Every summer, commercial burglaries in the Chicago metro area spike. Longer daylight hours might seem like a deterrent, but the reality is the opposite — businesses close earlier, staff take vacations, and entire office parks and retail strips sit empty on weekends. For criminals, summer is opportunity season.
The Chicago Police Department's data consistently shows that property crimes against businesses increase between June and September. And it is not just smash-and-grab jobs. Today's commercial burglaries are more calculated — targeting businesses with outdated alarm systems, no video verification, or gaps in after-hours monitoring.
If your business is relying on a basic alarm system that was installed five or ten years ago — or worse, no alarm system at all — you are more exposed than you think. Here is what you need to know heading into the highest-risk months of the year.
The pattern is well-documented, and it is not hard to understand why summer hits businesses harder:
The hard truth: Most commercial burglaries are not random. They are committed by someone who has observed the business, identified the gaps in security, and picked the window of time when detection is least likely. A visible, monitored alarm system changes that calculation entirely.
When most business owners think "burglar alarm," they picture a keypad by the door and a siren that goes off when someone breaks a window. That was the state of the art twenty years ago. Modern commercial alarm systems are fundamentally different — and far more effective.
24/7 professional monitoring. When a sensor triggers, the signal goes directly to a UL Listed central monitoring station staffed around the clock. Trained operators verify the alarm, contact you, and dispatch police — often before you even know something happened. This is not a notification on your phone that you might miss at 3 AM. It is a professional response chain.
Multi-sensor detection. Today's systems use a layered approach — door and window contacts, motion detectors, glass-break sensors, and environmental sensors that detect changes in temperature, vibration, or air pressure. Each layer reduces the chance of an intruder getting in without triggering a response.
Video verification. This is a game-changer. When an alarm triggers, integrated security cameras can send a real-time video clip to the monitoring station. The operator sees exactly what is happening — is it a break-in, a raccoon, or a staff member who forgot to disarm? Video-verified alarms get priority police dispatch and dramatically reduce false alarm fines.
Mobile access and control. Platforms like Alarm.com let you arm, disarm, and check the status of your system from your phone. You get real-time push notifications, can view activity logs, set automated schedules (arm at 7 PM every night, disarm at 6 AM), and even get alerts if the system is not armed when it should be.
Integration with access control and cameras. A smart alarm system does not operate in a silo. It connects with your access control system and camera network so that when an alarm triggers, you immediately have video footage, door access logs, and a complete picture of what happened. This integration is what separates a real security system from a noise-maker.
A lot of businesses have some form of alarm system — but "having an alarm" and "being protected" are not the same thing. Here are the warning signs that your current setup has gaps:
Your system is more than 7-8 years old. Technology in this space has evolved dramatically. Older systems may use cellular bands that are being decommissioned, lack encryption, or simply not support modern features like video verification and mobile management. If your system predates 2018, it is time for an assessment.
You are getting frequent false alarms. False alarms are not just annoying — they are expensive. The Village of Arlington Heights and most Chicago suburbs charge escalating fines for false alarm dispatches, sometimes $100 or more per incident after the first few. Worse, police departments deprioritize addresses with frequent false alarms. When you actually need a response, it may come slower. Modern systems with video verification and smarter sensors virtually eliminate this problem.
You cannot check your system remotely. If you have to physically be at the building to arm, disarm, or check the status of your alarm, you have a significant gap. What happens when an employee forgets to set the alarm on a Friday night before a long weekend? With a modern system, you would get an alert and arm it from your phone. Without one, your building sits unprotected until Monday morning.
Your alarm only covers the perimeter. Door and window contacts are the first layer, but they should not be the only layer. Interior motion detection, glass-break sensors, and environmental monitoring create depth. If someone breaches the perimeter — through a wall, a ceiling, or an attached space — interior sensors are your second line of defense.
Your monitoring contract is with an unknown provider. Not all monitoring stations are created equal. UL Listed monitoring — the standard PowerTech operates under — means the station meets rigorous requirements for staffing, redundancy, power backup, and response time. If you do not know who is monitoring your alarm or whether they meet UL standards, that is a risk worth investigating.
Quick test: Can you, right now, pull up your phone and verify that your business alarm is armed? Can you see the last 10 arm/disarm events? If you cannot, your system has blind spots.
You do not have to overhaul everything overnight, but there are concrete steps you should take now — before the highest-risk weeks of the summer:
1. Get a professional security assessment. Have your current system evaluated by a licensed security company. Not a sales pitch — a genuine assessment of your sensors, monitoring path, communication technology, and coverage gaps. At PowerTech, we do this at no cost and no obligation.
2. Test your system. When was the last time you actually triggered a test alarm and confirmed that the monitoring station received it, contacted you, and followed the correct response protocol? If you cannot remember, do it this week.
3. Update your contact list and response procedures. Make sure the monitoring station has current phone numbers, authorized users, and clear instructions for who to call and when to dispatch. Outdated contact lists are one of the most common — and most preventable — points of failure.
4. Review your arm/disarm schedules. If you are using automated schedules, verify they account for summer hours. If you are relying on employees to arm the system manually, consider adding an "alarm not set" notification that alerts you if the system is not armed by a certain time.
5. Check your camera coverage. Your security cameras and burglar alarm should work together. Make sure cameras cover all entry points, loading docks, parking areas, and any high-value storage areas. If your cameras are not integrated with your alarm for video verification, ask about adding that capability.
6. Secure construction and renovation zones. If you have summer renovation projects planned, coordinate with your security provider to ensure temporary measures are in place — portable sensors, temporary cameras, and adjusted alarm zones that account for open areas or bypassed doors.
7. Address lighting. It sounds basic, but adequate exterior lighting is one of the most effective deterrents. Motion-activated lights at entry points, loading areas, and blind spots make your facility a harder target. Pair them with cameras for maximum effect.
PowerTech Group of Chicago has been designing, installing, and monitoring commercial burglar alarm systems for businesses across the Chicago metro area since 1993. We are UL Listed, licensed, and bonded — and we specialize in the kind of integrated security that actually prevents losses, not just generates noise.
Here is what sets us apart:
UL Listed monitoring through Emergency 24. Your alarm signals go to one of the most respected monitoring centers in the industry, staffed 24/7/365 with redundant communication paths and backup power. When an alarm comes in, real people respond — immediately.
Alarm.com commercial platform. We deploy Alarm.com's commercial-grade platform for mobile access, automated schedules, intelligent alerts, and video verification. You manage your entire system from your phone, and you always know the status of every location.
Integrated security ecosystem. We do not just install an alarm panel and leave. We integrate your burglar alarm with security cameras, access control, and fire protection into a single, coordinated system. When something happens, you get the complete picture — not isolated alerts from disconnected devices.
Local expertise, local response. We are based in Arlington Heights and we serve businesses throughout Chicagoland. When you need a service call, a system expansion, or emergency support, you are working with a local team that knows your building, your system, and your business — not a national call center reading from a script.
Whether you need a complete new system, an upgrade to your existing setup, or just an honest assessment of where you stand heading into summer — we are here for it.
Find out where your business stands before break-in season peaks. No-obligation assessment from a UL Listed security team that has been protecting Chicago businesses for over 30 years.
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