New Year Resolution: No More False Alarms

Are you guilty of setting off your alarm system once or twice a year and forgetting your password? Do you have your password taped onto your keypad just in case you need it? Do you keep your security system turned off because you can't remember how to use it? If these things relate to you in any way, then read on. We're going to help you with some new year's resolutions.

Resolution Number One: I Won't Keep Passcodes or Passwords Taped to My Phone or Keypad

While this may be a wonderful way of reminding you or your family in case you need to recite it, it is also a wonderful way in allowing intruders to walk in, answer the central station monitoring call and repeat the password, thus canceling the dispatch. Not everyone has a photographic memory, and those of us who need help must come up with alternative methods. It won't be the same for everyone, but some helpful tricks are writing down a word similar, perhaps a synonym or word that rhymes. Write your password on a small piece of paper and tuck it away in a book on your shelf. They even sell storage safes that double as a book.

Resolution Number Two: No More False Alarms

Okay, so we all have occasional moments when kids burst in or out of the doors before disarming the system, or you walk in the house with your hands full, answer a phone call and realize that your alarm is going off. Don't Panic. Simply turn off your sirens and expect a call from the central monitoring station. In order to maintain your good record with the city and not dispatch the police, you MUST have your password (See Resolution Number One) and be able to give it to the central station. If this happens it is not considered a false alarm. The less false alarms the city's task force has to worry about, the better their time (and our money) will be spent in working on the important issues in the community.

Resolution Number Three: I've Invested in My System; I Will Use My System

Don't feel ashamed if you need to contact your security provider (the alarm company where you purchased your system) to ask questions. Many times they can send you a manual of your system, or "cheat sheets" can be found on the Internet to walk through the process of re-learning your security system. Maybe you have moved into a new home with a system and need to learn how to operate it, or maybe you have just turned off your system because there have been problems in the past, like a device wasn't working properly. Either way, contact your provider and they will come out and test your system, fix the problems and train you on the best way to use it.

For more information on how to reduce false alarms, visit http://www.atronicalarms.com/reducefalsealarms.html