Security Tips

Help solve a crime by sharing tips with the Atlanta Police Department. Call Crime Stoppers Atlanta, 404-577-8477.

• Remember your duress code. Choose a code that is easy to remember in a critical situation
• Be sure children know who to call in an emergency
• Test your security system semi-annually to ensure that the Monitoring Station is receiving the proper signal
• Know your cancellation code, and provide it to the monitoring representative when you are contacted to determine the nature of the alarm
• Contact System 5 Electronics to provide changes to your emergency contact list, to ensure that your emergency call list is current
• Arm your system at all times, even if you are in any remote part of the house or in the yard
• Place large gauge gravel on the ground near windows because the noise caused by intruders walking on it can become a psychological deterrent
• Use a timer to turn your lights on and off while you are away
• Leave a radio on to present the illusion of the occurrence of a conversation
• Don’t ignore people knocking on your door. Sometimes burglars will knock on your door or ring the doorbell to determine if someone is home. You don’t have to open the door, but you should let let them know that you are there.
• Replace all locks if someone losses a key or when you move to a new home
• Exterior doors should be strong enough to withstand excessive force
• All strike plates and frames for exterior doors should be anchored to the home’s main construction
• Your address should be posted on your house and be clearly visible from the street at night and during the day
• All entrances (doors and windows) to your home should be well lit at night
• Install motion sensor floodlights around the outside of your home
• Install motion sensor floodlights in the driveway that activate when a car pulls into the driveway
• Keep tools and ladders stored so that they can’t be used to help someone to break in your home
• Ground plants under windows should be maintained at a height that is below the windowsill
• Plant thorny plants along fences and under windows
• Do not hide keys in places like under doormats, above your door or in your mailbox
• When you are on vacation, have a neighbor pick up your mail or else contact your post office and tell them to stop delivery until you get back
• When you know you will not be at home, turn down the volume of your home phone’s ringer and the volume of your answering machine
• Always remember to arm your alarm system when leaving your home and to know your duress code. If there is someone at home when you leave, put your system in the stay mode. If a situation arises in which you are ambushed at your front door and a criminal forces you at gunpoint to let them into your home, you can enter your duress code and the police will be dispatched immediately. If you press your panic button instead of entering your duress code into the control panel, it will take longer for the police to be dispatched because the call center will try to reach you first before dispatching the police. Another advantage of using your duress code instead of pressing the panic button is that because the alarm will not sound, the criminals will not be aware that you have just alerted the monitoring station to dispatch the police.
• If it appears that your house has been entered by force or otherwise DO NOT GO IN. Notify the police, via 911 of the circumstances and wait for the police to arrive. If possible, go to, or notify a neighbor.
• Keep garage doors and sliding doors locked at night and also when you are away from home
• Join a Neighborhood Watch if your community has one
• Contact System 5 Electronics so that one of our Security Professionals can conduct a security inspection of your premises