Few have home security systems
Although common in American households, security systems are a rare find in CMU residence halls and apartments near campus.
One CMU student has joined a company attempting to tie new technology concepts with providing security systems.
“It’s intended for apartments and dorms,” said IMSecurity Associate Jacob Murphree, Ann Arbor sophomore. “With typical home security systems, you don’t have a lot of mobility, and these are very mobile. They also run about half the price.”
Visionary Enterprises, LLC, based in Dexter, Mich., recently started IMSecurity, which integrates with MSN Instant Messenger and photographs from a customer’s dorm or apartment are sent to their computer, Murphree said.
“Many police departments have been finding themselves responding to false alarms from home security systems,” he said. “By looking at the pictures of what is going on in your house on instant messenger, you can control how to alert the authorities.”
Murphree said the IMSecurity software analyzes images taken from Web cameras to detect potential intruders, and, if an intruder is detected, the service either can contact people on the customer’s buddy list or respond to the alarm notification.
Some apartment and residence hall residents said most students did not need a security system.
“If kids are too stupid to not lock their doors, they deserve to get their rooms broken into,” said Cobb Hall resident Kim Sonefeld, Lansing freshman. “A security system is totally unnecessary.”
Burton senior Kathy Nyman, who lives on campus, said other than the stabbing assault incident last year the community is safe.
On April 11, 2002, an intruder attacked a female student in her Main Street duplex. The woman woke up and saw the man in her bedroom. He stabbed her in the right ear and face, then fled.
Police have not yet captured the man.
“Mount Pleasant is generally a safe area, and for the most part, you know your neighbors,” Nyman said.
Only a few students have installed a security system in their apartment or residence hall room, according to an informal survey of 50 students by Central Michigan Life.
For more information about IMSecurity, visit the Web site at www.imsecurity.com.
