The Truth about Burglar Alarms

Every night it seems the local news is highlighting another case of burglary, also known as breaking and entering. It is one of the most common felonies committed in the US every year and does deserve the attention because of its seriousness. Nothing to laugh about, but I feel the issue is treated a bit like a circus.

A local blogger in Concord, California recently posted a great summary of local crime statistics with some decent advice as to how to prevent crime. However he, like so many others, believe incorrectly that a burglar alarm is the best answer to prevent home invasions.

“Most people do not think of burglaries until they happen to you or your neighbor. Home alarms are worth their weight in gold when used properly and have connections to all doors and windows. Having a sticker or sign on the exterior of your house is also a visual deterrent to would-be burglars.”

While a sticker on the window may help to prevent a burglar on a very elementary level, this only covers a small percentage of potential burglars. According to Pulitzer prize-winning investigative journalist and author David Cay Johnston (”Free Lunch”), the following statistics are true. You can hear his entire argument in the embedded podcast below, but according to a report published by the Department of Justice, these figures are not unknown to the government.

• The US taxpayer spends about 2 billion dollars a year for police to respond to burglar alarms.
• 99% (according to industry and independent data) of all alarms are false.
• 1 in 5 households have an alarm. Therefore, 80% of the population is being taxed for 20% of a service where 99% of the time it is a false alarm.
• Year 2000 figures (no doubt these have increased since) state that is costs around $50 to respond to each call.
• Tyco can be connected to 1/4 of the house alarms installed.
• The average profit margin in the alarm industry is about 77%.
• So, with a cost of approximately $50 per call, the US taxpayer is paying 500 million dollars a year to Tyco alone in free labor (on top of their huge profit margins).
• 1 out of every 8 calls to the police are for burglar alarms.

Let’s think for a moment, what the cops and civil services could do with all of that free time and money if the alarm industry had to respond to these calls instead… Or at least pay for their inaccurate product. And why is the mainstream media against reporting this issue in greater detail? Given that in the city of Concord alone, (population 126,539) there were 5,253 incidents of property crime versus 398 acts of violence reported in the year ConcordBlogger cites. Where is the true cost and how can this be fixed?

Here is the talk where David Cay Johnston discusses the alarming statistics: