It is a widespread belief that home and business security is a passive endeavor; once you have your security system installed you're automatically protected. Two recent incidents in NW DC and Fairfax, VA, however, tell us otherwise. In NW DC a home was recently burglarized by way of a skylight and in Fairfax burglars gained access to a home by cutting the power lines and removing the security system's back-up battery.

Each of these incidents was not the first of its kind in the neighborhood. Several homes have been penetrated through skylights on the 1700 Block of S St NW in recent months. Likewise the Fairfax burglary, the 24th of it's kind since the beginning of May, seems to be the most recent in a series of robberies targeting affluent Indian-American families in the area.

So, what can you do to protect your home or business?

1) Install sensors at every susceptible entry point--not just doors and first floor windows. Many of the homes burglarized on S St. were outfitted with alarm systems, but none had sensors on their second-story skylights. You can also arrange for Urban Alarm to call you when the batteries on any of your sensors are low or if the sensors are malfunctioning and we will help you quickly repair the problem.

2) Arrange for Urban Alarm to alert you when there is a power outage in your neighborhood. If an intruder disables a power line or removes the battery from your alarm system, our Central Monitoring Station will register the incident as a general power outage. When Urban Alarm receives this signal we can call you to verify the power outage and make sure your alarm system hasn't been tampered with.

Overall, crime trends in the DC Metro area show that it's time to be more aggressive with business and home security. Urban Alarm will work with you to develop your personalized security strategy and ensure that you have the highest level of protection.