instantly if it's a window. This may or may not be what you're looking for, but it's an option I became aware of recently and thought I'd share.

TigerLilly

Jun 5, 2015 at 6:46pm

We put our system on Away when we go to sleep. We use a remote key fob to turn it off before going downstairs. I'd likely set off the Stay mode all the time in the a.m.