Are you Being Robbed by Your Home Security Provider?

by | Apr 4, 2022 | Blogs, Home Security

Your house is an investment, and it needs to be protected. It’s typically the largest purchase you’ll ever make.

Your family is the most valuable and precious thing in your life, and it deserves ironclad safety and security.

Most of us are willing to do whatever it takes to keep our property and loved ones out of harm’s way. To that end, the home security industry is expected to be worth $74.75 billion USD by 2023.

Surprisingly though, only 17% of American homes have a security system in place, and that’s despite the fact you’re 300% more likely to be robbed without one.

Are you in that group? If not, consider:

With an average cost of $10-50 per month for well known providers like ADT, Vivint, Brinks, and Lifeshield, it’s clear that a home security system of some sort is a worthwhile and affordable investment. After all, you can’t put a price on peace of mind.

However, if you’re in the minority and already have a system in place, you may feel like you’ve done everything possible.

But here’s the thing: you’re probably wrong.

 

The Problem With Most Providers

As we can see from the statistics above, a home security system is always better than no system at all. Even just putting up a lawn sign and a few stickers can increase the odds your home will be passed in favor of one without anything, although it’s no guarantee.

That said, if you’re paying $10-50/month for security and thinking you’re fully protected from break-ins, you’re getting robbed by your provider. That’s a bold claim, yes. But true nonetheless.

Here’s why: most systems like ADT and Ring use some combination of video recorders, signage, and/or alarms. Some may even promise 24/7 ‘monitoring’ in that monthly fee. This is great for a) possibly, maybe deterring a criminal, and b) providing video evidence of the crime after the fact.

The inherent flaw in traditional systems is that they don’t do anything until the break-in has already happened.

The alarm goes off only after a door or window sensor has been triggered and the burglar is inside your house. The cameras record as a stranger rifles through your personal belongings, but does nothing to stop him or her. The crime has not been prevented or deterred, only detected and recorded.

Better than nothing, but not what you thought you were getting when you signed a contract and had the system installed, right?

 

An Alarm Does Not Mean Help is on the Way

Here’s a typical scenario: a burglar enters via your front door and triggers an alarm.

Are the police on their way to your property? Absolutely not.

First, there’s a delay of 30 seconds or more. This is the grace period while the system allows someone to enter the security code and cancel the alarm.

Next, there’s your security provider response time, or how long it takes to notify the monitoring center that an alarm has gone off. This is typically at least 15 seconds. That brings us up to 45 seconds at the low end – and well over two minutes at the high end – since the criminal entered your home.

Once notified, most providers have rules in place that require them to attempt and contact the homeowner not once, but two or three times to confirm that the alarm is in fact a break-in. This can take several minutes.

Then, and only then, will they contact the appropriate authorities. On average, it takes eight full minutes to reach this stage.

The average police response time in the United States varies depending on the location and crime-in-progress, but you’re probably looking at five minutes or more, with the majority being ten minutes plus.

Home burglaries, unfortunately, are considered low priority. Almost half – 46.9% – have a response time of 11-60 minutes.

Remember how long the average home burglary lasts? 8-10 minutes.

The takeaway? Traditional home security providers simply can’t stop a break-in. At best, they can record it and pass it on to the police, who may not show up for an hour, and clear less than 14% of break-ins because of lack of evidence.

The vaunted 24/7 monitoring that you erroneously believed meant live eyes on your home is nothing more than human intervention after and only after the crime has occurred. The criminal is already in your house.

Still feel like you’ve done everything possible for your home and family? Or are you starting to think you’re paying for a false sense of security?

You’re paying up to $50/month and hoping a sticker is enough to intimidate would-be burglars. You’re paying up to $600/year for something that is only useful to you – and even then only superficially – if you actually get robbed. That’s not money well spent.

 

A Better Way

So, if anything, a truly valuable home security system needs to prevent and deter crime more than just record it, and somehow shorten the overall response time of both the provider and police.

Those were the guiding principles in designing a proactive security system. 

A proactive system, like Deep Sentinel, uses proprietary A.I. to monitor the perimeter of your home to identifies suspicious activity. Next, virtual security guards are notified in real-time. The highly trained security guards can then engage with the suspect via real-time audio and video. This is typically enough to stop them in their tracks before they’ve gained access to your home.

If the situation warrants it, they notify police and provide real-time details on the suspect and their location.

From start to finish? 30 seconds or less. And with zero false alarms and live eyes and ears on a verified crime, police treat those calls as high priority.

That’s the Deep Sentinel difference.

So, are you being robbed by your home security provider? The short answer is ‘yes’ if you’re relying on antiquated systems and providers. They’re promising something they just can’t deliver.

 
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