Ive had an alarm system in my house for several years,it just wasnt monitored. Well, Christmas Eve/Christmas morning (I was on a 24 hour shift) my house was broken into and left unsecured for several hours. When Phoenix PD came out and did their report they said the alarm itself probably scared them off enough to just grab something quick and bolt (all they got was a busted Wii and some DVDs). That being said, I found a local company here to do the monitoring and they were able to use the existing system, I pay 100 bucks quarterly, but since Im gone 24 hours at a time its worth the extra piece of mind.