Your Safety Is Blue Security’s # 1 Priority

Keep intruders out of your property by ensuring your alarm system is in working order

Did you know that the alarm system you rely on in an emergency situation can fail or malfunction at any time? This means that in an emergency situation our control room may not receive a signal when you are most in need of our assistance.
We tend to forget that an alarm system is an electronic device that is designed to detect an intrusion, trigger a warning device – siren and / or strobe light – and signal our control room. Like any other piece of electronic equipment an alarm system can fail to function for any number of reasons.

How an alarm system works

All components are connected to a control panel (the brains of the alarm), which is programmed, and armed and disarmed using a keypad.
The system is powered by a transformer that is connected to the mains power and it includes a back-up battery to power the system for between 6 to 8 hours in the event of a mains power failure.

Detection of an intruder is achieved using various types of detectors, such as:

• Magnetic contacts on doors and windows
• Passive Infrared Detectors (PIRs) for volumentric protection indoors or outdoors.
• Point to point beams for perimeter detection.
• Strip beams for outdoor detection at windows and doors.
• A wide range of additional sensors such as glass break detectors, smoke detectors and so on.

The Lifespan of an alarm system and battery

As with all electronic equipment, an alarm system has a lifespan, and an alarm system’s performance or reliability can also be affected by a number of environmental factors, such as the frequency of mains power failures, extremes in temperature, summer storm activity, and insect excretions that can corrode and damage circuit boards and components.
Experts agree that the lifespan of an alarm system is between 5 and 7 years, and that the performance of some passive infrared detectors (PIRs) can start to decline after two years. This does not mean that the PIR detectors stop working, but that the detectors may become either more sensitive or less sensitive over time, and may be prone to sending false alarms, activating intermittently or not activating at all.
A battery performing under heavy load or continuous power cuts may also only have a short lifespan. The lifespan of a battery or control panel can also be reduced if it is operating in extreme climates of hot and cold temperatures or climates that experience extreme variations in temperature.

These are all good reasons to:

• Regularly test that your alarm system is in working order (Blue Security recommends once a month).
• Test your alarm system after a power outage or an electrical storm.
• Check PIR detectors regularly and replace detectors when necessary and the alarm panel after five years.
• Have the system checked by a technician twice a year.
• Test the system thoroughly after repairs are carried out to equipment, as well as after renovations, alterations and so on.

A word on back-up batteries and additional power packs

It makes sense that an alarm system covering an extensive area such a large warehouse or a system that includes outside detectors will draw more power. In the event of a power failure, the back-up batteries in an alarm system are designed to power smaller systems for 6 to 8 hours. We advise that additional power packs be installed for larger alarm systems to ensure that an extensive system has the battery capacity to function for up to 8 hours in the event of a power failure.

How to test your alarm system

Periodic testing of your alarm system is essential to ensure proper function – we recommend that you test your alarm system once a month. Please be sure to notify our control room on 031 717 5000 before you begin testing your alarm system.

There are 2 types of tests to perform:

• Testing the operation of the alarm system and various detectors.
• Testing the signal from your alarm system to the control room.

If you still have your owner’s manual, refer to it to test according to your system type. If not, the following test procedures will work for most alarm systems.

Testing the operation of the alarm system and various detectors:

It’s best to use 2 people to conduct this test; one person to trip the detectors and a second person to keep an eye on the keypad activity.

• Verify that the system is in READY mode. Do not arm it.
• Open each protected door or window, one at a time.
• Check that the keypad displays the door or window that you are testing is open.
• Close the respective door or window.
• The keypad should display READY mode.
• Repeat the process for each sensor in the system.

Testing the signal transmission to the control room:

• Call the control room and ask that your system be placed on TEST.
• Be ready to give your account number and challenge code to the operator.
• Arm your system as usual and set it off by opening a door or window, or tripping a PIR detector.
• Allow the alarm to sound for at least 15 seconds.
• Turn off the alarm and return it to READY mode.
• Verify that the signal was received by the control room and ask that the system be taken off TEST.

If you need further assistance, please call Blue Security at 031 717 5000.

The benefits of dual alarm monitoring

A typical alarm system communicates with our control room over a regular telephone line or via a special radio transmitter or both. Where both radio and telephone monitoring is in place this is called dual monitoring.
Blue Security is a corporate member of the South African Intruder Detection Services Association (SAIDSA), a voluntary industry regulator that sets standards to which member organisations are required to comply. SAIDSA recommends that all commercial, industrial, retail and high risk domestic installations have dual monitoring.
As a responsible security service provider Blue Security recommends dual monitoring for the following reasons:

• Due to various environmental conditions and other contributing factors neither telephone nor radio monitoring can be regarded as 100% reliable 100% of the time. The odds however of both systems failing simultaneously are low.
• Radio networks do on occasion become congested with alarm signal traffic. This can result in delayed transmission, or in some cases non transmission of alarm activations.
• Radio repeaters have been known to fail on occasion. Should your alarm activate during the time that it takes to repair or re-set the repeater, the radio signal will not be transmitted to the control room, leaving you vulnerable to intruders.
• Telephone monitoring offers a more detailed description of the alarm activation, allowing the control room to make more informed decisions.

A layered approach to security effectively limits an intruder’s opportunity to break in to your home or business

“We had plumbers in to fix our geyser. The next weekend burglars broke in through the roof. I came home from taking my wife to hospital and luckily the intruders ran away. It could have been a lot worse. To my mind the plumbers were responsible for the burglary. Burglars use all sorts of ruses to gain entry to your home … be it cleaning the pool or garden, or reading meters. Living in SA can be terrifying, but it’s certainly NEVER boring.”

This is a typical story of life in SA, and as the narrator of the story says, a life that can at times be dull but never boring! Some might even say that life in the good old RS of A can be a little too exciting!
In an increasingly frightening world our home should be the one place where everyone feels safe, and a place where the outside world is kept … outside.
Sadly, burglaries are so common that they barely warrant a mention and it’s easy in this climate to feel helpless.
But, given that burglaries are generally speaking opportunistic crimes, and that burglars will select a target that offers a relatively easy opportunity to carry out a crime undetected, there is a lot that you can do to secure your home or business and limit an intruder’s opportunity to break in and steal your valuable possessions.

A layered approach to security

A good way of thinking about a layered approach to security is to consider when you would like to stop the intruder advancing. Do you want to be alerted to an intruder as the intruder enters your property, when the intruder reaches the perimeter of your home or be confronted by the intruder inside your home.
Whilst some security measures may be a little pricey, if you consider that it takes an experienced intruder just a few minutes to derail a driveway gate, force open a security gate and a front door and escape in a vehicle with YOUR expensive electronic equipment and any of your other possessions that are light and portable (such as cameras, cash and jewellery), a security system that provides early warning that intruders are on your property is a small price to pay for the protection of these expensive goods.
Along with leading security experts, Peter Anderson, Managing Director of Blue Security says, “A layered approach to security is the most effective security solution you can adopt to protect yourself from a break in and the loss of valuable possessions.”
Professor Rudolph Zinn, a former police officer and now a senior lecturer at UNISA’s criminology department, interviewed a number of inmates for his book, Home Invasion: Robbers Disclose What You Should Know (Tafelberg, 2010). In the interviews, these criminals doing time cited the following early detection devices as effective deterrents:

• Razor wire or electric security fences around the entire perimeter of the house.
• Pre-warning alarm systems, such sensors in the garden, along outside walls and windows, and in the ceiling.
• An armed response service.
• A CCTV system.
• Small dogs inside the house.

The purpose of installing early warning detection devices is to:

Deter the criminal – you want your property to look and be secure enough so that the criminal is not tempted to break-in to your property but rather move on to a softer target.
Detect the criminal – if the criminal does manage to get into your property, early warning devices such strip beams placed around the perimeter of your property and windows will trigger the alarm siren as soon as an intruder enters your property.
Delay the criminal – if the criminal does manage to get up to your house, the security gates and burglar bars are strong enough to withstand being quickly prized off doors and windows and this activity will activate the alarm.
Detain the criminal – this will give our armed reaction officers enough time to respond to the alarm activation and hopefully to apprehend the criminals before they have left the property with your possessions.
“Harden” these 3 layers of your property to limit intruder opportunity to break in:

1. The exterior or outer layer of your property.
2. The perimeter of your home or business; and
3. The interior of your home or business.

Exterior / Outer Protection

This is the boundary area of your property. Ideally, this is where you want to stop intruders – long before they get near to your family or business and possessions. The earlier detection takes place, the sooner action can be taken and losses prevented. The outer layer of security would comprise CCTV surveillance, walls and electric fences, dogs, and outdoor sensors, such as Strip Beams.

Perimeter

The perimeter or second layer of your property is the area that surrounds your home and includes doors and windows. Intruders most commonly enter properties through doors and windows and it is important that these access points are “hardened” to delay or slow down an intruder’s ability to break in. It is best to stop a would-be intruder here.

Burglar guards need to be robust (i.e. made of a thick gauge steel) and securely affixed to the window frame with an 8mm bolt. The head of the bolt should be counter sunk into the window frame and the nut should be rounded off with a file or angle grinder and coated in epoxy. Perimeter doors should be solid core and fitted with adequate locks and dead bolts. Again, security gates should be robust and fitted in such a way that intruders are not able to easily prise them open or off the door frame with a crow or lift the gate off its hinges.

Interior

Alarm systems

An alarm and a monitoring and armed response service are central to your security plan. The reason why a security system deters burglars is because it increases the potential of being captured and arrested by the police. Signs up on your property that you subscribe to an armed response service are also good deterrents. But don’t be fooled into thinking that burglars believe that just because there are signs up, your home is protected. Burglars check and also rely on inside information.

Alarm systems need to be properly installed and maintained. All systems should have an audible siren. However, the siren should be programmed to reset automatically after one minute (check this is correct), so that your neighbours do not have to listen to a wailing siren for hours on end. Make sure that you update your contact information with Blue Security, otherwise we will have difficulty responding to you in an emergency situation.

The roof – often the weakest link in your security system

Although the roof is an easy access point into your premises for an intruder as it only the takes a few second to remove roof tiles and break through a ceiling, the roof it is often not secured against intrusion. And, intruders know this, which is why it is essential that your roof is adequately protected by installing microwave passives.

For a free security risk assessment, please call Blue Security at our Pinetown head office on 031 717 5000.