Security Cameras Systems

I’m home from college for the summer. Today I got up to bring the dogs in and let them out ten minutes later because they couldn’t make up their minds. i went back upstairs and tried to fall back asleep when i realized there were two people in the house i didn’t know and i was home alone. i heard a distant voice ask “did you find anything yet” and a voice RIGHT OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM DOOR reply “no. there’s a bunch of junk up here” (our house has been cluttered pretty heavily since we went through major remodeling) and i realized they were thieves. i pulled the covers up and pretended to be asleep because i thought if they discovered someone was home, they’d be less likely to shoot a sleeping person. a minute later i heard someone ope my bedroom door, gasp, then run down the stairs.

i was so scared i waited until i didn’t hear any noise, called mom’s cell, then called 911 and locked the door because I didn’t hear the door slamming. the 911 operator was pretty snarky and asked me if maybe i just heard the television and didn’t seem to understand why i wouldn’t leave my bedroom, but he sent a cop. apparently the thieves either did;t see anything they liked or were looking for something specific, because they didn’t take anything. the only door i locked was the one i’d let the dogs out with less than ten minutes ago. i didn’t think the lock would’ve been a deterrent, tho, since it’s a french door.

this is the third time we’ve been robbed in this house, but it’s the first time someone’s actually entered our home, and in broad daylight. our generator was stolen from our garage a year ago while we were home, and someone broke into our elderly neighbors house to steal his passport.

so my question is, should i get a security system? my brother’s twelve, and he could just have easily been in this situation. we leave him alone during school breaks all the time. our house is in the lowest crime rate area of town. there’s an old neighbor who’s home all day and one of other neighbors has actually prevented someone from stealing our car. there’s neighborhood watch signs all over our street. but i don’t think our neighbors would have thought these people were thieves because they sounded like the rednecky people who work on power lines near our neighborhood, or do pest control, or clean houses on our street.

i want my parents to get a security system so my brother can be safe when they leave him alone, but they’re hesitant to have security cameras watch us all the time. they also had a security system in another house, but it went off all the time for no reason, except maybe the wind was blowing too hard.

so my question is, is it worth having a security system? and if so, what should i get that won’t be too sensitive or be a vast invasion of my family’s privacy? Sorry my question’s so long, but i wanted to provide some background to our robbery risk.

I recently had new windows put up in my home and all sensors are working fine except one. I actually relocated it to a different part of the house since one of the windows is just a fixed non opening window. How can I reset this sensor? The problem is causing me to leave the alarm unarmed everyday for about 2 weeks now. It is a Digital Security Controls sensor, which is a company owned by Tyco, which owns ADT. I am thinking about calling ADT for maintenance but that means atleast 115 US$. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Do you think they would be an effective line of defense for my apartment that is on the slightly rougher side of town?

I have a sliding glass door downstairs with an easily accessible patio facing the street.

Any tips for intruder prevention here would be helpful but mainly regarding hardware and these wireless systems.

Thank you!!!!!

i have no choice but to live in a town that has alot of robbery and vandalism , i thought bout locking all the gates with a pad lock at night, buying security cameras, and we have two dogs that are very protective, but we seem to get robbed by people i know my dogs never attack someone once i let them know its okay for them to be in the house so therefor if my dogs are home and im not home and they come to the house my dogs wont attack, what are the best places to buy security cameras , isnt there something i can buy to put on all the windows and doors that causes it to alarm once opened , im not talking bout an alarm system dont have enough money for that but more like sensors or something
when i say people i know im referring to friends and acquantences i know someone is backstabbing me but i cant figure out who and i cant go around accusing now can i

For discouraging intruders what have you found to be the best method/device? My ideas so far have been a motion sensor alarm system, an iron gate, a dog (?), a security camera and/or notices or stickers. What do you think is best?

Mine beeps continuously and it stops when I press any key on the key pad, but it beeps again like every 4 hours!! I had service with ADT for three years and a year ago I canceled it. I’ve been using the system and it barely started to do this about a month ago. It only displays a “Batt” next to “chime” w/no number next to it. I’ve checked the system battery and it’s fully charged, so are the wireless sensor batteries. Please help me, I hate waking up to turn it off!!! Thanks for any help!!
7 seconds ago - 3 days left to answer.

are there any pros and cons? anyone familiar with the wireless alarms? Costs?

This is a system that’s much cheaper in price than some do it yourself sytems. Looks like a lot of them have sold on Ebay. Does anyone know if the system actually works? How well with dogs running around the house?

My contract for the ADT home wireless system is ending soon thankfully. Their product works fine but their customer service is horrible and there’s no alarm response unless you pay hundreds extra. I’ve already called ADT Burnaby telling them not to renew.
IS THERE SOMETHING MORE I SHOULD DO to ensure ADT doesn’t send me another $460 bill for another year of monitoring?
ALSO and more importantly, I signed this contract after confirming that I would be able to buy this system once the contract expired or before. In small print, the contract says ADT retains ownership but last year I got a price of $599 (they told me to pay for it next year and the price will be lower) and this year, the employees are confused. They won’t answer the price question. They transfer me to faraway ADT centers that can’t help. I’m currently waiting for a call from the Escalation Desk. ???
HAS ANYONE BEEN IN THIS SITUATION BEFORE OR HAVE ADVICE? I don’t want the system removed from my walls.

Are wireless home security systems safe? Info from the Brickhouse Security say “Wireless Home Security Systems are fully wireless and have built-in power supplies; even if the phone, power and Internet connections are down, your Wireless Home Security System will continue to monitor and protect your property. This feature will come in handy if an intruder cuts the power and phone lines, or there is a blackout and burglars are on the prowl.” Does this mean that the system has its own cell-phone built-in or uses a satellite so it could notify the PD and if so doesn’t a burglar need nothing but a signal disrupter? No I’m not a burglar, just curious in how it works and how safe it really is. We all know if you have an alarm set to the phone-line someone can cut the lines, if you have digital phone someone can just turn the power off your house, or do both. So can a disrupter knock out the system signals? The real question is, “How safe are any Home Security Systems?”