It’s the middle of the night. You’re tucked up in bed, sleeping soundly. When suddenly, a loud, high-pitched noise pierces the night. Your burglar alarm is going off! As the adrenaline surges through your body and you jump out of bed, only one thought is running through your head- ‘what do I do?’ A burglar alarm going off at night can be a scary and even irritating thing, especially if it’s never happened before. But it means your alarm is doing its job, and how you react to it is incredibly important. And that reaction will be different depending on whether the alarm going off is yours or your neighbours.
If Your Alarm Goes Off
Stay Calm: The first and most important thing is to not panic. We know this is hard, and if you need to take a moment to breathe and calm down after the initial adrenaline rush, you should. There are a lot of reasons your alarm might be going off, and even if it is an intruder, there’s a good chance it’s scared them off. So take a moment, take a breath, and don’t do anything rash.
Check it’s not a false alarm: If you have an app to control your alarm system, pull it up and. check the status of it. If you don’t have one and your keypad is in sight, check that instead to see if it is an error or a false alarm. If your keypad is in another area of the house, don’t put yourself in potential danger by going to check.
Go to your safe place: If you aren’t sure if it’s a false alarm, it’s time to go to your safe place in the house. This should be a room that’s furthest away from any possible entry points, and preferably has a door with a lock on it.
Keep your phone with you: Make sure that you have your phone with you when you move so that you can call the police. If you have remote monitoring on your alarm system, then the monitoring service will be trying to contact you to assess the situation and enact the next steps.
Wait: stay in your safe place until the authorities arrive, or you are able to establish that there is no intruder in your home.
If Your Neighbour’s Alarm Is Going off
Investigate: From a distance! It’s very important that you don’t put yourself in danger doing this. Look out of the window and figure out which house the alarm is coming from. Can you see any suspicious activity outside, like vans or cars that aren’t usually there, or people moving around? Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to go over and take a closer look.
Contact your neighbour: If you have a phone number for your neighbour, give them a call. You want to contact them to let them know their alarm is going off. They will be able to let you know what’s going on, and if there are any steps you need to take.
Call the police: If you can’t reach your neighbour, you don’t have their contact details, or you see something suspicious, it’s time for you to call the police. If you think there are intruders still inside the property, call 999 right away. If you aren’t sure, then call the 101 non-emergency number.
Of course, all of this advice is for if your neighbours alarm goes off randomly. If your neighbours alarm goes off regularly, then the best thing to do is talk to your neighbour directly. They might know that there is a fault with their alarm that is going to be fixed, or they might not realise it’s an issue at all. If having a discussion doesn’t resolve things and the alarm keeps going off, you can call your local council and report it as a noise problem.
If you don’t have a burglar alarm, or yours is due an upgrade, we can help. At security we are experts in all things security, so we can help you choose an alarm system that is best suited to your property and needs. With stand-alone and remote monitoring options available, we help bring peace of mind to thousands of homeowners every day. For more information, contact our offices today.
