CAMBRIDGE, England, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- More Than Half the Population is Worried That Crime Will Rise in Their 
Area

A survey by home security company, AlertMe.com, has revealed a rise in
consumer's concerns about increasing crime levels as a consequence of the
credit crunch. A survey of 1000 adults found that 71% of people worried about
protecting their property and 51% felt the credit crunch would lead to an
increase in crime in their local area. Perhaps unsurprisingly, more women
(73%) than men (65%) worried about their home but a surprising 21% of all
those surveyed did not take any additional measures to protect their home
through fitting window locks or using monitored burglar alarms. 80% of people
relied on their neighbours to react quickly to any break in, with only 18%
feeling that the Police would respond quickly enough to a break in.

Pilgrim Beart, Director, AlertMe: "There is lots of evidence to link
downturn in the economy to rise in crime and home security naturally becomes
more front of mind. More opportunistic burglaries take place as potential
criminals feel the pinch and are more tempted by open windows and doors. 5%
of homes have an attempted burglary every year and the credit crunch looks
likely to increase that figure."

AlertMe is a revolutionary new home security system that uses mobile
phone and home broadband to monitor your home 24/7 - wherever you are. Unlike
conventional alarm systems with their mass of unsightly wires leading to an
equally unsightly metal box on the outside of the house, AlertMe is
completely wireless and looks really good! AlertMe sensors are placed around
the home and talk wirelessly to a home hub to monitor doors and windows and
sense motion, alerting the householder immediately if someone tries to break
into their home.

Only 34% percent of people surveyed had any type of burglar alarm and
more than half of these admitted to failing to set them every time they left
the house. Almost half (46%) admitted to ignoring burglar alarm sirens and
75% to being irritated by their neighbour's alarms. In contrast to this,
instead of a wailing siren on the front of your house AlertMe lets you, or
your nominated keyholders, know exactly what is happening in your home via
your mobile or email, so you can take action. If it is a false alarm you can
simply reset the system via your mobile phone avoiding the wrath of your
neighbours.

Less than half of those surveyed felt traditional alarm systems were
adequate, with reasons for this centering around cost and complexity, with
16% admitting that they didn't even know how to work their alarm! Unlike many
traditional alarm systems, AlertMe's intruder alarm is turned on and off by
simply "blipping" a keyfob - just like unlocking your car. And since each
keyfob is personal you can check who comes and goes from your home and when.
If you've left your 18 year old at home on their own while you jet off to
Hawaii you can check whether they have returned home safely at curfew time,
giving you the peace of mind to enjoy your holiday. Better still, no
installer is required as it's ready straight from the box. No need for a
drill, a screwdriver or any other tools or special knowledge.

AlertMe believes in building communities, and encourages you to use your
own community to help protect your home. For example, you can choose to have
your friends, neighbours, cleaner or local neighbourhood watch co-ordinator
notified of a problem in your home if you are away or unable to respond. You
can give them their own personalized key fob allowing them to activate and
deactivate your alarm, when feeding the cat or watering the plants, and reset
the system if there is a false alarm.

Though the credit crunch won't be turning everyone into burglars
overnight, the survey has revealed some interesting opinions about what is
acceptable to steal and what isn't! 25% of people felt that stealing a hotel
dressing gown was acceptable but only 11% of people felt that pinching a
sweet from the Pick N Mix was OK. Almost one in three (27%) of consumers
admitted to have dodged fares on public transport and 40% of people to
stealing stationery from their employer.

The survey also revealed some interesting regional differences in
attitude and use of home security:

- 63% of people from Liverpool have lived in homes with burglar alarms
compared to only 39% in Glasgow

- 30% of people in Edinburgh worry about alarms disturbing neighbours
versus only 8% in Liverpool

- 60% of people in Belfast usually ignore burglar alarms versus 31% in
Glasgow

- 57% of people in Manchester believe the credit crunch will increase
crime compared to only 37% in Brighton

About AlertMe.com

AlertMe.com is based in Cambridge and is a leader in the field of web
connected home security, driving innovation in Internet and mobile
communications for the consumer security and monitoring market. AlertMe.com
provides an intelligent service that enables people to directly protect,
control and monitor their homes from their mobile phones and the Internet.

Web site: http://www.alertme.com

For further information, please contact:
    Nia Evans or Sophie Hood
    Threepipe
    Tel: +44(0)207-6324800
    E: nia.evans@threepipe.co.uk