I live in a gated community in Dallas, Texas, and I have to admit, I don’t really know my neighbors. There’s Dixie and what’s-his-name who live next door, Mark something down the street, and those two women with the SUVs at the end of the street. It’s a little sad.

Experts tell us that while a monitored security system a front-line defense against crimes like burglary and home invasion, we should never underestimate the value of getting to know our neighbors.

First, there’s the familiarity factor. If everyone in the neighborhood knows who their neighbors are, they’re more likely to know who doesn’t belong, what looks fishy, and who to contact when there’s something suspicious. A moving truck in the McGregors’ driveway could mean a job transfer to another city, or a robbery in progress. An informed neighbor would know.

Second, there’s a sense of accountability that comes from knowing who lives nearby. You start to care because there’s a name with a face. Sometimes, we get so isolated in our houses that flames would have to be shooting out of a neighbor’s windows before we might think of calling the fire department. But if you know Bob and Janet live there, you’re likely to make that call much earlier.

Third, good neighbors help each other out. Going on a weekend trip? Ask them to watch the house and pick up the newspaper. You can do the same for them in the future.

Almost all of us have a list of excuses for not knowing our neighbors: we’re busy, they work different hours, their teenage son looks weird…None of them are very good. It only takes a few minutes to introduce yourself and say hello from time to time. The security payoff could be big and it’s just a nice thing to do.

What is security: Keeping my kids safe

North Texas resident Kristine Soto started using Monitronics long before she had children, but their arrival has given new purpose to her monitored alarm system. We asked her to explain what security means to her now. These are her words.

“When we moved into our house, it already had an alarm system in place, and we chose to use Monitronics to monitor it about five years ago, almost six.  We really haven’t had any problem. When I leave a window open they are quick to call!

“But that was before we had children. What is important to me is keeping my family safe from predators and burglars. I have two boys who are four and three and they’re not old enough to say no to somebody if that person comes up with candy or special treats. They don’t really know the whole ‘say no to strangers’ thing. We don’t want anybody walking into our house and the alarm keeps that from happening.

Another big concern is fire. The kids are interested in matches now because they’ve seen me light the candle and seen me put the matches away. I have had to move them from the drawer where I kept them, but what if they found the matches and took them upstairs and were playing with them? This is why it’s so important to us that our smoke detectors are monitored. It just doesn’t take long for kids to figure things out. Our alarm system keeps us safe in a lot of ways.“

Yesterday, we tweeted about a great article called “13 Things a Burglar Won’t Tell You.” It’s a funny take on the burglar mindset, with points like, “Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier” and “Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.”

Author Michelle Crouch even has eight more things a burglar won’t tell you on her blog. We love that one of the sources is convicted burglars in North Carolina, Oregon, California, and Kentucky. Jackpot!

The response to our tweet was big and we’ve been thinking about the whole premise of Michelle’s article. We’re a company that offers monitored security systems and the first thing people think of is protecting themselves from break-ins. But only a small percentage of home emergencies are actually burglaries. A monitored security system offers protection against so much more. So we played with Michelle’s original thought and came up with a few things your home knows, but won’t tell you. That is, unless you have a Monitronics monitored alarm system.

10 things your home won’t tell you, but an alarm will

1. Your teenager just got into the liquor cabinet and is mixing crème de menthe and soda with his chemistry lab partner.

2. Your telephone line has just been cut by someone sneaking around the side of your house. We offer wireless monitoring of your system.

3. That cheap space heater in the bedroom is starting to overheat and is producing smoke. But not enough to reach the one detector you put up years ago in the den. (Does that thing even have a battery?)

4. Your mother has not opened her medicine cabinet today and that means she has not taken her medication.

5. The reason you feel so sleepy lately is because there’s a growing amount of carbon monoxide in your bedroom.

6. Your fifth grader just got home from school and is playing inside safely. You don’t have to worry.

7.   Neighborhood kids just hit a home run over your fence and shattered your glass back door.

8.  Your aging father slipped and fell in the bathroom an hour ago and doesn’t have any way to let paramedics know because he’s not wearing a medical pendant.

9. The door to the gun cabinet just was opened, but the only person home is your teenage son.

10. Your babysitter is outside, talking to her boyfriend, while your six year old cuts her brother’s hair. With video monitoring, you could be watching this on your smartphone.