What is Crash and Smash Protection?

Burglars have many tactics for entering a home undetected. Some are stealthy, others are fast. Crash and Smash Protection is a proactive Alarm.com safeguard against a ‘fast' tactic that typically defeats other security systems.

What's ‘crash and smash'?

A crash and smash burglary is when an intruder targets the home's security panel to prevent it sending an emergency signal. They ‘crash' through the front door—the fastest method of entry - then ‘smash' the security panel as fast as possible.

This technique tries to take advantage of the delay that security systems give the homeowner when they arrive home. It's typically 30 to 60 seconds, giving you plenty of time to open your app and disarm the system or walk to the panel and enter your code. With a typical burglary, once the panel counts all the way down, it automatically alerts emergency responders. In a crash and smash attack, the burglar tries to disable the panel before it can send the signal.

Thirty seconds isn't a lot of time, but it can be enough for an experienced burglar to locate and destroy the panel with a hammer.

But with Alarm.com's patented crash and smash technology, your system still works even if the panel is destroyed.

How Crash and Smash Protection works

Alarm.com's smarter home security system constantly monitors activity around the home to proactively protect you against events like a crash and smash burglary. This happens securely in Alarm.com's cloud platform, so it's safe from an intruder's hammer.

When your security system starts its countdown, Alarm.com takes note. If the panel suddenly goes ‘off-line' before sending either a ‘disarm' or ‘emergency' signal, Alarm.com reports a suspected Crash and Smash event to your home's central monitoring station.

A trained security professional assesses the situation and quickly alerts law enforcement if it's a crash and smash attack. You and your family, friends and neighbors can all get a smartphone alert too, so no one walks into a dangerous situation at home.

It doesn't matter if the panel is attacked or not, because Alarm.com takes this proactive measure as soon as the door is opened, rather than waiting passively for an emergency signal.

Crash and Smash Protection is included with most Alarm.com service plans. For more information, get connected with an Alarm.com dealer today. 

 To discover some other smarter home security features from Alarm.com, click here.