Does ADT Prevent Crime?
When people think of home security, a common first thought is ADT. But the reality is that ADT is little more than a hexagonal sign sitting on your lawn or plastered on your business’s front window. Does ADT prevent crime? Hardly.
ADT dates back to the late 1800s, making it one of the first security companies. That said, first isn’t necessarily the best. While the company’s origins included security personnel making rounds—a proactive response service—it lost its way over the years. Today, it’s not much more than a reactive alarm system that tries to help when it’s too late.
So, is ADT effective? It can hardly be considered an effective solution in this modern age. The result is a lack of peace of mind when it comes to your home or business security.
Can ADT Prevent Crime? Reactivity vs. Proactivity
ADT’s fatal flaw as a security solution is that it’s reactive, not proactive. That’s the difference between preventing a crime and trying to track down a burglar after they’ve made off with your valuables.
ADT only takes notice after someone has entered the premises. When an alarm is triggered, the system sends a signal to an ADT monitoring center. If you’re home, you have 60 seconds to enter your password. Even if you’ve got your wits about you and enter the password promptly, you’ll wait anywhere from two to five minutes to get a call from ADT.
Then, ADT waits for you to confirm there’s a criminal in your home—and that’s if you’re able to do so. The ADT operator will try calling you several times (the industry average is two to three times) in an attempt to connect with you before even picking up the phone to contact the police. In the meantime, who’s to say the invader hasn’t tied you up or is holding you at gunpoint… or worse?
If they can get a hold of you, the service will then take another six to seven minutes to notify the police, who may not prioritize the call without verification of a crime.
In the meantime, ADT cannot interact with a perpetrator or even see or hear what’s happening—not that they could do much, because ADT’s monitoring agents are minimally trained. Any video equipment at your property is only useful after the fact—reactivity, once again.
No part of this process makes you feel safe and peaceful. All you’ve paid for, essentially, is to record a crime and get a phone call about something that might be happening on your property, when you could be stopping a threat.
How Deep Sentinel Is Different
Not all security solutions are reactive. Some, like Deep Sentinel, have proactive crime response down to a science.
Deep Sentinel uses advanced AI and highly-trained LiveSentinel personnel to respond to threats in the heat of the moment. If the AI security camera notices something suspicious, the guards are on it promptly, intervening within seconds. The guards can also use interactive sirens and two-way speakers to address criminals before they commit a crime. That has been proven to be an effective deterrent—proactivity vs. reactivity in action.
The LiveSentinel guards have eyes and ears on the scene and can verify criminal activity when contacting authorities. What’s more, they can provide live updates about the suspect and the situation to law enforcement. This prompts the police to expedite a response.
Deep Sentinel’s live guards aren’t mere customer service representatives sitting in call centers wearing headsets. They have extensive hands-on experience in personal security, border patrol, the armed forces, law enforcement, and related fields. These experienced security personnel receive specialized training in de-escalation, overcoming biases, executing protocols, supporting law enforcement, and more. And they receive ongoing training to ensure they’re up to speed on the most effective tactics.
The Role of Law Enforcement
The reason ADT and many other typical security services have a slow, multi-step process before calling law enforcement is the overwhelming prevalence of false alarms. Over the years, these services have called the police far too many times in cases that are the equivalent of “the boy who cried wolf.”
As a result, law enforcement agencies receiving notifications from ADT aren’t exactly jumping to answer them. For one, they tend to classify burglar alarm calls as low-priority, since the burglar has likely come and gone. Secondly, there’s a good chance (up to 98%!) that they’ll soon learn that the alert was a false alarm—a pet, child, visitor, delivery, or faulty sensor that was initially misconstrued as a potential security threat. It’s not the police’s fault—confirmed emergencies need to take priority over something that might possibly be a burglar.
This problem has become so pervasive that some cities and counties have passed laws stating they won’t respond to unverified burglar alarm calls. That seems wild, but it’s true.
The Deep Sentinel difference: Both ADT and Deep Sentinel’s reputations precede them with law enforcement. However, Deep Sentinel is the clear winner. Law enforcement recognizes the sophistication of Deep Sentinel’s proactive technology, complemented by skilled live guards that verify when an actual crime is unfolding before involving the police. In most situations, Deep Sentinel makes contact with law enforcement in fewer than 30 seconds and achieves the highest police response rate. Because of the live verification, police take Deep Sentinel’s reports of threats seriously.
Data Security
It’s almost ironic, but for a business of ADT’s nature, you would expect best practices for securing against cyberattacks. Because ADT often uses unsecured wireless networks, the systems are often vulnerable to hackers. These attacks could include disabling systems or bypassing security measures entirely. So, even if your ADT system appears to be “on,” it may not be fuctional behind the scenes if savvy hackers take advantage of ADT’s Achilles heel.
The Deep Sentinel difference: In contrast, Deep Sentinel uses a secure wireless network as well as advanced encryption to keep data safe. Deep Sentinel doesn’t use any third-party integrations, eliminating the cause of many data breaches. Your data is as secure as your property.
The Bottom Line: Does ADT Work? Does Deep Sentinel?
If you’re serious about securing your home or business, the choice is clear. Does ADT prevent crime? Perhaps its little blue signs can deter a fraction of the less brazen criminals. Beyond that, the answer is a resounding no. ADT can’t prevent crime. It can only react to it.
Choosing ADT is taking your life and the lives of your loved ones into your own hands. Take a proactive effort of your own and choose Deep Sentinel’s live video monitoring solution. With an advanced video surveillance system and live professional guards watching your property well before an intruder touches your front door, you can sleep soundly.
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Need a Solution that Prevents Crime?
Deep Sentinel is the only security technology that delivers the experience of a personal guard on every customer’s home and business. Visit deepsentinel.com or call 833-983-6006