Home Security System Response Times

Home alarm response times can vary greatly depending on the company that monitors your home and how it is monitored. For example, a company might monitor your home from a local monitoring station or a remote third party station. When alarms are tripped, a security company could have their own response security or simply alert the local police. Average response time can vary due to these factors among others. Security companies with the fastest response times will usually monitor home systems from a local station and have their own security response teams.

Reasonable Response

Police alarm response times are usually dismal due to large numbers of false alarms (most often, alarms are tripped by accident or user error). According to the Salt Lake City Police Department, the average home alarm response time in 1999 was 45 minutes, sometimes taking upwards of several hours. Because of this, they started requiring “verified response” to these alarms, which meant that a security company had to confirm the alarm before police would respond. Many cities, including Las Vegas and Los Angeles, have since implemented this method. Not only does this save money, but it also saves lives and property. Security companies are more able to respond to these alarms, reducing alarm response times to between 5 and 20 minutes.

Securing Home Security

When choosing a home security company, ascertaining a security company’s average response time is very important. Companies should have a strict set of guidelines that they adhere to, such as their security fleet size, the number of guards they have at one time, and how your home would be monitored. Contacting and comparing several security companies along with a call to your local police department will help you determine security companies with the fastest response times.