A home security system can be effective without a monitoring service. When intrusion is detected, the siren alerts both people in the house and people in the neighborhood and stands a good chance of scaring off the would-be intruders just by the noise and attention.

2. Monitoring Service

Having a monitoring service builds on the first option. In addition to the above, the system telephones the Monitoring Service Centre with the alert. The service immediately phones the list of contacts provided by the home-owner. If no one can be reached to diagnose the alarm as true or false, the service can escalate the alert directly to the police station. Smoke detection and continuous panic alerts are automatically relayed to the fire or police emergency departments.

3. Guaranteed Response Service

The highest level of monitoring is to include guaranteed response from a private security firm. These companies will commit to having a security representative at your premises within a range of minutes (e.g. 15) to assess and respond to the situation. These services are particularly useful if you have used up your “grace allowances” with the local police force over false alarms.