Increasing security in rented house

whatever99

I'm currently renting a house that has an alarm - I'm not sure of the make or model, but it's old enough. Mainly just motion sensors, although I'd say there's a sensor on the front door as it beeps straightaway when I open it. Can't remember off the top of my head if there's one of those sensor boxes there or not.

It's not a monitored alarm, so is it worthwhile? I was thinking of getting one of those dummy boxes - but what one could I use that wouldn't damage/mark the facade of the house during installation? As it's rented, I can't really do much to it I suppose! Are there any other options? Or is a non-monitored alarm good enough?

Has anyone here been at home/asleep when their alarm went off? If so, did you check the house first before turning it off? I'd be afraid that a burglar would hide until you turned off the alarm. What's the best thing to do in that situation (alarm going off during the night) - stay put and phone the police?

Thanks

altor

Perimeter protection is always going to be the better system. Sensors for the windows are designed to pick up on an intruder trying to gain entry. With just motion detectors an intruder would have to be in your home before the alarm will activate. Some sort of monitoring, be that through a monitoring station or a message to your phone is better than nothing at all. The amount of alarms you will hear ringing with no one even popping out there head to see if it is a false alarm of a real activation. Ringing the guards with a false alarm is just wasting the limited resources they have. Always best to check if it is a false alarm or a real activation before ringing them.