By Pamela Singleton, Sonitrol Pacific Director of Communications
Posted December 18, 2008

As you know, Sonitrol Pacific recently celebrated our 5,000th apprehension. We hadn’t expected this milestone to come during our 30th anniversary year, but the recent uptick in criminal activity pushed us over the top before 2008 came to a close.

What’s concerning for us is we are seeing an increase of people attempting to burglarize businesses and schools WITH a security system. Clearly, just having a security system isn’t enough. To truly protect a facility, complete security with early and verified detection by monitoring experts is vital.

I was reviewing some of the numbers (as I do every year) to watch for trends. Although we still have a few weeks left in the year, here’s a look at our early stats:
84 Sonitrol Pacific apprehension incidents netted 162 suspects.
Of these:
44% entered through a door
23% didn’t gain entry
17% entered through a window
16% entered through the roof, a wall or “other” means

Since traditional burglar alarms rely on door contacts and motion sensors, this means
23% of these incidents would NOT have been detected by a conventional alarm
16% probably would not have been detected by a conventional alarm and if they were detected it would have been extremely delayed in detection
100% of those criminals detected by a conventional alarm would have been already well within the building by the time a signal was received
100% of those criminals detected by a conventional alarm would have had plenty of time while the alarm company called the site, then the call list, then the police
100% of Sonitrol Pacific customers get the best value for their dollar and the lowest true total cost

If you don’t have a Sonitrol Pacific system, call us to learn what we can do for you. Also, check out these tips to increase your facility security and these on protecting your people. Portland Police Bureau has great tips too.