ADT is one of the best solutions when it comes to protecting your home with an automated security system. They provide immediate armed dispatch in emergencies and have easy-to-use alarm systems. But when will ADT contact the police when your alarm is triggered?
ADT will contact the police when an alarm is triggered, and you don’t enter the code or answer your phone immediately afterward. They will phone 1-2 numbers and request a codeword when your alarm goes off. If they don’t get a response, they will call the police.
This article will explain how ADT’s emergency response system works, when they call the police, and how long it takes for you to get an armed response. I’ll also give you tips on preventing false alarms and improving your ADT security system.
How Long It Takes for ADT To Contact the Police
When an ADT alarm sounds because of a breach in the windows or doors, you’ll have 20-30 seconds to switch the alarm off by entering the passcode. If you fail to do so within the time limit, ADT will get an emergency signal. However, they don’t contact the police before they verify whether there’s a genuine emergency or it was a fake alarm.
As soon as ADT gets an alarm signal, they will call you on the number(s) you provide beforehand. If you don’t pick up your phone, they will consider it to be a genuine emergency and will contact the police. This process could take as little as 90 seconds or as much as 5-10 minutes.
It’s important to note that ADT won’t always call the police, even if they consider the alarm as a genuine emergency. Most ADT dispatch centers will first send an armed response unit to the property to check whether there’s a genuine issue. If there’s a burglary in progress or similar emergency, they will contact the police immediately.
Unfortunately, ADT cannot contact the police as soon as an alarm goes off as they have to verify whether it’s a genuine emergency or not. Even if you call 911, the dispatcher will take time to check whether there’s a genuine emergency before sending help. However, most ADT units respond much faster than the local police, and you’ll have an armed response unit in a couple of minutes.
What Affects ADT’s Response Time
It’s difficult to know exactly how long you have to wait for an armed response when your house is broken into. This often depends on the type of alarm system you have, how close the ADT dispatch is to your home, and the nature of the emergency. If you’re lucky, you may get help in less than 10 minutes. However, if you live somewhere rural or remote, it might take a bit longer.
Some of the factors that affect ADT’s response time include:
What Type of Alarm Is Activated
ADT offers different types of alarm systems based on whether you’re at home or outside. If you’re at home and need to ensure that no doors or windows are breached while you’re sleeping, you can activate a “stay” alarm. If you’re outside and there’s no one home, you should activate an “away” alarm.
The stay alarm will only go off when a door or window is breached before you deactivate the alarm system. This is ideal for preventing burglaries when you’re sleeping at night and will immediately alert ADT in case of an emergency.
If you’re at home and there’s a burglary, you can also use a “panic button” to send an emergency message to ADT. This button is reserved for cases when you can’t call emergency services and need to hide from burglars. When you use the panic button (even if the alarm system is off), ADT immediately sends an armed dispatch to your property.
ADT also offers an alarm system for when you’re gone on vacation or are out of the house for a while. This “away” alarm system has sensors that will detect breaches in the windows and doors, and the alarm will activate when movement is detected on the property.
In most cases, using a panic button will get you the fastest response from ADT. While they won’t contact the police immediately, they will send an armed dispatch team to check on you if you fail to answer your phone when the alarm is triggered.
How Far the Dispatch Team Is From Your Property
While ADT will give you an estimated time for the armed team’s arrival, this may vary depending on whether the emergency dispatch vehicle is when your alarm goes off. ADT teams will often drive around a neighborhood on regular rounds if there are several properties in the area that use ADT security.
So, if your neighborhood has more houses with ADT security, you can expect a faster response time in case of emergencies.
How To Get a Faster Response From ADT
How soon you get a response from the police or ADT’s armed security in an emergency often depends on what system you’re using to verify an alarm breach. The sooner ADT can confirm that you’re in an emergency, the sooner they’ll contact the relevant emergency services.
One crucial factor to consider is the code word that you use for confirming emergencies. ADT will agree on an emergency code word when they set up the security system, and you’ll have to verify this code word if they phone you when an alarm is breached.
Another effective solution is to keep the keypad for unlocking alarms somewhere that’s easily accessible. This will reduce the number of false alarms sent to ADT, and they’ll be more likely to take your case seriously when they do get a genuine alarm signal.
Final Thoughts
While ADT’s armed response system is effective when you’re dealing with a break-in, ADT will also call the police when they confirm an emergency. They usually call the police as soon as they are sure that they’re not dealing with a false alarm.
To get a better response time in emergencies, try to use a panic button and use the right codeword to confirm the emergency when ADT contacts you.
