What would you do if your neighbours burglar alarm was going off? Would you go and investigate or ignore it and hope it stops making that awful sound any time soon? I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day who left for work about 8:30am and in a rush, they activated the house alarm incorrectly. They returned home at around 5:30pm to realise the house alarm had been going off every 20 minutes all day and not one neighbour came around to check if everything was ok.
Whilst some people may be surprised at this, it is actually becoming more of an occurrence in today’s society. However, domestic burglary is on the increase and rising at an alarming rate. Figures from the Metropolitan Police show a 21% rise year on year for burglaries and theft.
If you are worried about your neighbours not responding to your house alarm, it doesn’t make them ineffective. Having an alarm system in place if often enough of a deterrent for a burglar as they will rather not take the risk and therefore target a property elsewhere without an alarm. Also, if an alarm goes off, sometimes this is enough to scare the burglar away. However, alarm systems are now becoming a lot more sophisticated and many are linked up to a telephone system that can alert you, your friends, family and even the police when it sounds. This eliminates the need to even rely on any of your neighbours.
In addition to burglar alarms, many households are now installing CCTV or security cameras that will pick up on any motion, as and when someone approaches the house. These systems are becoming a lot more popular and as the demand increases, more technologies and products are being introduced into the market, and at competitive rates. Another friend of mine uses an indoor camera to keep an eye of their dog’s movements when they are out of the house, but the system will also work just as well if an intruder broke into their home.
However, if you do hear your neighbours house alarm going off, rather than ignore it, here are a few actions you should take:
Observe
Have a look at your neighbour’s property from a distance to see if you can observe anything untoward. Try to contact your neighbour to let them know what’s going on and if the alarm still sounds keep an eye on the property.
Do not confront anyone
If you do see someone at the property, who you do not recognise, do not confront them. If they are acting suspicious or have broken into the house, alert the police.
Contact the owner
Do you actually have the telephone numbers of your neighbours? Even if there seems to be no suspicious activity, you should let your neighbour know as soon as possible that their alarm is going off. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Report it
If you are ever in doubt or feel there is suspicious activity going on at your neighbours home then report the incident to the police. The sooner you report it, the more likelihood the burglar will get caught and your neighbours valuables and belongings can be returned.
If you are based in East Kent and would like to discuss your options or would like a security system installed for your home or business premises, please contact us today on 01843 290107.
