Home security in New York City: burglary data, alarm rules and installers

Burglary in New York City: the official figures

The NYPD publishes CompStat every week. The citywide report for the week of 21 to 27 September 2026 (Volume 33, Number 39) shows:

• 8,183 burglary complaints so far in 2026, against 9,520 by the same point in 2025: down 14.0%.
• 852 burglaries in the latest 28 days, down 19.0% on the same 28 days of 2025.
• 12,798 burglaries in the full 2025 calendar year, against 122,055 in 1990: a fall of 89.5%.

NYC Open Data’s NYPD Complaint Data (Current Year to Date) lets you see where burglaries happen. For complaints reported from January to June 2026 it lists 5,384 burglaries. More than half were in homes: 2,002 in apartment buildings, 593 in houses and 231 in public housing.

These are counts, not rates, so boroughs with more people and more businesses will show more. Because so many New Yorkers live in apartment buildings, the entry points that matter most are usually the apartment door, fire-escape windows and ground-floor windows. Our apartment security guide covers those, and renters should read security for renters before drilling anything.

Alarm rules in New York City

Many US cities make homeowners buy an annual alarm permit and pay escalating false-alarm fees. We could not find an equivalent household permit or false-alarm fee in New York City’s published rules. The city rule that does apply to every home alarm is in the noise code:

• 15-minute cut-off. Section 24-238 of the NYC Administrative Code says no building owner may have an audible burglar alarm in operation unless it can, and does, automatically stop sounding within fifteen minutes of being activated. For cars the limit is three minutes.
• What to ask. Ask your installer to confirm the siren cut-off is set to 15 minutes or less, especially in a shared building where a stuck siren quickly becomes a neighbour complaint.
• Monitoring. Because there is no city permit, the monitoring contract is where the response plan sits. Ask who the monitoring centre calls first, how it verifies an alarm before contacting 911, and what happens when your internet or power is down. Our guide to building a response chain helps.

Doorbells, cameras and recording

Filming your own porch or driveway is generally lawful in the US, but audio is regulated more tightly. New York is not among the all-party consent states listed in our guide to audio recording and state wiretap laws, but secretly recording a private conversation you are not part of can still break federal and state law. Practical steps: switch off audio on cameras that face shared or public spaces, keep cameras off neighbours’ windows and yards, and use privacy zones. See also cameras pointed at a neighbour’s property and police requests for doorbell footage.

In apartment buildings, the lobby, hallways and entrance usually belong to the landlord or co-op, so check your lease or house rules before fitting a doorbell camera or a camera in a shared hallway.

Typical alarm and camera prices

We have not found an official New York City price survey, so start with the national ranges in our US home security costs guide. HomeGuide reports an equipment package at $199 to $599, installation and activation at $0 to $299 and professional monitoring at $25 to $50 a month (April 2024), and $500 to $1,600 for a professionally installed 4-camera system (December 2023). Add the city permit fee and allow for false-alarm charges, then compare at least two written quotes for the same equipment list and the same monitoring plan. For the full cost over several years, see our five-year cost guide.

How to choose an alarm installer in New York City

• State licence. The New York Department of State licenses security and fire alarm installers. A licence is needed by anyone who offers to install, service or maintain a security or fire alarm system, and the licence term is two years. Check the company on the Department of State’s licensee search before you sign.
• The cut-off setting. Ask the installer to show you the siren time-out in the panel settings.
• Contract terms. Minimum term, automatic renewal, price rises, equipment ownership and early termination fees.
• Signalling. Ask whether the panel sends alarms over cellular, internet or both, and what happens in a power cut. See alarm communication failures.
• False alarms. Even without a city fee, repeated false alarms waste police time and annoy neighbours. Our false alarm checklist helps you fix the cause.

Alarm and camera installers in New York City

These independent businesses appear in public business listings for the New York City area and describe themselves as installing alarms, cameras or both. We left out national brands, franchise and dealer branches, and lead-generation sites. We have not checked their work, prices, licences or insurance, and none of them has paid to appear. Check any installer’s licence yourself on the New York Department of State’s licensee search.

To compare national companies instead, see our US home security providers comparison and the US monitored security companies directory, or request quotes.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• CompStat Citywide, Volume 33 Number 39, week of 21 to 27 September 2026 (nyc.gov)
• NYPD Complaint Data Current (Year to Date), queried 29 September 2026 (data.cityofnewyork.us)
• NYC Administrative Code section 24-238, audible burglar alarm (nycadmincode.readthedocs.io)
• Security or Fire Alarm Installer licensing (dos.ny.gov)
• How Much Does a Home Security System Cost? (homeguide.com), April 2024
• Security Camera Installation Cost (homeguide.com), December 2023

Last checked: September 2026. City fees can change at the start of a fiscal year and crime figures are updated weekly or monthly, so check the current position before you buy.

Home Security Innovations is a comparison and referral service, not an alarm or camera company. We do not install, monitor or respond to alarms, and a listing here is not a recommendation.