Jeff Zwirn burglar-proofed his first piece of vulnerable real estate long
before it occurs to most property owners to do so. It was his bedroom. He
was nine.
"I wanted to protect myself -- I wanted to make my insecurity a security,"
says Zwirn. He now runs an alarm company in New Jersey. "So I've always been
interested in electronics and alarm systems. And I've always wanted to have
my own alarm company."
Zwirn is a nationally recognized forensic alarm expert. He is often called
on to testify in cases where alarm systems fail. He says his long experience
out in the field has made him able to speak on behalf of alarm science.
"My experience as an alarm technician made me an expert," says Zwirn. "Under
cross-examination, you won't survive unless you really know your business.
You have to be credible."
Zwirn has been in the alarm business for more than 30 years. To
this day, he still puts on a tool belt and goes out to install and service
systems with the rest of his company's alarm technicians. He says he's always
eager to personally put his clients' minds at ease.
"You're working with a lot of different types of customers, some of whom
have been burglarized or robbed and are really in need of your services,"
says Zwirn. "What you're really doing in the alarm industry is providing peace
of mind. It's a very good feeling to install a system and make people feel
safe again.
"It's also a good feeling to do it before the fact and have systems that
save lives where the fire alarm activates and people get out alive, or the
burglar alarm system saves someone from losing the things that they've cherished
for so many years," he says.
Henry Becker started out in the industry as an alarm technician around
the same time as Zwirn. He founded an alarm company many years ago and is
now the general manager. He says the most rewarding part of the work is the
feedback he receives from satisfied and eternally grateful customers.
"We get letters all the time from people thanking us for preventing the
loss of precious family items, whether through burglary or fire," says Becker.
"It's feel-good work, when we think of the lives we save and the losses we
prevent."
Becker says the noble industry is flourishing throughout the continent,
thanks to a rise in affluence, crime and public insecurity.
"The interest is phenomenal," says Becker. "I can only account for it by
calling it the degeneration of society. There's definitely a perception within
society that crime is on the increase. As more thieves break into homes, the
more they give the public an insecure feeling. The public in turn are going
to invest in an alarm system to protect themselves.
"It's also due to our new affluent society," he says. "In the last number
of years, people have been building some really big houses."
Joan Garden agrees that the industry is doing very well. She's happy to
be president of an alarm company. She says the alarm industry is rising to
the challenge of increased crime with increased technology.
"From what I can follow, there's been a rise in petty theft [theft by unprofessional
criminals] and home invasions -- even home invasions when the residents are
home," says Garden.
"The industry is progressing alongside that trend with new technology.
For instance, we're getting into wireless systems, so if your phone line is
cut to disable your wired-in system, you have a cellular backup."
Garden says the rise in demand for alarms is also thanks to the aging population.
A medic-alert system transmits a help signal -- either to an ambulance, a
neighbor or family member -- when its wearer is in medical trouble. These
alarms are very popular among elderly people who don't live in care facilities.
"We're putting in more medic alerts for people who want to live at home
rather than going to a nursing home," she says. "It gives the family an immense
sense of security to know that the individual is able to get help at the press
of a button."