andreweden wrote:what did you do last time you heard an alarm going off in your neighbourhood? That's right, nothing, you mutter something about "wish they would turn that off", but its not like you called the cops or went to investigate. Alarms are useless. At least cameras are a deterrent when your neighbours don't have them.
This is a really bad advice.
There are two types of 'bad guy'. Opportunistic and determined. The opportunistic will not enter the property if there is a deterrent outside. This could be a sticker, a siren or a camera. Hence the opportunistic, the opportunity is not presenting it self. Although, a baseball cap or a t-shirt over ones face will present an opportunity if there's a camera.
Then there is the determined types. They are split into a few categories. Either way, they will investigate and suss out the property before hand. A camera is easily bypassed with a mask, it is not a security control, it's not even a deterrent. It's sort of a feel good thing, to say you have a photo and maybe cops will know who it is, but by then your stuff is gone for ever.
An alarm or rather a network of well positioned PIR sensors are much harder to bypass. They run off batteries and have backup power, so there is no single point of failure outside of the property. Even if someone doesn't hear the siren or act on it, you should have a back to base monitoring. either SMS to you or to monitoring company. Then, 'hello, 000, I have guns and intruders in my home' will be taken pretty freaking serious. Camera, is more 'I used to have intruders and guns at home', lol.
Of course, then you have the 'determined and persistent'. This is either a home invasion; or someone who knows their way around alarm systems; or safes (to be quick). Cut phone lines, jam mobile signal, etc. All doable, reasonably easy.
An alarm is there to protect you against 90% of stuff, that's the middle layer. The other 10% - last paragraph, there's not much you can do there. Unless! You want to build a prison. You'd have to ask yourself what your s**t is worth vs advanced security system cost vs insurance cost and make a decision, at the end of the day it's material stuff and money, so it's easy to calculate. You'd generally find that you alarm and insurance does pretty well.