Home security
Technology pushes advances in home security
There’s a special kind of sick feeling when you realize that someone has broken into your home and stolen your precious belongings and maybe trashed the place in the process.
It’s a feeling many Albuquerque residents have experienced. A report by the grant-funded city program Albuquerque Innovation Team showed the city saw a 26 percent increase in the property crime rate at residential and commercial locations between 2013 and 2016.
“Everybody in general is thinking more about security,” says Don Martindell, president of the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.
Even if having a security system isn’t a deciding factor in closing a sale, many home buyers he encounters say they plan to install one after purchase. He says some buyers think a gated community is safer.
David Meurer, president of Armed Response Team in Albuquerque, which provides home and business security services, says the most critical factor to prevent a break-in is to practice caution and to make it as difficult as possible for someone to enter the home.
“There’s no doubt, property crime in Albuquerque is almost as high as anywhere in the country, and it’s not just in pockets. It’s even in gated communities. Everyone needs to be aware and take positive steps,” Meurer says.
Whole industries have grown up around the need to protect and secure the home from opportunistic thieves who exploit any chink in the defenses to make off with valuables. One of the fastest growing areas of security technology is the development of digital devices that can