SECURITY ALARM SYSTEMS PROVIDE `PEACE OF MIND'

The statistics are sobering:

-- A Cape Girardeau woman was injured when an armed robber broke into her home and struck her on the head with a hammer before fleeing with her purse.

-- A 26-year-old Cape Girardeau man suffered injuries to his leg, head and hand when he walked in on two burglars at his home.

-- During one quarter in 1992, 159 burglaries were reported in Cape Girardeau, the highest total in any three-month period during the past decade.

-- Eight commercial burglaries were reported here in one night.

Only larceny and theft top burglary in local and national crime statistics. More than 28 percent of crimes in the U.S. are burglaries, while larceny and theft account for more than 53 percent of all crimes.

The good news it that many burglaries in Cape Girardeau are solved. In one case, a Cape Girardeau man admitted to 56 burglaries here over a three-month period.

Many of the break-ins in Cape Girardeau were in homes and businesses that did not have burglary alarms.

The lesson here would appear to be a simple one: Better safe than sorry. And more homeowners and businesses are opting to follow that advice for maximum protection against burglary with home and commercial security alarm systems.

The alarm industry has been around more than a century and was one of the most dynamic industries in the 1980s.

"It shows no signs of slowing in the 1990s," said Jeff Wagner, sales manager for American District Telegraph Security Systems in the St. Louis area. ADT manufactures, sells, installs and monitors security systems throughout the United States. "Over the past eight years there has been a 125 percent increase in households which have alarm systems."

Wagner said the price of residential alarms has decreased over the years. "Investing in protection of the family and home has become more the standard," he said.

ADT, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., is one of the oldest and largest security systems in the nation. The firm was founded in 1874, and now has more than 174 U.S. offices, employing more than 8,000 people.

Number two on the national alarm services list is Wells Fargo Alarm Services, which operates 42 branches and employs more than 2,165 people.

ADT and Wells Fargo continue to serve people in Southeast Missouri, and many regional security companies have emerged over the past decade.

"When I first opened my security alarm business, I was one of only three security systems in the Cape Girardeau-Jackson area," said Steve Zschille, owner of Accent Security Alarm in Jackson. "Now there are seven."

Zschille's company, the only one in the immediate area with a 24-hour central control center, monitors more than 1,200 accounts.

"There are a lot of monitoring centers throughout the country," said Zschille. "Some installers in this area use a control center at St. Louis; another utilizes a monitoring center in Chicago. We do our own monitoring here."

Accent and Zschille have been on the local scene for about eight years.

"We moved into this building in 1985," said Zschille, in reference to Accent's headquarters at 120 E. Adams. "I've been involved in the security alarm business the past 18 years."

Brian Mouser, owner of SecureTech, another alarm center, and Zschille agreed that alarm systems give their users peace of mind.

"Security systems are not just for protecting your home while you're away," said Mouser. "It gives a person peace of mind. When they come home from being gone at night, they know nobody has been in their home."

Both companies provide burglary, fire, closed-circuit-television and card-access security systems to residential and commercial customers.

"Adding a security system greatly reduces the risk of being burglarized," said Zschille and Mouser. "Burglars tend to shy away from homes having an alarm system."

Once the burglary alarm is triggered, it sets off the alarm at a central monitoring control center, which in turn notifies the local police or fire department.

"With our system here, we can tell just where the disturbance is -- window, door, bedroom, bathroom, upstairs, downstairs," said Zschille. "In many cases we have orders to notify the police department in case of burglary or the fire department in case of fire. We also sometimes have an additional number to call to notify them the alarm has sounded."

SecureTech uses a monitoring center in St. Louis.

"This is no problem," said Mouser. "In all, it takes only about 20 to 30 seconds from the time the system is activated until the central station responds, notifying the proper authorities."

Dan's Key and Lock Shop, 1601 Independence, also offers security alarm systems, along with a high-security lock system.

"We use the Emergency 24 control center at Chicago," said a spokesman for Dan's. "Their response time is about the same as all others: 20 to 30 seconds from the time an alarm is activated."

For the do-it-yourselfer, home security alarm systems are available from a number of sources, including Radio Shack in West Park Mall, which offers wired and wireless systems.

"The wired system tends to be lowest cost and most maintenance free to cover every door and window, and is ideal for large houses," said Brent Young of Radio Shack. "On the other hand, the wireless system requires almost no work at all, and is perfect for apartments and smaller homes."

Also available from Radio Shack and professional security alarm companies is a video door telephone. With the touch of a button, the video door phone lets you see who's outside without opening the door.

Home alarm systems can be just as expensive as home or business owners want them to be, ranging from $800 up.

"A lot depends on the size of the home, the amount of windows, and other factors," said Zschille. "You don't really have to have an expensive system to provide protection."

Mouser agreed.

"Prices range from $800 to $1,000 on the low end to $6,000 or $7,000 on the high end for residential customers, and for businesses alarm systems can cost anywhere from $700 to $12,000," he said.

"The big misconception out there is that professional installation of a home safety system is $3,000 to $4,000," said Mouser. "But people can have peace of mind for a lot less."

Computerized home and commercial systems allow for a variety of alarm functions, from turning on lights to sounding sirens to activating silent alarms.

"Some systems, especially for commercial buildings, utilize the video cameras," said Zschille. "This permits owners to see who is breaking into a building."

There is another fee involved in the burglary system -- a monthly monitoring fee that can run from $15 to $30 depending on the alarm system. This provides for 24-hour-a-day monitoring.

"We have someone watching our monitors at all times," said Zschille.

Most companies recommend cellular phone service as a backup.

"Telephone lines can be cut," said Zschille. "The cellular system prevents alarm systems from being completely dependent on telephone lines."

New-home owners may want to think about a security system when plans for a new home are drawn up.

"We can build the system into the home as it goes up," said Mouser, who specialize in new residential installation."

"New, existing homeowners and businesses of all sizes and types are installing security systems for peace of mind as increases in crime are unfortunately the norm," said Wagner.