“I can't decide between an alarm and cameras.” It's the most common question, and it's the wrong one: the two systems don't come into play at the same moment of an incident, and one doesn't make up for the absence of the other.
What an alarm does
An alarm acts during. It detects an intrusion in progress, sounds a siren, sends a notification and, if you have subscribed, alerts a monitoring centre. Its value lies in three things:
- it shortens the time during which the intruder can work undisturbed;
- the siren is a flight trigger: many break-ins are abandoned within the minute;
- the visible presence of a siren on the facade deters at the scouting stage, even before an attempt.
What an alarm doesn't do: it doesn't tell you who got in, or what was taken. A trigger without an image is binary information — something moved — and nothing more.
What a camera does
A camera acts mainly before and after. Before, through its visibility: a visible camera weighs in the choice of target. After, because it produces the only thing an investigation or an insurer can use — a time-stamped image.
What a camera doesn't do: it doesn't call anyone and makes no noise. A recorder running in a garage while the house is being emptied hasn't stopped a single burglary. And a camera that is improperly declared or badly aimed can put you in breach of the law yourself — see the camera law.
Where they meet: photo verification
The line has blurred with photo verification detectors. These are alarm detectors with a built-in camera: every time they are triggered, a series of images is sent with the alert.
The benefit is twofold. For you, false alarms are no longer a problem: you see the cat, the branch or the intruder from your phone within seconds. For a monitoring centre, it is what makes alarm verification possible — and therefore what turns an ordinary alarm into one that triggers a response.
This is not video surveillance: images are only produced when the alarm goes off, not continuously. Legally, that is an important difference, and it explains why photo verification escapes most of the constraints of the camera law.
How to split the budget
| Situation | Priority 1 | Priority 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Flat | Alarm (2-3 detectors, door contact) | Video doorbell |
| House occupied during the day | Alarm with photo verification | 2 outdoor cameras on the entry points |
| House often empty | Alarm + monitoring centre | Cameras + response |
| Shop | Cameras (evidence, disputes, staff) | Alarm with separate groups |
| Second home | Alarm + monitoring centre + response | Cameras with 4G transmission |
Why the alarm comes first for homes
Because a home burglary is short: a few minutes. In that scenario, what changes the outcome is interruption — not documentation. The federal police's 2025 statistics also show that failed attempts are heavily under-reported: these are precisely the cases where a security device worked.
Why the camera comes first for shops
Because a shop also faces incidents that don't trigger any alarm: unexplained stock loss, a dispute with a customer, an accident, a complaint from an employee. There, footage is useful every day, not just at night.
The classic mistake
Installing four cameras and zero detectors, thinking you're protected. You'll have high-definition video of the theft and nothing to prevent it. The opposite — an alarm without any images — costs less but leaves you without evidence and without a way to verify remotely.
A reasonable starting budget for a home splits roughly into two thirds alarm, one third video, with the video added to later.
Don't forget the declarations
Both systems have their obligations, free and quick: declaring the alarm on police-on-web within ten days, and declaring the camera on declarationcamera.be as soon as you go beyond strictly household use.
Find out more
Alarm kits · Photo verification detectors · IP cameras · PoE NVR recorders · Installation, monitoring and response
Not sure where to start? Send a rough floor plan and the number of entry points to cover to info@securishop.be: we'll send you back a costed configuration, with alarm and video priced separately, so you can decide.