On Mon, 16 May 2011 21:24:56 +0000 (UTC),
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Alan writes:
In message , "dennis@home"
wrote

the theory was that you wanted to catch burglars in the property not
scare them away.

Isn't the aim to deter burglars from a domestic property hence the
prominently displayed external bell box.

Yes - that's the first aim.
Burglar alarms don't 'catch' burglars. Police used to temporarily
supply silent alert systems where they wanted to catch someone, but
if you aren't the police, you don't want to encounter a burglar,
you just want them to scarper empty handed as fast as possible.

Even CCTV isn't really the answer. The resultant images usually merely
portray some thick-looking yoof wearing a 'hoodie'. The only possible
people who could recognise the individual are likely to be parents or
accomplices, who aren't exactly likely to 'turn them in', innit :-)

What's really needed is some sort of 'system' to _catch_ people
_before_ they do damage breaking in, rather than after.

Discuss.

--
Frank Erskine