Burglar alarm

A burglar alarm is a security-system notification indicating possible unauthorized entry or activity at a protected place. In a police log, it usually identifies the reason a request was received or assessed. It is not a finding that a burglary occurred. The sensor information, verification process, and response outcome provide the needed context.

A signal of possible activity

Security systems can monitor doors, windows, motion, or other conditions. The signal identifies what the system detected, which is different from establishing who was present or why it activated. A monitoring company's message and a responder's later observations can therefore describe different stages of the event.

Seattle's alarm guidance describes circumstances in which an alarm request requires verification or physical evidence before police dispatch. This illustrates the distinction between a signal and an accepted response request. The policy should be read as Seattle's practice rather than a universal alarm standard. Seattle monitored-alarm guidance

A public call type may identify residential, commercial, or another alarm category. That category does not necessarily disclose the sensor zone, activation cause, or complete security-system history.

Example

Hypothetical example: A motion sensor activates in a closed store. The monitoring company contacts a responsible person and then requests assistance under the applicable process. Responders check the reported area and record their findings. No person is identified in the public summary.

The summary supports saying a burglar-alarm request was handled. It does not support calling an unidentified person a burglar or describing a theft. It also does not establish a malfunction merely because the public entry lacks a confirmed offense. The later disposition or alarm investigation would be needed for that conclusion.

Common confusion

A burglary is an offense with defined legal or statistical criteria. A burglar alarm is a notification of possible activity. The system name does not establish the offense.

A robbery or hold-up alarm concerns another reported security condition; it should not be silently combined with a burglar alarm. A fire alarm has a different detection purpose. Local datasets may group alarm types, so the codebook determines the published category's scope.

Reading an alarm outcome

Check whether the record shows receipt only, dispatch, cancellation, attendance, or a final classification. “Premises appears secure” documents an observation under local rules and is not necessarily a conclusion about why a sensor activated. For counting, distinguish alarm requests from confirmed burglaries and identify how repeated activations at the same property are handled.

Related terms

• Alarm response
• False alarm
• Burglary
• Disposition

Sources

• Seattle Police — Monitored Alarms: security notifications and local verification requirements.
• Henrico County Police — CAD Webservice Documentation: separate local residential, commercial, governmental, and hold-up alarm categories.