Bells, whistles and other deterrents

If you're worried about your home being broken into, an alarm is the best solution. Christopher Browne looks at some of the options

Anyone who has been a burglary victim knows just what an ordeal it can be, with weeks of police interviews and feelings of intrusion and loss, particularly if the stolen items had great sentimental value.

Anyone who has been a burglary victim knows just what an ordeal it can be, with weeks of police interviews and feelings of intrusion and loss, particularly if the stolen items had great sentimental value.

Even the threat of a break-in can provoke fear and over-reaction. There is no better example than the case of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer, who, after several attempted burglaries on his home, shot and killed a man who tried to break-in and is now serving a life sentence for murder.

So is there a fail-safe method to help us sleep at night and feel secure when we leave for a business trip or a summer holiday? The answer is an unqualified "yes". A Home Office report shows that 60 per cent of burglary attempts on homes fitted with intruder alarms fail, and that brightly coloured security box on the front of your home is a genuine deterrent.

If you have any doubts about the security of your local area, you should seriously consider buying an alarm. When you do, you will be spoilt for choice. An intruder alarm is the electronic retailer's dream machine. Some arelittle more than glorified bike bells, others are sophisticated sonar systems that, to give added security, are linked to centres that alert the police. Known as monitored alarms, they come with rigorous check-lists and cost £800-£900, plus £200-£300 a year for monitoring and maintenance.

The second recommended type is the bells-only alarm. If yours is installed by a professional company, it will cost you around £500, plus £65 a year for maintenance. If you're reasonably practical, you could fit it yourself and save a bob or two.

Many burglaries are planned by sophisticated gangs. They know the items that make money and the ones that don't, often stealing to order (I once had a valuable bookcase stolen, but the burglars ignored a new DVD system). They then target likely houses, using decoys to watch the owners' movements weeks before they strike.

My neighbour's elderly parents were burgled after leaving their quiet suburban house at midday to do the weekly shopping. They returned two hours later to find thieves had made off with all the woman's jewels, even though some were hidden in secret drawers that only an expert could find. As the couple told the local police, the most telltale clue was a middle-aged woman neither had seen before sitting on a wall opposite the house every morning for two weeks before the burglary.

It's important to choose an alarm installer accredited with one of three trade bodies: Nacoss (National Approval Council for Security Systems) and ICON, both of which are run by the NSI (National Security Inspectorate), and SSAIB (Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board). The company will then give you a free survey and quotation before fitting the system.

Be wary of the alarm cowboys, however. These door-to-door johnnies often ply you with tales of dramatic local burglary increases and stories of break-ins "just a few roads away". Thus I was a little surprised to be canvassed by two salesmen from ADT, the UK's leading domestic alarm supplier, the other day. But after grilling them for 15 minutes, I realised the figures they quoted added up and the goods were indisputably excellent, so I went ahead and bought.

An intruder alarm will not only give you confidence but often cheaper household insurance, too. Direct Line gives discounts of between five and 17.5 per cent, depending on the type of alarm and locks you have.

Leading insurer Axa, meanwhile, insists that NSI-approved alarms must be fitted to homes with £40,000-plus contents in high-risk areas and medium-risk homes that have contents of £50,000 and more.

So, apart from fitting an alarm, what are the best ways to make your home more burglar-proof? Aaron Leclerq from pollster MSI, which brought out a recent home-security report, says anyone who owns a house worth £1m or more should get a survey from an NSI-approved company. He also advises homeowners to keep all nearby trees and bushes trimmed, to prevent burglars using them as handy hideaways, and to fit sensors to lights over front and back doors. If you leave your home for longer spells, fit timers to lights and a radio so they go on in the evening, Leclerq says. And if you are about to move house, he advises contacting the local police to find out the area's high- and low-risk streets.

This week, NSI announced that nine out of 10 calls are false, mainly due to human error. That really is alarming; after all, you don't want your neighbours and the local police to turn a deaf ear to a genuine case of daylight robbery.

The National Security Inspectorate: 01628 637512