OT: Musings on Broadview (Brinks) home security

If you don't answer, they send help right away.

Interesting scenario in that commercial: Broad daylight, people in the house, and man smashes in the glass door, making a lot of noise...

-- Ed Huntress

Maybe he is a relative.

Lon

Or the husband.

That's nothing compared to what the 12 gauge will make.

I'm wondering who sued them or what they got busted for that they're moving away from the 'Brinks' brand to the more generic 'Broadview'. That's usually the local or regional companies that develop such a bad reputation that they change brand names after 10 to 20 years.

Like one regional alarm and response company who had to change names after word got out the Patrol drivers were under written orders NOT to get there ahead of the police, God Forbid they would actually have to confront a burglar themselves.

"Right Away" is misleading - it'll take the system dialer 15 to 30 seconds to dial and send the signal, and even with an auto-dialer at the Central Station that callback can take 45 seconds to a minute.

It takes 20 seconds of ringing out line to decide you are not going to (or can not) answer the phone, and then they act. Problem being, if you don't hit a 'Panic' button and they can only tag it as a 'burglar alarm' the police don't give you high priority, and response can take thirty minutes to two hours.

And if your alarm contract has 'Private Armed Security Response' they might beat the police there - or they might not, depending on how busy their night is. If the cars are on the other side of town...

Home Invasion robberies are becoming popular - they can handle the resident usually, and they don't care about a little noise if none of the neighbors are home - but the alarm means the cops might get there before they're done...

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Let's put it this way: When you have a sign out front and the perp gets in the house and sees the triggers, he usually gets out fast. There have been studies done on this for 50 years. Nothing is perfect, but those systems substantially reduce home break-ins and burglaries.

It sounds like an anecdote, Bruce. You'd want to see the real numbers on that one.

If the break-in is just a burglary, the alarm would probably make it not worth the effort or risk. Well, it would to me anyway.

If an intruder leaves when the alarm sounds, there's no problem except getting the door fixed. If not: When seconds count, the police are only minutes away and it's maybe time to dial 1911. :)

You got too many digits to dial in your emergency system. Dial 12 might be a better choice. ;-P

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Seems a bit improbable. Of course if this is realistic, wtf are you living there?

If I had her worries, I'd either move or go hunting.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Exactly. But the home-security business depends on unrealistic probabilities and unlikely scenarios. It has a real side and there's a very sensible reason for having it, but the advertising and sales promotion depend on stoking people's imagined fears.

Of course, so does much of the gun business.

Splain it please? I'm thick as a brick tonight.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

All fears are imagined, Ed. Fear is anticipation i.e.imagination of something bad happening which includes imminent fatal event. Responses to fear include cowering surrender (a rabbit's death) and/or resolve and preparation to deal with threat with significant doubt about surviving the event.

Security systems offer value to folks who aren't even rudimentarily competent in tactical defence and don't care to become so. Response is limited to whatever response a 911 call might produce. That probably won't suffice in most cases, but home invasion by armed predators is quite uncommon in most neighborhoods populated by folks that can and will afford security systems.

Indeed. Fear is a strong motivator. I have become an armed senior citizen in recent years, motivated by fear. I understand fear rather well as a veteran. Fear is a natural response to perceived threat. Fearless warriors tend to become heroes posthumously unless they are very lucky. Cowardice is not inability to function in presence of fear, adrenaline freezeup. Shit happens in combat. Cowardice is willful avoidance of personal risk without regard to mission or risk to teammates.

The key there, Don, is the "perceived" threat. If it's rational, even if remote, responding to it with fear is a rational response. What I was saying about the advertising and promotion of home security systems -- and much of security in general -- is that it depends upon stoking irrational fears. And if you have a good sense of which is which, home security systems can make a lot of sense for many people. The numbers are unequivocal about that.

-- Ed Huntress

I would argue that fear is an irrational response almost by definition. It's an emotion, not a deduction or inference. Fear may motivate a response, like fleeing, fighting, or ordering a security system. Whether or not these are rational responses depends upon if available evidence indicates such responses are appropriate, necessary, or ... uh ... rational.

I've noticed that nothing sells security systems quite as well as a breakin in the neighborhood. The little "protected by ..." signs sprout like dandelions in May.