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How Motion Detectors Work

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Ever wonder how a motion detector works? How can some inanimate object “know” you’re creeping nearby, even if you’re as quiet as a mouse? This amazing technology can be broken down into several types.

3HActive Ultrasonic

  • When an object moves, it can bounce back ultrasonic waves that are directed towards it. An active ultrasonic sensor does just this: sending out ultrasonic waves, that when converging upon the path of a moving object, will be reflected back. If enough reflection is measured, the alarm will sound.
  • The downside is that dogs and cats can hear in this very high frequency range, and if the alarm is on all the time, it can be unpleasant for them.

Passive Ultrasonic

  • This type is peeled for specific sounds, such as glass shattering.
  • The downside is they cost a pretty penny.
  • Another negative is that, due to their high sensitivity level, can send out false alarms.

Passive Infrared

  • Your body emits heat. A dog’s or cat’s body emits heat. That’s because of the warm blood flowing through mammals. This heat is in the infrared range of the light spectrum, invisible to the human eye. The “PIR” type of sensor has a special kind of material that detects this heat emission. Upon detection, the sensor triggers electrical activity. And of course, this is converted to the sound of an alarm.
  • Minimal energy is used by these inexpensive sensors, which have an indefinite lifespan.
  • If an intruder knows where your PIR unit is placed, he might be able to foil it by walking in a straight line smack towards it, as this linear path will not reflect body heat in an easily detectable way.
  • Another minus is that an animal can trigger it.

Tomographic

  • Tomography is when radio waves are emitted. A moving object will upset them.
  • This type of sensor can detect motion in the next room because it can penetrate walls.
  • The downside is that they cost an arm and a leg.

Microwave

  • Microwave pulses are sent out, and any moving object will reflect these.
  • The downside is that the detection might be outside the specified range, setting off a false alarm.
  • Another negative is that this type is a power guzzler. Because of this, it’s commonly set for on and off cycles. And what if a thief knows when these cycles are off?

Duo

  • Two of the aforementioned types are combined. This helps reduce false alarms.
  • Combining two types of sensors, though, can result in missing a real alarm.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Myth: My gated Community is Secure

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How many times have you heard someone say, “I don’t have to worry about crime; I live in a gated community”? Yeah, the electronically-locked gate may stop criminals from driving in, but not from walking in!

5HThat stylish gate is more of an ornament than a crime deterrent. It may very well be a lure to thieves, since it suggests that there’s a lot of valuables in those houses. The gate may even suggest complacence with tougher security measures among the homeowners.

The big iron gate may even encourage residents to leave entries to their houses unlocked or windows to their child’s first floor bedroom open overnight. Any reason a pedophile can’t slip through the gate while it opens for a resident? And that assumes the perp isn’t bright enough to just walk into the premises.

The giant gate may as well have a neon sign overhead that says, “Welcome! We Have Lots of Valuables in Our Homes!”

Might a burglar assume that every home has an alarm system? No. He’ll avoid those that have signs of an alarm system, but he’ll continue poking around till he finds evidence of an unlocked house. An alarm system is worthless if it’s turned off and a door is unlocked. This risk-reward calculation is too juicy for a thief to pass up.

And here’s another formula to consider:

Gated community = more money = more empty homes while residents are on yet another vacation.

Still think that gate protects your community? How often have you forgotten your code or the keypad malfunctioned, and you waited for the next resident to open the gates, and you slipped in right after them? How easy was that?

How often has the gate mechanically been broken and you zipped right on through? Even a gateman who buzzes people in may not be on the ball. And even if he is, you should assume that many service technicians are given entry codes. It’s not an issue of how or if a thief can get in, but who.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

False Alarms are costly

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Unfortunately, cheaper, older security motion detectors can’t distinguish between a 150 pound man and a squirrel or even some papers blowing around. This causes police and firefighters to respond to false alarms. False alarms caused by the elements or animals are common (in the millions each year) and occur with business as well as residential systems.

3HOn average, a police officer uses 20-40 minutes to respond to an alarm. Multiply that out by millions of false alarms. This problem drains resources.

The Drain

In the U.S., 94-95 percent of police responses to burglar alarms are false. The cost comes to $30-$95 per incident–$1.8 billion total in the year 2000, says the Center for Competitive Government at Temple University. Some of this money goes towards preventing and remedying wear and tear on first responders’ vehicular equipment.

Wind, papers and animals aren’t the only problem; prank or ridiculous 9-1-1 calls also factor in, and so do carelessness, mistakes and even frightened but aggressive homeowners who mistake first responders for intruders.

Whopping Fines

The moment someone realizes an alarm was tripped accidentally, they should notify the police and their alarm company to cancel the response. Residents and business owners can be fined for false alarms—three and a row can cost over $300 in some areas. Fees vary by location; a first time violation may cost $50. Good hard fines will sink in deeper and motivate system owners to take measures to reduce false triggers.

Solutions

  • A system that triggers a call to the homeowner or business owner’s mobile phone first. If there’s no answer it goes to the home phone. If there’s no answer it goes to the police.
  • Having a home security system with security cameras allows the homeowner to quickly check on the home via their mobile to see if there is an actual problem.
  • The alarm system should be thoroughly re-evaluated by the company to make sure that a glitch isn’t responsible for at least some of the false triggers.
  • Homeowners should determine if there is enough time when entering or exiting the home when alarms are often triggered.
  • Proactively plan when another person is entering the home such as guests, contractors, cleaners etc. Those “inexperienced” with your alarm are often the culprits.
  • Homeowners must ingrain into themselves the habit of checking to see if the alarm is on before opening the door to check the thermometer outside, retrieve the newspaper or let the dog out in the middle of the night.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Family Starts Rebuilding After Home Invasion

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Imagine you’ve lived at your home for a number of years, but it doesn’t feel like home anymore. It used to be a place that was comforting and soothing; a place of security where you didn’t have to “worry.”

But then your home is burglarized. Your home is ransacked; your home life has been violated. The sense of home security is gone. This is what happened to the Bastyr family.

“I hear every little noise,” Colleen Bastyr said. “I’m always looking through the windows to see if someone is there. When someone knocks at the door – or we hear a sound – my daughter hides.”

Imagine. It makes me want to break something when I read that. People who have worked their whole lives, raising a family and doing the right thing are made to feel fear in their own home because someone needed to get a fix, or for fun or some other stupid reason. It’s just not fair.

The family had left the home, locked, but apparently no alarm, to take the husband to the hospital for a surgery. When they came home the lights were on and a ladder was leaning up against the home with a window open.

The house was in shambles. Tables, chairs, dresser draws, everything turned upside down.

“The burglar(s) had scribbled all over the walls, cabinets, floors, chairs and couches in red fingernail polish, Colleen recalls. The curtains were all torn up and the couches had been cut apart with a knife.

The burglar(s) then took ketchup, mustard and salsa out of the refrigerator and poured it all over the Bastyr’s bedroom mattress. Colleen also found that her cabinets, refrigerator and oven range had been smashed, holes were kicked in the doors, and dresser drawers had been dumped on the floor, along with all the shelves and clothes in the family’s closets.”

All told there was $30,000 in damage done. The only stolen item was a laptop computer. Seems the family came home and scared the burglars/vandals away.

From now on the home is a reminder of that terrible day. Some say, it could have been worse, fortunately nobody was hurt, they have their health. Yes, and that is all true. While gaining perspective certainly helps cope, it doesn’t change what happened.  When a person’s sense of home security is violated in that way, their sense of life is no longer the same.

“At this point we have each other and that’s what matters,” she added. “We won’t let them bring us down. We won’t let them win.” And life goes on.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert, to Home Security Source discussing home invasions on the Montel Williams Show (Disclosures)