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WELCOME
On behalf of all the organizations that comprise the Security
Industry Alarm Coalition, I want to welcome you to our first edition of SIAC
Public Safety Briefs. Throughout North America , law
enforcement, security industry professionals, and alarm owners are working
together every day to enhance public safety with the effective and efficient
use of alarm technology and services. SIAC was created by CANASA, NBFAA, SIA
and CSAA to serve as a central resource for information and material that
supports responsible use of alarm systems to enhance public safety.
SIAC announces news and program information on a continuous
basis through the support of our industry trade magazines and member
associations. This bulletin allows us to bring you additional information about
the important work that is being done to promote public policies that reflect
the best knowledge on this issue. What is most exciting is our ability to
report on successful initiatives undertaken by industry professionals on the
local and state level. I encourage you to share this information with all
those who are involved in creating or managing public policy, affecting alarm
owners and alarm companies.
We appreciate your continued participation and support.
Stan Martin, Executive Director
ENHANCED CALL VERIFICATION ENDORSED BY SIAC
In an attempt to significantly reduce calls for service
throughout North America , the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) has
launched an industry-wide initiative to promote Enhanced Call Verification
(ECV). With Enhanced Call Verification, the central station makes a second or
third call to a back-up number or a cellular phone before dispatching the
police. “Studies have shown that when a dealer implements enhanced call
verification, 50% of alarm signals that would traditionally have been
dispatched under premises verification, were not dispatched because the
signal was verified on the second call,” explains
Stan Martin, Executive Director of SIAC. SIAC believes this policy can
achieve rapid results in a short period of time and benefit alarm dealers,
local police and the end user. ECV reduces the costs to the monitoring center
because it is less expensive to process a second or third call than it is to
dispatch the police. Most importantly, by increasing customer contact, alarm
companies are continually improving customer relations.
FBI-LEEDA TAPS SIAC FOR ALARM MANAGEMENT INFO
SIAC has been invited to provide educational information
components on alarm management to FBI-LEEDA, one of the most prestigious and
advanced police management and administration programs in the United States . LEEDA (Law Enforcement Executive Development
Association) develops and disseminates improved administrative and technical
practices to meet the needs of law enforcement executives throughout the
world. The partnership to develop and participate in future training was the
result of discussions between SIAC Executive Director Stan Martin and
FBI-LEEDA Executive Director Tom Stone following a presentation by SIAC's
John Wurner. “The information provided by John Wurner was well received in
our workshop and we believe making this a part of our agenda for future
programs will be beneficial to our participants,”
said Stone. “Our goal is to promote the exchange of information and training
for executives of law enforcement; and SIAC can certainly provide valuable
information and resources to FBI-LEEDA for our Law Enforcement Executive
Development Seminars.” SIAC is scheduled to participate in 12 workshops
through the end of 2004 involving representatives from 300-500 law
enforcement agencies.
SIAC SPONSORS SOUTHERN POLICE INSTITUTE, FLORIDA
SIAC was a sponsor of the Southern Police
Institute's Alumni Association's Annual Retraining Conference held in July in
Florida . The Southern Police Institute is a program of the University of Louisville and provides advanced
training and education to law enforcement executives and command officers
across the country through a number of programs including its long term
Administrative Officers Courses and the Command Officers Development Courses.
Both the Annual Conference and the Command Officers Development Courses
provides education and information classes on false alarm reduction and
management programs to over 350 law enforcement executive, command, and
supervisory officers . SIAC's Glen Mowrey is past
president of the association and a lecturer in the Command Officers
Development Courses and presenter at the annual conference.
DRAMATIC REDUCTIONS IN SEAL BEACH
According to Captain John Schaefer, when the City of Seal
Beach (CA) Police Department began to evaluate their alarm responses, they
contacted the Orange County Alarm Association (OCAA),
a chapter of the California Alarm Association. The Seal Beach Police
Department reviewed the raw data with the Sharon Elder, Police Liaison for
the OCAA, and she developed a series of suggestions
which focused on six (6) locations that accounted for 27% of all false alarm
responses. Elder volunteered to personally contact the residents, business
owners and alarm companies for each of these locations. The efforts
resulted in virtually eliminating all of their false alarm problems (a
reduction from 75 false alarms in a year to 6 false alarms in six months)
according to Captain John Schaefer. Schaefer expressed appreciation for the
assistance and a commitment to a continued partnership with the OCAA to provide better, more cost effective safety
services to the residents and businesses of Seal Beach .
LA COUNTY SHERIFF : NO COMPLAINTS ON ALARM RESPONSE
The alarm industry is in the business of keeping people safe, according
to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. He spoke to more than 125 members of
the Greater Los Angeles Security Alarm Association (GLASAA)
on August 10 at the Los Angeles
Police Academy .
“I wanted to come here to pay my respects for what you do,”
said Sheriff Baca, who leads a department of more than 9,000 officers. “I
have gone to alarm calls for 39 years and I do not have any complaints,” Sheriff Baca said. “Yes, there are false alarms, but so
what?” The County provides a letter for the first
false alarm, a second activation results in a stern letter, and the third
false activation results in a letter outlining the fines that will be
assessed on the next false alarm. The Sheriff also spoke of the need to work
closer with the industry to address new security challenges. “I need
something from your industry, but I don't know what it is,”
said Baca. “I want to talk to vendors and others about the technology that
you currently have and can develop to address public safety issues, and how
we can address them more effectively together.”
IN THE
NEWS
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 14, 2004,
Indianapolis Star) SIAC was featured in an article on the growth in
alarm fees and fines in Marion County, and how alarm owners can manage their
systems to avoid accidental activations. The number of security systems in
the county has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 81,175. Under the
current city ordinance, property owners receive a warning for their first
false alarm. The second false alarm triggers a $25 fine; the third, $50;
fourth, $75; and fifth or more, $100 each. "It's not a pain to respond
to them," said Capt. Phil Burton, spokesman for the Sheriff's
Department, who says false alarms are an accepted part of the job.
"That's what we get paid to do." SIAC Board member Lisa Prosser was
also quoted in the article. Tips for reducing activations supplied by SIAC
were also included. SIAC Executive Director Stan Martin emphasized alarm
owner training and education to avoid user error--the primary cause of false
activations.
NEW HAVEN, CT ( New Haven CT Register,
July 27, 2004 ) Police Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. apologized for not
educating residents in advance of submitting a proposed verified response
alarm ordinance and asked the Joint Legislation/Public Safety Committee to
table the matter so the department could "go back to the drawing
board." Under the p roposal the police would
not respond to alarm calls, other than panic and holdup, unless they were
first verified as real by a private security guard, a neighbor or designated keyholder, or surveillance equipment. "They just
opened the door and announced that so that all the criminals can come out and
feel free to come into your house and do whatever they want," resident
Yolanda Mazzola said. Aldermanic President Jorge
Perez, D-5, of the Hill drew a burst of applause when he presented an
analysis of the most frequent alarm locations throughout the city from August
2002 to July 2003. It was prepared by Office of Legislative Services staff
using Police Department records and showed that 41 percent of false alarms
were at buildings owned by the city. "I bet you none of those city
departments ever paid a fine," said Perez, who opposes the ordinance.
"Let's hold ourselves accountable." Carl Spiegel, of A.S.P. Security Systems in Waterford , suggested that police collaborate on drafting ordinance
language with the Connecticut Burglar and Fire Alarm Association and other
industry and law enforcement groups.
BOULDER, CO (Daily Camera, July 5, 2004) A
six-month case study by two major companies implementing Enhanced Call
Verification (ECV) in Boulder showed significant and consistent reduction in
calls for service from alarm activations, and the police department is now
expanding the program to all alarm companies serving the community. “Already
we have seen a significant drop,” said Chief Mark
Beckner. The Boulder Police Department reported a 26% decrease in the number
of alarms police responded to in June 2004. A handful of cities, most
recently Lakewood , CO , have
announced new policies that have reduced or eliminated police response to
calls for service generated from a citizen's alarm system. Lakewood , which has
a burglary rate 29% higher than the state average and 24% higher than Boulder according to
the 2003 Colorado Bureau of Investigation crime report, implemented the
policy without public hearings or community input. In most recent reports for
the month of July, Boulder
reported a reduction in alarm dispatches of 60% compared to the same month
last year which reflects increased use of ECV by alarm companies serving the
community.
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