Admittedly, I'm more interested in a solid house than in bells and whistles that can break down and become outdated, but a security system isn't something upon which I'd spend money. Consider: A security system won't stop burglars from breaking into your house. It'll just alert the police that it has happened. Most burglaries happen FAST, and by the time the police arrive, the crooks are already gone. You MIGHT have pictures of the thieves, but more likely they'll have been smart enough to cover their faces. The biggest thing a security system is likely to give you is a discount on your insurance. Do the math and see how long it'll take you to "make back" the upfront cost of installation, and make an informed decision. And I would NEVER go for the type of system that has visual monitoring inside my house. Do I want the people at ADT (or whatever) knowing when I'm home? If I were a thief, I'd get myself a job at ADT and call my thief-friends, saying, "Hey, the Johnsons are gone. Here's their address." The poster who commented that everyone lives in a "safe neighborhood" . . . until something happens is right. Anyone can ride through your safe neighborhood -- even if it's gated. My oldest child was good buddies with a kid who lived in a gated community, and I never had any trouble driving her over to the friend's house . . . and getting in without help from her friend's grandparents. If I can do it, certainly a dishonest person can figure it out. Instead of spending on a security system, I'd look into the low-tech methods of home security, which are more likely to PREVENT the burglary: - Focus on a good, solid front door: Not too much glass and a deadbolt lock. Though they're lovely, avoid sidelights; they open you to danger in two ways: 1) a thief can break them, reach in and open your deadbolt. 2) if you have only a 2x4 between the door and the sidelight, a strong thief with a ram of some sort can break it and enter your house. Also choose a door that's visible to the road -- avoid plans that place your front door "deep" in a cave-like entry, and avoid landscaping that hides your door from the street. Though you want a strong front door, it's not the place the thieves are most likely to break in: They don't want a nosy neighbor to see them busting down a door, and they don't want the damaged door to sit there all day declaring, "A crime has been committed here!" - Don't neglect the back door. Thieves like to ring the front bell to see if you're home, but they're then likely to go around the back (where it's more private) to break in. Plus your back door is more likely to be a sliding glass door or a French door. Sliding glass doors are pretty thick, and it takes a strong thief to put a piece of firewood through them -- though it is possible. French doors tend to offer less security. Lots of people have good, solid deadbolts on the front door . . . but less security on the back door. And if you have a privacy fence (or a deep covered porch) in your back yard, the thief can probably go about his business in comfort, knowing that the neighbors aren't going to see him breaking your windows or back door. No matter what you do, your back door is probably your weakest point -- and we have to balance comfort and light with security concerns. - If you have an attached garage, put effort into that entrance. An experienced thief LOVES to get into a garage (probably through a man-door that has only a piddly little lock) because then he can take his time breaking in through your kitchen door. No neighbor will see him in the privacy of your garage! No lie: My in-laws bought a house that had ONLY an interior door -- yeah, just like your bedroom door! -- separating their kitchen from the garage. They changed that before they moved in. The point: Be sure your garage is just as secure as your house, and you have a deadbolt on your kitchen entrance door. - If your doors are secure, the thieves are likely to go on down the road to someone else's house, but don't neglect your first-floor windows -- especially if they're the tall type that a person could potentially step through easily. Be sure they're locked. Plant sticky-bushes like Holly or roses under them to make thieves reconsider entering that way. Or consider decorative bars, though that could constitute a fire hazard. - Do you own a ladder? Be sure it's locked up in your shed or garage. Don't offer thieves a way to get to your (often less protected) upstairs windows. - Try to plan your house so that your big-screen TV isn't visible from the front door (i.e., through sidelites or to a person who might be delivering packages). Don't give thieves a reason to choose you. - A safe inside the house will deter even experienced robbers. They want to get in and out of your house quickly. They're wise to ideas like hiding your money in the freezer, and they know that if you have a safe, it's probably in your master closet . . . but they're going to grab your electronics, guns, medicines . . . and GET OUT rather than wasting their time with a safe they probably can't enter anyway. A safe set into the floor or built into the wall can't easily be carried away to be opened later at their leisure. A safe is relatively inexpensive, and it's a one-time cost. - Automatic lights are inexpensive to install (the one in my pantry cost about $15, though exterior quality would cost more) and don't require monthly fees. No thief wants lights, and a light coming on suddenly inside the house and outside the house might convince the would-be-thief that someone is in the house (even if they aren't opening the door). Most thieves want in and out of the house FAST, and they don't want to meet any homeowners. - Plenty of studies have shown that a dog is the best deterrent to a break-in. Not everyone is interested in owning a dog and not every dog is a real deterrent, but just the presence of a dog will make many thieves go on down the road to another house. - If you have lots of nice steal-able stuff, increase your insurance. It's all replaceable. Most of the time people who rob individual homes are small-time crooks who are looking for things that're easy to sell: Electronics and guns. And drugs. LOTS of home burglaries are committed by people who are on drugs, and they'll clear out your medicine cabinet. But few home robberies are personal: That is, few robbers specifically know that you have ______, and they're going to come steal it. - Consider putting up fake cameras or fake security system stickers. You can buy some fairly good fake things that'll deter the thieves, and that's the real goal. Remember: Most robberies are crimes of opportunity. Most of us will never be targeted specifically; rather, the thieves will look at a row of houses and pick the one that looks easiest. If you offer some solid resistance, they'll move on to easier pickings. And most robberies are FAST -- less than 10-15 minutes.

Noise and light are a major deterrent to illegal entry, whatever the motive is. My back up is a loaded 357 magnum, just in case I need help before I can get police to respond. I have motion sensors on three sides of my house and the front has landscape lighting bright enough to make any uninvited person(s) uncomfortable prowling around on that side. I believe anyone who is prowling when I am home and doesn't make a run out of the area when lights come on is very dangerous and that's why I have a couple of guns handy. I think the lights, which include automatic on/off lights inside which are used when we are home and when we are away, make it difficult for anyone to determine if we are home or not. I always leave my pickup truck with the NRA logo on the back and my lighted American Flag flying to act as further deterrents. With cell phones we are also safe from someone cutting the phone lines, it must be very difficult to be a burglar these days, even if they get in to an empty home they have no way of being sure they are not being recorded on video which will be used against them in a court-of-law. All these things help me sleep at night, and if our lovely West Highlands White Terrier wasn't deaf we'd also have an bark alarm, dogs are also a great deterrent to break-in, and a small Terrier can be better than a big dog that is waiting to attack, noise and light are the best and will not need a visit by the police in the vast majority of the cases I believe..

Wired security system and IP (ethernet wired) cameras.. Personally I would get separate systems.. Have a dedicated alarm system that is hardwired throughout and then a separate DVR/NVR camera setup.. We are still looking at the wired security systems to see what fits our needs the best, but probably going with a hardwired DSC alarm that will have all windows and doors hardwired with sensors as well as several motion sensors, water leak sensors, smoke/fire, etc.. and connected in with a monitoring company.. For cameras I have already purchased all of them.. We are doing a full HIK Vision setup which includes 4 bullet camers and 10 dome cameras that are all 3mp and then 2 PTZ dome cameras that can be remotely moved to view anything.. They also set up in a "patrol" mode that will automatically scan your property and if it picks up movement in your set zone it will automatically zoom in and follow the movement as well as send notification to your phone if you set it up..

When I lived in CA, what Elmer describes was quite common - signs but no security system. The house we rented had a private security SERVICE contract - it was a number one called if someone was breaking into the house and you were there. We did pay for this as at that time (early 1980's) the average response time from LAPD was 25 minutes and with the security service, it was 3 minutes. While it was a VERY affluent area (we rented!), there were regular break-ins and it was unsafe to ever walk on the sidewalks after dark - sometimes even earlier. Personal muggins were quite common - this in a neighborhood where the house prices started at about 1.5 million and went UP from there very quickly. BTW - ADT has never offered me additional signs and stickers since I got the system about 18 years ago.