Understanding Burglar Alarms

When leaving your business premises you expect to return with your assets intact and untouched. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Whether you have become the victim of wanton vandalism or have had your assets stolen, installing an alarm system within your premises or to the perimeter can prevent such things from taking place.

Alarm systems have long been used in commercial properties for this very reason, and comprehensive alarm systems have become increasingly important in recent years to protect classified, hazardous, and expensive assets.

There are a wide variety of options available today from wirelessly operated, to 24 hour a day monitored systems. Sometimes your alarm system need never be triggered – simply the presence of one acts as a threat to the perpetrator and can be very effective as a deterrent.

In most cases your mains operated alarm system will have a battery backup option. However, some systems are battery operated as their sole source.

You might use a combination of the following alarms or each one in isolation; whichever you choose, remember to find a reputable supplier with years of experience – understanding your system and finding the perfect solution for your premises is of upmost importance, there is much to be gained from choosing a knowledgeable specialist supplier.

You will benefit from their experience and they will be able to advise which products would be best for you so you can have an alarm system you can trust.

Bell Only

Bell only alarms do exactly what they say on the tin – once the alarm is triggered, a loud sound such as a bell or siren will be blasted throughout the premises.

This works as a dual function: it can startle the perpetrator into losing their nerve and thus vacate the premises leaving assets unharmed, and it brings the invasion to the attention of personnel within the area making it very unlikely the intruder on site will remain unnoticed.

Alarm systems can be linked with the local authorities however, in some cases an alarm can be triggered accidentally – such as a pet exploring – and police will not automatically attend the scene unless a witness also reports the break in. For this reason we recommend a bell only system is combined with a monitored system as mentioned later in this article.

Circuit Break

Circuit break alarms can be used anywhere that an intruder might gain access to the property, be it through a door, window, or locked gate. The point of entrance will be rigged so that if it is opened whilst you are away the circuit will be broken.

An alarm will then sound or an alert will be sent to a monitoring agency, your onsite security, or the police. You are completely in control and can set the alarm to go off a set number of seconds after entry; this allows for the alarm to be disabled should a member of staff be the one to trip the circuit before an alarm sounds. These can be used in conjunction with the bell only system or as part of a monitored system explained below.

Detection

If your premises are based within an industrial estate with public access or in an area without an external security perimeter of any kind, you might want to consider an internally based detection system.

This type of alarm works by detecting intruders once they have gained access to the premises. The alarm is simply set by the last member of personnel or your security team upon exit of the property.

Like the circuit break system you can control how long after the alarm is triggered it will sound, allowing entrance to the property and disabling of the alarm in a time you deem appropriate.

Monitored

You could use any of the above systems in conjunction with a company monitored alarm. When the premises are vacated, should the alarm be triggered by unauthorised persons, the company who installed your alarm will also monitor it and respond.

The company will have special alarm monitor systems with dedicated staff. This might mean they send their own security team to the scene to reset the alarm, or work in conjunction with the police by notifying them, yourself, and a nominated key holder of your choice in the process.

So you can be sure even if a member of your own security team is offsite it will be taken care of, saving you time, worry, and hassle!