Burglar alarms and CCTV: decide the response first

An audible-only alarm, often called bells-only, relies on the noise scaring the intruder off and on neighbours taking notice. A self-monitored or smart alarm sends alerts to your phone, and you decide what to do. With a monitored alarm, signals go to an alarm receiving centre (ARC), whose operators contact you or your keyholders and, where the system qualifies, the police.

Police response is not something you buy from any installer. Under the National Police Chiefs' Council policy that covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the police issue a unique reference number (URN) only for systems installed and maintained by a company certified by an inspectorate such as NSI or SSAIB and signalled through a monitoring centre. Police Scotland has its own policy. Repeated false alarms can lead to police response being withdrawn, so the quality of the installation and how you use the system both matter.

Insurers sometimes specify the type of alarm, the grade or the monitoring. Check your home insurance policy before you ask for a quote; a system that does not meet the insurer's wording can leave you with a claim problem after a burglary.

Wired systems run cable to each detector. They are reliable and need no detector batteries, but installing them in a finished house means lifting floors or running cable along skirting. Wireless systems are quicker to fit and easier to extend; the detectors run on batteries that need changing, and the radio signalling should be supervised so the panel notices if a device goes silent.

Intruder alarms in the UK are designed to BS EN 50131 and graded by the risk they are built for. Most homes use Grade 2 equipment. Whatever the system, ask the installer to explain the grade, how the system is set (whole house, part-set at night), and what the maintenance visits involve.

• the type of response: bells-only, self-monitored, keyholder or police
• the grade of the equipment and the standard it is installed to
• where each detector, door contact and keypad goes
• monitoring contract length and how it can be ended
• annual maintenance and what a call-out costs outside it
• the inspectorate certificate, if police response is intended

Cameras on your own house raise a question alarms do not: whose images you record. The Information Commissioner's Office says that if a domestic camera captures anything beyond your boundary, such as a neighbour's garden, the street or a shared path, data protection law applies. You then need to put up signs, deal with requests from people who ask for footage of themselves, and delete recordings regularly.

The ICO also points out that audio can capture other people's conversations and counts as personal information. A good installer places cameras to cover your property, uses privacy masking where a field of view would take in a neighbour's window, and can switch off audio. Talk to your neighbours before the cameras go up; many disputes start because nobody explained where they point.

An alarm tells you that someone got in. Locks, door construction and window security decide how easy that is. For many homes the better first step is a lock upgrade on the front and back doors, secure patio door locks, or window locks on the ground floor. An installer who also handles physical security can look at these together with the alarm rather than selling one product on its own.

Monitored and police-response systems come with contracts for monitoring and maintenance. Read the term, the renewal terms and what happens if the company stops trading. Avoid paying a long monitoring period up front. When you move into a house with an existing alarm, ask the previous owner for the codes and the name of the maintaining company, and have the system checked; installers often have to reset engineer codes on panels they did not fit.

You tell us about the property and what you want the alarm or cameras to do. The request is offered, without your name or contact details, to alarm installers covering your postcode, and exactly one of them can buy it. That installer pays Offrano; you pay nothing. We email you the installer's name, address and phone number before your details are released.

No installer is obliged to take the request, and it is withdrawn if nobody does so within 21 days. You decide whether to accept any quote. Offrano checks that the buyer is a registered business, not whether it holds NSI or SSAIB certification, so if you want police response, check the installer on the NSI or SSAIB website yourself.