In this new era of economic uncertainty, and with job fluctuations and natural disasters causing populations to shift from city to city, safety and security are quickly becoming hot topics for the upcoming year.  And depending on where you live, the level of security you need to protect your home and family could vary.

New Orleans, LA, the Gulf Coast city still recovering from the aftermath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, topped the QC Press’s list of U.S. cities with the most reported crime.  The city’s top spot on the “City Crime Rankings” report was earned based on reports of more than 19,000 incidences of six major crimes – 209 of those, murder – in 2007.  Camden, NJ; Detroit, MI; St. Louis, MO; and Oakland, CA took the next four rankings after New Orleans.

According to an article on CNN.com, criminologists and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have criticized previous editions of the rankings saying the FBI misreads federal crime statistics. But QC Press stands by its methodology for creating accurate models to compare similar communities.  The six crimes considered in the study are: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft.

Regardless of the minute details of the report, it’s always a good time to ensure your home and family are protected from any possible crime.  And the best way to do that: installing a quality home alarm system.

ADT Security Services has been ranked as the #1 choice of home security providers among American homeowners.  Their quick-response alarm system, network of 5 monitoring centers and technologically-advanced security equipment make them a leader in home security.

Aside from the benefits ADT provides homeowners, the security company helps protect more than 90 percent of the country’s Fortune 500 companies through its monitored security systems. Also on the ADT corporate list: more than 80 percent of the country’s top retailers, more than two dozen of the nation’s top national and regional bank holding companies, 72 U.S. airports, and all federal courthouses nationwide.

With a customer list like this, ADT responds to thousands of crimes in progress each year, and helps thwart many would-be burglars from entering homes and businesses with its yard signs and window decals.

While the country may be in flux, and crime may be on the rise, with and ADT home alarm system, you don’t have to sacrifice your sense of safety.

ADT Security Services announced recently that Greenville, S.C.-based Furman University has become one of the first institutional customers to begin using Select Link – ADT’s new emergency communications system capable of simultaneously sending thousands of voice or text messages to cell phones, computers, PDAs and digital pagers.

ADT Select Link was created for organizations that need to alert large numbers of people to emergency situations. It requires no software or system installation and accepts message input from an Internet-connected computer or any telephone. The messages are instantly delivered in up to 10 languages. Following the August 2008 approval of a federal bill requiring college campuses to immediately notify students and staff of “significant emergencies” on campus, Furman took steps to implement the new system.

According to Furman’s director of the Department of Public Safety, Robert Miller, Select Link was chosen for its short activation time, easy operation under duress, easy maintenance and management, and its compatibility with cell phones, emails, pagers and text messaging. Miller said he also wanted something that could not be hacked or jammed.

Furman plans to use Select Link to notify students, faculty and staff of emergency situations, such as dangerous conditions on campus, severe weather and school and road closings, Miller said.

To ensure every message is delivered, Select Link automatically verifies and records the receipt of each message. If it encounters a busy signal or no answer, the system repeatedly calls the number until the message is delivered.

Innovative systems like Select Link are just another reason why ADT has become America’s No. 1 security company.