

Ask HN: DIY Home Security Systems - cpher

There may be a zillion DIY systems available via google. Does anyone have experience building a DIY home security system, a la Links/ADT? I want to filter this through HN rather than google. Is it worth a DIY project or paying for a pro system? FYI, I live on the south side of Chicago so this isn't paranoia just trying to take care of my family. Thanks.
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vitovito
Home security services are, generally speaking, a racket.

A monitored alarm service (where, if an alarm goes off, the service notifies
the police) will knock a percentage off your homeowner's insurance policy, but
that's almost all it's good for.

This is because something like 97-99% of alarm service calls are errant, so
when they happen, they're the lowest priority thing to do.

In addition, once the alarms go off, the burglar is already gone. The most
prevalent crimes are crimes of opportunity: no-one is home, it's midday, they
roll up your driveway in a truck, knock, go around back, break in, grab your
iPad and PS3 and laptop, take it out the front door, and go.

When they break in, they've got 30-90 seconds before the alarm goes off, 30-90
seconds after that before the service calls, and then 5-20 minutes or more
before the cops show up. They're long gone. You don't think someone who's done
it before can get into your house, grab a pillowcase off your bed and fill it
with anything valuable and portable inside of three minutes? (They totally
can.)

If you're worried about someone breaking in while you're home, I can't
recommend much, but those are also statistically unlikely. No-one's targeting
you, staking out your house, stalking your movements, etc. (Probably.)

If you're worried about someone breaking in while you're gone, you want solid
doors, strong door frames, visible security cameras and security lighting
outside, and hidden eye-level still image motion-triggered cameras inside, and
you want regular inventories of all of your valuables, including proofs of
purchase. You want to focus on warding off crimes of convenience, identifying
the perpetrators, and restoring what was damaged or lost as quickly and as
efficiently as possible so you can get on with your life.

~~~
tectonic
I donno.... if there's any industry that knows how to calculate expected
values of events, it's the insurance industry. If installing a system reduces
your insurance fees, there's probably a reason.

~~~
vitovito
The reason you get a deduction may not be the reason you think it is. It might
be political; insurance companies can't be seen as not encouraging homeowners
to protect themselves. It might be financial; they knock a measly percentage
off your insurance and Brinks and ADT give them 2x that in a kickback. I don't
know either, but I do know alarms don't do what we're told they do.

Here's a 2002 US Department of Justice report explaining the problems. Newer
reports from local and federal agencies read similarly, in my experience.

<http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/e05021556.pdf>

> _The vast majority of alarm calls–between 94 and 98 percent–are false
> (higher in some jurisdictions). In other words, reliability of alarms, which
> can be measured using these false rates, is generally between 2 and 6
> percent. Nationwide, false alarms account for 10 to 25 percent of all calls
> to police._

------
grumps
There's a company called Frontpoint Security it's partially DIY, you could
check them out. Personally, I don't think the cost of the service is worth the
insurance reduction. Of course, I don't know what a rate increase would like
on a homeowners claim.

With a DIY system, I'd always be worried about reliability.

Alternatives: Something slightly odd, but depending on the state Skunks can be
a great pet in between a cat and dog. You're not suppose to play rough with
them, however I've read it makes people think twice about breaking in. Some
other jokes I've read but might help, NRA stickers around the house.

Are you more worried about stray gang bullets, or are you worried about
robbery? If it's robbery I'd make sure not to put boxes from new tvs etc
outside the house.

Like others said, it's better to well document your personally items, and put
in better doors/frames/windows. Which is all very costly.

Edit: Clarify some wording.

~~~
cpher
Ok, thanks for the advice.

