A few things...
If you are home, I can pretty much guarantee that an experienced adult male home invader can be inside your house and to your bedroom long before the police arrive. Thus, you need a way to defend yourself and your family.
If you are not home, the police may respond in time to catch the burglars in the act. However, they may not. In such a case, insurance on your home and its contents will be valuable (as well as riders for jewelry, firearms, and anything else not covered by your main policy). Talk to your insurance provider and consider buying additional coverage.
In either situation, cameras can play a vital role. Quality cameras and related equipment (DVR, computer, etc) are pretty expensive. It is dark half the time and goblins tend to come out at night. A camera that can take a quality image at night will cost $$$. You also want software that will only record if movement is detected so your DVR doesn't fill up with 23.75 hours of your empty front porch with .25 hours of the paperboy and girl scout cookie sellers.
If you get an alarm system, I strongly recommend getting cellular backup. Cutting a landline (if you even have one these days) is easy and common.
The first priority in any home invasion is the safety of the occupants. An alarm system or a cop that's 5 (or 10 or 30) minutes away does not protect anyone. Your safety is YOUR responsibility. The money spent on a fully featured alarm system is better spent on a proper home defense firearm, training on how to use it, and a satisfactory storage device for it.
Second to that would be sufficient insurance coverage to replace damaged or stolen property.
Also, many burglaries are perpetrated by people who "know" the owner of the house. This includes meth-head cousins, your daughter's thug ex-boyfriend, the drummer is your son's band, the plumber's helper, the guys that installed your carpet, etc. Be selective about who you let into your home. Be VERY selective about who you tell that you have firearms, precious metals, jewelry, and other pricey and portable items.
Take simple, common-sense, inexpensive approaches to securing your home. Lock your doors and windows, even when you're home. Do not leave your garage door open all Saturday afternoon with your fancy Snap-On roller in full view. Keep blinds and drapes drawn to minimize sight lines into your house (use sheer curtains to allow natural light in). Reinforce your door jambs with something like Door Jamb Armor. Know your neighbors and be on civil terms with them. Plant aggressive/unpleasant foliage around your home's perimeter.
My employer is an Alarm.com partner. Some of the products and features provided by Alarm.com are pretty cool. Smartphone and internet access to cameras is neat. They offer a bunch of home automation tools too.