At least thirty seconds of siren and a text to your phone, then the call tree starts dialing your emergency contacts. If nobody answers with the code word, dispatch sends police, and with video verification your alarm jumps the false-alarm line with a real description of who is in the house.
The sequence, minute by minute
The alarm sounds for at least 30 seconds, and a text hits your phone the moment it trips. Then the monitoring center starts down your call tree, the emergency contacts you set when the system went in, one by one. Answer with your code word and it usually ends there. Nobody answers, and it moves to dispatch.
Why video verification changes everything
Police departments have cracked down on false alarms, and an unverified signal can sit low in the queue. Video or a snapshot that confirms a person inside turns your alarm into a verified break-in: the dispatcher can tell officers it is a white male in a black shirt leaving in a red pickup, plate included when the camera catches it. Verified calls go to the top, and officers respond like they mean it.
Put fire on the same system
If you are monitoring for intrusion, monitor for smoke and fire too. It is easy to add, and it dispatches whether anyone is home or not. We can vouch for how fast it works: we once pressed a detector's test button without putting the system in test mode first, and the fire department showed up. Learn from us and schedule tests with the monitoring center.
The permit nobody mentions
Many counties and cities require a registered alarm permit, and Harris County enforces it: without one on file, authorities will not respond to your alarm, and fines follow. We register the permit for you as part of every install, so the system you paid for actually gets a response.
The county reality
Response times are not the same everywhere. Montgomery County is quick. Parts of Harris County are not. It is one more reason verified alarms and a correct call tree matter.
Questions we get
People who answer their phones at 2am and can speak for the house: you, your spouse, a nearby relative or neighbor, in the order you want them tried.
False alarm policies vary by department, and video verification exists to keep your alarm from being treated as one more false signal.
Properly chosen and placed sensors account for pets. It is a walkthrough question, and an easy one.