From May to September there is a traditional peak of burglaries. A concierge and a strong door are far from the most reliable means of protecting your property.

Even a powerful German Shepherd cannot replace the ubiquitous complex security systems
Photo: Photo ITAR-TASS

According to open sources, over one million thefts are committed annually in Russia (every third crime is a crime against property), and their detection rate ranges from 52-57%.

The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region notes: based on investigative practice, in a metropolis, the largest number of thefts occur in large apartment buildings, especially in areas of new buildings, where residents do not know each other. And the head of the department for supervision of criminal procedural activities of internal affairs and justice of the St. Petersburg prosecutor's office, Oleg Gusev, notes that the detection rate of crimes for burglaries is 21%, for vehicle thefts - only 5% (www.rosbalt.ru/piter/2013/02/ 05/1090007.html).

By the way, the status of housing for today's burglars is not a particular obstacle. For example, in December last year, heavily guarded villages in the Leningrad region with premium-class houses were rocked by mass thefts. Thieves took advantage of the incompetence of security personnel - for example, one of the elite villages in the Vsevolozhsk region was robbed three times. It turns out that the human factor is noticeably inferior to modern security systems.

According to the security company Baltic Perspective, modern security alarm systems make it possible to record the location and time of a violation with maximum accuracy. Installation of security alarms, installation of security alarms in office premises, apartments, houses, offices and other facilities should be carried out only by highly qualified and competent specialists. Today it is possible to install several types of security alarms. For example, a GSM security alarm will allow the subscriber to receive an alarming voice or SMS message on their phone when they enter a protected area. The disadvantages include occasional interruptions in the work of the cellular operator. Autonomous security alarms include an alarm and light flashes when intruders or attempts to infiltrate the protected area. The perimeter system maximally protects the approaches to an enterprise or private property.

According to the Caesar Satellite North-West company, the most popular service is security monitoring, which prevents strangers from entering the premises and stops attempts at criminal attacks. On the territory of a facility that needs security, be it an apartment or a country house, a small office or a commercial building, a control panel and security sensors are installed. The control panel, radio communication receiver with security sensors and GSM signal transmitter are carefully camouflaged. The minimum equipment set is designed for an apartment located neither on the first nor on the top floor. Premises at risk should be equipped with additional sensors. When there is something to protect, it is necessary to carry out diagnostics of the premises - specialists will calculate the risks and suggest the optimal location and number of sensors. The first stage of protection is magnetic sensors on the front door; often they will not be superfluous on the windows either. The contact opens when an attempt is made to enter the premises, and the signal immediately goes to the control center.

Another level of protection, according to Caesar Satellite, is infrared sensors that react to movement. The call will take place if a person has passed, but the system will not respond to the movements of a dog or cat - thus, there is protection against false calls. The following situation is also possible: robbers enter the premises, and for some reason the owner of the apartment opened the door for them. They demand that the alarm be turned off, and the owner deliberately dials the wrong code. In this case, the system behaves in the same way as when entering the correct code, but at the same time sends an alarm to the control center. In general, the life support system developed by the company performs many of the functions of a smart home.

Additional ways to strengthen the protection of an apartment or house are also possible: for example, a siren is installed on the balcony of the apartment. It turns on in the event of a break-in at a power of 100-110 decibels, which is comparable to the hum of the turbines of a supersonic aircraft taking off. Today, even such unique audio technology as the effect of the presence of people in an empty apartment is available. Voices, music, periodically turning on lights. There is a function for remotely answering a call - a suspicious sound, as if the owner is at home, but does not want to communicate with anyone.

The home security system may also include functions for detecting leaks of household gases, water, and fire. Sensors operate around the clock. If a pipe bursts in an apartment, then the technical service manager of the building has the opportunity to immediately contact the owner before the apartment and neighbors are flooded. As for a gas leak, it may not be noticeable for some time. Modern sensors detect the minimum proportions of suspended matter and send a signal to the control center long before the critical gas concentration. The same applies to the occurrence of a fire - sensors will raise the alarm, recording the first signs of combustion. Specialists from the Caesar Satellite company state that such systems are effective with the basic configuration. There is a single standard that ensures the quality of security monitoring in any situation.

The basic set for an ordinary typical apartment is a door opening sensor and a motion sensor. This will be enough to protect yourself from unauthorized access, says Irina Serkova, head of the NDV department at Caesar Satellite North-West. Unless, of course, this is a very large room or a risk zone room - the first floors, floors adjacent to canopies, consoles. In fact, everything is always individual. If we talk about new generation communications, then today, in one way or another, second generation communication systems are used - GSM channels. As soon as St. Petersburg residents switch to third-generation communications, the company intends to do the same. As you know, the advantage of third generation networks is the high speed of data transfer (video images, audio files). This gives the client the opportunity to see what is happening in his apartment or country house in real time.

Albina Samoilova

Safety rating

Based on the number of alarm signals at the facilities guarded by the company, Gulfstream JSC compiled a security rating for the districts of St. Petersburg.

The most troubled areas in 2012 were the Frunzensky and Nevsky districts. The largest number of alarms was recorded here, and the average monthly alarm rate was 12 and 11%, respectively (12 and 11 alarms per 100 objects). The top three is closed by the Central District with an indicator of 6.5%.

According to the results of last year, the Krasnogvardeisky district became the safest. The level of anxiety here is recorded to be almost zero. A favorable situation was observed in the Vyborg, Moscow, Pushkin and Petrodvortsovo districts, where the anxiety coefficient did not exceed 2%.

Based on materials from www.baltinfo.ru.

How to protect what's most precious to you