33 replies to this topic

[jill z]

get a dog - barking dogs are a good deterrent*
*no source

I agree whole-heartedly! But then a neighbor will complain and call the police on you. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't!

[scrapper]

Update: After speaking to our neighbors and the Builder's Superintendent we found out we're the 3rd or 4th breakin in this area of ER.

We have a midsize friendly dog. We have small children so no chance we're getting a bigger mean dog. Plus when we're gone we usually take our dog with us or we board him if we're gone overnight.

[Jennyfoo]

Sorry to hear about the break-in. That really sucks. We have a funny trick that scares the bejeesus out of people at first sight. Our mid-size and very ferocious looking(but truly sweet and lovey) rottie/dobie/something else mix jumps on the retaining wall that our side fence is built on. Our front fence is lower and her head sticks over it. She looks like a giant over 6' tall dog until people realize her head is too small. She barks when people pass in front of the house. We had a new pest control guy come a few months back that was afraid to death of our giant ferocious dog and would not come close to the house until I brought her in. He was shocked when he saw her on ground level. LOL!

[kaloo]

thanks for the headsup...we live nearby.
scary.

[Redone]

I never thought about the wounding aspect, if you get a guy you ought to get some past years of the tv show 24 and just look at how jack baur holds and shoots his weapon.

TV is fake , this is better


http://video.google....4...867071363

[old soldier]

hey redone, that is a lot better than old jack baur....all I need now is a gun and a burglar in the house....like old bush says...bring it on

[Talula22]

Yikes! Very scary...I live in your neighborhood too! I don't want to be paranoid - but if you google "bump key" you will find that there are thousands of sites where these can be purchased. One of the reports shown states that "bump keys" are able to be used on 95% of the locks on the market today! The recommendation is for a "high security" lock to be inststalled - I called a locksmith today and found that the cost is about $180-$200 per lock. Pretty expensive...but the piece of mind...priceless!

[DalOwnerX3]

Last month I was a juror on a trial where the defendants were accused of breaking into a house and robbing it. What they did was ran the doorbell of the house in a quiet neighborhood and if nobody was home, they went around in back and broke the sliding glass door and went inside.

So even if you get a expensive lock, people can still get into your house if they wanted to.

[scrapper]

I agree that if someone really wanted to break in they could & will. I don't want to live in fear either. But I feel MUCH better having a locksmith switch out the locks the builder put in and having an alarm installed...peace of mind. Plus it lessons the chance of an "easy" breakin. We also now have cable locks on our computers too.

[ER2002]

I agree that if someone really wanted to break in they could & will. I don't want to live in fear either. But I feel MUCH better having a locksmith switch out the locks the builder put in and having an alarm installed...peace of mind. Plus it lessons the chance of an "easy" breakin. We also now have cable locks on our computers too.

Any suggestions or referrals on alarm companies? There seems to be a lot of alarm monitoring companies but I'm looking for referrals and personal experience with those that are currently.
Thanks for the heads up, Scrapper.

[B&G]

Any suggestions or referrals on alarm companies? There seems to be a lot of alarm monitoring companies but I'm looking for referrals and personal experience with those that are currently.
Thanks for the heads up, Scrapper.

We just had Brinks out to give us a price quote. They were reasonable and we were impressed with the company. The salesman was as cheesy as they come though. We are still in the process of doing some research. I would stay away from ADT. They don't do thorough background checks on their employees. I know that they once had an installer in Sacramento who was on Parole for burglary.

[ER2002]

[quote name='B&G' date='Feb 24 2007, 01:34 PM' post='147592']
We just had Brinks out to give us a price quote. They were reasonable and we were impressed with the company. I would stay away from ADT. They don't do thorough background checks on their employees. I know that they once had an installer in Sacramento who was on Parole for burglary.

Thank You. That's the type of comments I was hoping to get. Personal experience and even on my own street there are a number of home alarm companies signs and from my limited research so far not all of the alarm companies do their monitoring locally and some have monitoring centers from a different state. I was curious why homeowners selected their alarm companies. Unfortunately the more research I do on home monitoring alarm systems, the more questions I have regarding the company, equipment, etc.

[MikeinFolsom]

The most important thing to look for in an alarm company is how they handle the alarms once they are tripped. Do they phone you first to see if everything is okay? Some put in a two way microphone/speaker that they call and can talk to you to see if you are okay. Some phone authorities immediately and then attempt to call you. Thus, everytime your alarm goes off, PD/FD are sent, and you end up paying money for false alarms.

And most....most will install a basic system as long as you have it monitored for a certain service period, usually 3 years. Most cost about 30-35 a month to monitor. Kind of like a cell phone, you get the hardware for free, then pay a monthly service cost.

If your neighborhood is getting worried, call FPD and have their neighborhood watch representative have a meeting with you and your neighbors. They will actually tell you what works, and what doesn't.

[ER2002]

<<[quote name='MikeinFolsom' date='Feb 24 2007, 04:30 PM' post='147607']
The most important thing to look for in an alarm company is how they handle the alarms once they are tripped. Do they phone you first to see if everything is okay? Some put in a two way microphone/speaker that they call and can talk to you to see if you are okay. Some phone authorities immediately and then attempt to call you. Thus, everytime your alarm goes off, PD/FD are sent, and you end up paying money for false alarms.>>

Thanks Mike. More good suggestions and information before choosing a company.

[Barb J]

When we were researching alarms companies we spoke with our neighbor who works for Folsom PD and she recommended Liberty Bell. She said they respond the quickest and that's who her family uses personally. We have had our alarm for over 2 years now and I have accidentally tripped it about 4 times. They have always called the house before I can call them - within a minute at the most. We have been very satisfied.

We also have a Rottweiler - honestly, she is probably a much better deterent than the alarm! To trip the alarm the bad guy has to either break down the door or window....but if they hear/see our dog they won't even try. When we have "strangers" come to the door to "sell" or whatever, I make a big deal about holding her back and trying to "contain" her. She's not a mean dog, but they don't know that and I make it seem like she is so they know not to come back to our house at a later time to rob us! We also have a young daughter and would NEVER have a dangerous dog in the house with her. It's just the illusion of danger!

Barb