Sign of the times: Cameras grow common

Technology advances, increased affordability expand home security industry in Connecticut

“Unfortunately, the world that we live in, to an extent, people want more protection.”

David Lizotte, vice president of commercial/industrial operations for Advanced Alarms Security Systems Inc.

After Timothy Danforth’s motorcycle was taken from his driveway, he decided to install a security system to discourage thieves.

Two weeks ago, the Edgewood resident’s lawnmower and other lawn equipment were stolen from his yard. While he acknowledges his lawnmower is most likely gone, he said the security cameras were able to get a clear shot of the alleged thief’s face and hopes the police will be able to identify the suspect.

“I wouldn’t say I feel safer,” Danforth said about his recent security system installation. “I [do] think I feel better equipped to catch someone who does steal, and I feel like it acts as a pretty effective deterrent.”

Over the past several years, there has been a gradual increase in the installation of security systems. A 2009 study conducted by researchers at Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice found an installed burglar alarm makes a residence less attractive to would-be and active intruders.

The study notes there used to be the idea residential security was only available for the rich, but in recent decades, technological innovations have increased the availability and capability of home security systems.

“Everybody’s into putting cameras and their security on their smartphones,” said Mark Brown, manager of Marks Total Alarms in New Haven.

In New Haven, some neighborhood associations have shared video of alleged thieves captured by street-facing surveillance cameras installed on private homes and

apartment buildings.

Brown said security service providers have begun offering “smart” security solutions complete with professionally monitored home security services that are enhanced with home automation. Consumers are able to remotely arm or disarm their security systems, receive notifications and monitor cameras through their smartphones or tablets.

Indeed, during Hurricane Irma, out-of-town homeowners from Weston, Florida, alerted authorities just before 3 a.m. Sept. 10 after their home surveillance system had captured burglars inside,

according to the Broward County Sheriff’s office. Deputies responded and arrested two teens. One was wounded in the confrontation.

In Connecticut, the good news for residents is burglaries decreased by 14 percent between 2006 and 2015, according to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Even so, there were 7,490 reported residential burglaries in 2015. The data showed homes were more than twice as likely to be burglarized during the day than at night.

David Lizotte, vice president of commercial/industrial operations for Advanced Alarms Security Systems Inc., in North Haven, believes there are “a lot of applications” for security systems as technology has gotten better and less expensive.

“Unfortunately, the world that we live in, to an extent, people want more protection, and it’s not necessarily always for shoplifting experiences. It’s also workers’ compensation claiming, property damage. ...it’s not quite as open-ended as theft,” he said.

Competition in the alarm industry and low-cost technology, which have produced easy-to-install sensors and alarm equipment, have made residential burglar alarms more available and affordable, according to the study.

“Installations are up, but sales in individual companies are probably down because as installations go up, more competition enters. ...the playing field, so it’s just spread out over more companies,” said Stephen Goldberg, president of Alert Security Systems Inc., of New Haven. “For example, the cable company got into it, so the phone company got into it, so everybody’s doing alarms now.”

Leading communication service providers, like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, have gone beyond phone and cable services and started selling integrated home services, which add home security and monitoring to their traditional market offering.

Danforth described the installation process as “pretty straightforward.” Within a week of inquiring about a security system, he had three cameras and the monitoring system installed.

For Danforth, the cost of installing the cameras and the rest of the system was somewhere between $500 to $700, along with an additional $80 per month for the monitoring system.

However, Lizotte said there “isn’t really a boilerplate” answer for the cost of a basic installation. He said it depends on a variety of factors such as the size of the property, the location of the cameras, wiring methods and the sophistication of the security system.