Safes for securing valuable items, including gun safes, are becoming increasingly sophisticated. However, it cannot be ruled out that the contents stored in this way, especially weapons, will fall into the wrong hands. Additional protection is provided by alarm systems installed in safes, integrated with the alarm in the building.
Metres of cabling, unintuitive handling or complicated operation – perhaps these are your associations with alarm systems. It is enough to take a closer look at the solutions available on the market to dramatically change your perception of them. Technological progress is visible also in this branch.
Safes are designed to protect valuable and expensive items from damage. They provide protection against theft and the actions of third parties. However, there is another way to further strengthen the protection provided by a safe – an alarm system. This has the effect of increasing the sums insured.
Retrofitting a safe with an alarm system is becoming increasingly popular. Both private individuals and companies want to gain a higher level of security in this way. Especially that the possession of weapons imposes certain requirements related to their safe storage. Details are to be found in the Weapons and Ammunition Act of 21. May 1999 and the General Regulation to the Weapons Act of the Minister of the Interior on the storage, carrying and recording of weapons and ammunition of 26. August 2014.
How does it work?
The system of detectors installed in the safe will trigger an alarm during virtually any attempt at unauthorised opening:
1. in the event of an attempt to open the lock – by a sensor attached to the lock bolt,
2. In case of an attempt to open the door – by a reed switch placed on the door.
3, In case of an attempt to cut – by the thermal sensor.
4, In case of an attempt to overturn the safe – by a shock sensor.
5, In case of an attempt to steal the safe as a whole – by a sensor of detachment from the floor and a shock sensor.
The essence of installing an alarm system in a safe is not only to prevent theft of the safe or its contents during your absence, or unauthorised access by others (employees, household members or guests). The alarm can also be activated in the so-called "silent mode" when burglars force you to open the safe. Without exposing yourself or others to additional danger from thieves, we send a discreet notification to the relevant services about the robbery. This is particularly important in the case of gun safes, as the weapons stored in them can pose a deadly threat if they fall into the wrong hands.
We recommend to read: Technology and the security of your home
What do you need to consider when choosing an alarm installation?
Time to decide
You can buy a safe with built-in alarm detectors and outgoing cabling, and have the alarm system integrated and connected by a company which protects your building – then the safe is plugged into the building's alarm installation. This is the optimum solution as the alarm installation in the safe should be part of a wider security system for the whole building. Also to consider is the installation of a magnetic lock on the door to the room or the entrance door.
Remember that you don't have to install an alarm in the safe – but we recommend it, because stories about leaving a laptop with a camera on near the safe are not just the imagination of movie scriptwriters. An image recorded in this way or in a similar manner allows a family member or disloyal employee to intercept the access code to the safe. In addition, there is no shortage of people who deliberately do not lock the lock, but only close the door of the still open safe. In this way they want to have easier access to the stored items. In the situations described above, an alarm allows the owner to react more quickly to unauthorised access to the safe's contents.
