Alarm Companies Should be Held Responsible by: Pat Kenny, Chair, Futurist Committee

Transcription

1 November/December 1999 Info Link A Publication of the False Alarm Reduction Association (FARA) Alarm Industry Associations Booth Huge Success! For the second year in a row, the FARA participated in the Alarm Industry Associations vendor booth at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Convention. This year, we joined the NBFAA, CANASA, CSAA, NASIR, and SIA in promoting false alarm reduction techniques and methods. We talked with close to 300 members of law enforcement from all over the world, many of whom were surprised to learn that the FARA was comprised of law enforcement professionals. A huge thank you goes out to Jennifer Gehring, NBFAA Director of Government Relations and FARA Associate Director, who worked tirelessly to get the message out about false alarm reduction! Alarm Companies Should be Held Responsible by: Pat Kenny, Chair, Futurist Committee Agencies across the country are steadily enacting ordinances to control the rising false alarm problem. Most ordinances hold the home/business owner responsible, and not the alarm company. Actually, very few restrictions are placed on alarm and monitoring companies. But as would be expected, some companies have found new ways to circumvent the rules and regulations of an alarm ordinance. Recently, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Fl. received a dispatch request from a nationally recognized monitoring company. Since the monitoring company did not provide the alarm permit number for the burglar alarm, we did not respond, as provided by the ordinance. Several minutes later, the alarm company supervisor called PBSO with a panic/holdup alarm at the same residence. PBSO ordinance will allow the dispatch of panic/holdup alarms without the permit number. An alert dispatcher noted the incident and called the homeowner, who said that she is out of town, no one was at home except for the cat. She also said that the monitoring company called her and told her that PBSO would not respond but that they have a way of forcing PBSO to go. In Florida, this is a false report of a crime, a misdemeanor. The monitoring company was put on notice, and a complaint was filed with the state licensing board. See Alarm Companies on Page 2

2 Fara Infolink 2 Alarm Companies from Page 1 We tend to place a lot of trust and faith that the alarm industry will follow an ethical line without the need for rules and regulations, but unfortunately there are those few who make it difficult for the rest. When developing or updating an alarm ordinance, prohibitions, sanctions, fines and cancellation of alarm accounts held by the offending company should be considered and enforced. Some examples include: Dispatch by permit number only: Provides that only properly permitted accounts are dispatched. A fine should be imposed to any company calling your dispatch without a permit number. No second dispatch request within 24 hours without a representative agreeing to respond: This will limit the number of dispatch calls for runaway alarms. It places the responsibility back to the alarm company to find a representative before calling your agency. A fine should be imposed against an alarm company violating this provision. Require the alarm company to dispatch by zone of violation: Knowing where the alarm was activated is important to the officer and can help the alarm unit with problem alarm systems. Fine the alarm company if they do not provide this information. If the alarm panel is designed to report this information, it should. Require the alarm company to provide all dispatch records and work orders of your customers: Examining dispatch records will give you an indication if the alarm company is verifying calls before they request dispatch. Again, impose a fine for failing to provide these records. Alarms caused by the alarm company/technician: Fine the alarm company or technician. There are no excuses for this. False statement by alarm companies: When investigating an alarm call, or when reviewing dispatch records or correspondence which are deceptive, the company should be fined and/or dispatch for this company should be terminated. Verification of the alarm call: This must be clarified. If the alarm company calls the residence/business to verify the call, and the line is busy, it s probably because the alarm panel has seized the telephone line, transmitting data. This is not verification. Alarm panels should be programmed to report twice per activation, and the alarm company should wait a reasonable amount of time before calling the premises. A single phone call of a few seconds is inadequate. Fine the alarm company for not verifying the call. This is where the availability of the alarm company dispatch records are valuable. These are just a few ideas. If you have any additional comments or stories, please me at Kennyw@pbso.org. National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association has New Address As of December 15, 1999, the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association has moved to their new offices at: 8300 Colesville Rd., #750, Silver Spring, MD Their new telephone number is 301/ ; fax 301/ addresses remain the same.

3 Fara Infolink 3 IACP-PSLC by: Patti Rea, 1 st Vice President FARA has held a participating role in the International Association of Chiefs of Police Private Sector Liaison Committee since FARA s beginning days. For the past several years, I have attended the annual meetings for this committee on behalf of FARA. The IACP-PSLC is made up of various department representatives from local, state and federal agencies, and private industry. The intent of the committee is to form a cooperative partnership between law enforcement and the private sector to resolve problems that affect our communities. Some of the private sector participants include the Central Station Alarm Association, National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association, Alarm Industry Research & Education Foundation, etc. There are several subcommittees represented by the IACP-PSLC. They have published the following documents relating to false alarm reduction: False Alarm Perspectives A Solution Oriented Resource Private Security Officer Selection, Training and Licensing Guidelines Non-Sworn Alarm Responder Guidelines Response to Mobile Security Alarm Devices Model States Report: Reducing False Alarm Police Dispatches All of these documents are available by downloading them from the IACP web site at By participating on the IACP-PSLC, FARA has accomplished several things, such as the awareness and goals of FARA, false alarm reduction perspectives from the individuals who enforce the ordinances and a more cohesive effort in the fight against false alarms with various organizations across the country. Redmond, Washington. As of January 1, 2000, police in Redmond will not respond to an alarm that is not regis-tered, except for panic, fire, robbery and medical emer-gency alarms. Police also will not respond to any alarm after the sixth false alarm. The first false alarm is free. The second false alarm will be assessed a fine of $25, and will increase by $25 for each successive false alarm. Bartow, Florida. A 50% increase in false fire and burglar alarm calls between 1992 and 1998, resulted in Bartow enacting a new ordinance, which charges a $25 fine for the first false alarm. Each subsequent false alarm doubles the fine, up to a maximum of $500. If the alarm is registered, the alarm user will receive two free false alarms before the imposition of fines. Naperville, Illinois. Because previous efforts to reduce false alarms have been ineffective, fees for false alarms in Naperville may be tripled under a new proposal. The fourth through tenth false alarms will cost $100 each, are $200 each, and 15 or more will cost $350 each. Also, police will restrict their response to any location that has more than 15 false alarms a year. The restriction is aimed at those businesses that would rather pay the fines than fix the problem. Sebastian, Florida. A new ordinance took effect on December 3, 1999, which allows a 120-day grace period before fines are issued. Fines of $50 to $250 each will be imposed for three or more false alarms. The city will also assess a $90 fine against any monitoring company that fails to inform its customers that they must obtain a permit. Finally, the user fine can be waived if the alarm user pays $35 to attend an awareness class. Tulsa, Oklahoma. City officials are considering a proposal that would suspend an alarm permit after the third and sixth false alarms in a one-year period, and revoke an alarm permit after nine false alarms. Under the proposal, police will not respond to alarm calls for any suspended or revoked permit. During a secondary response mode, police will respond to alarm calls only after someone affiliated with an alarm business first responds and finds evidence of criminal activity.

4 Fara Infolink 4 Membership Update Presently, FARA has over 180 members, representing 118 agencies. FARA members are now represented in 31 states and Canada. A job well done to Liane Hopkins of the Sacramento County Sheriff s Department! Liane took it upon herself to mail information regarding FARA to over 500 law enforcement agencies in California. As a result of Liane s efforts, agencies from California, such as the Santa Cruz County and Sonoma County Sheriff s Departments, and the Visalia, Westminster, San Bernardino, and Huntington Beach Police Departments are all now new FARA members. Way to go Liane!! We would also like to welcome as new members of FARA: Medina Police Department, Junction City Police Department, Hartford Police Department, and the Okanogan County Sheriff s and Prosecutor s Office. TIP Summits There were a total of 25 successful TIP Summits held in So far, 15 summits are scheduled for Two confirmed locations are Houston, Texas on January 18, 2000 and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 22, If you believe your area is in need of a summit, please call Adrienne Auzenne at 301/ x 126 for more information. Alarm Company Contacts Do you have problems with a specific alarm company, but never seem to be able to talk with the right person who can help rectify the situation? Jennifer Gehring, Director of Government Relations at the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association can help! Just give her a call at 301/ ; let her know the problem and she will try to help you contact someone who can actually make a difference. Jennifer can also give you the latest and most up-to-date information on alarm companies that have merged. Jennifer is a great resource, who is only a phone call away! FARA Can Help! From time to time we will all come across false alarm problems that need solutions. The False Alarm Reduction Association is a great place to go for help! Chances are someone within our organization has suffered frustration with the same issues you are dealing with today. You don t have to re-invent the wheel as a member just ask for help! The Newsletter is a great place to give helpful hints, solutions and ask for ideas. Just submit your questions, ideas, issues, etc. to Rick Moore, Newsletter Committee Chair, by fax at 301/ , or at moorer@co.mo.md.us. Hearing is Believing Has anyone heard about an alarm called Decibel Trap? This is an alarm that sends out a high pitch/frequency sound. Our officers have responded to just such an alarm, entered the building to check it out, and have suffered hearing problems for hours as a result. If you have dealt with this type of alarm in any way, please let me know - Mary Johnson, Plano Police Department, Plano, TX Phone Thanks. Or how about the Techno-Bra, which is an alarm built into a bra using miniature electronics and conductive fabric that monitors the wearer s heart rate. If there is a sudden change in pulse indicative of a panic response, the bra transmits a radio signal that summons the local police and indicates its location. There is a cancel button in the front clasp of the bra that can be pushed in case of accidental fright. The InfoLink has learned that these items should be available and in stores by this Christmas.

5 Fara Infolink 5 IS YOUR TABLE LARGE ENOUGH? Mary Johnson, FARA At-Large Director, told the InfoLink, Many alarm billing and tracking systems are old, (just like mine). During a Y2K fix, it was discovered that when the system was built (late 70 s or early 80 s), no one expected any one account to have 100 or more false alarms. (If your system is like mine, the entire history is kept.) This means many accounts may have over 100 alarms. If the table is not large enough, you may lose data without even knowing it, and it could affect your billing. You may want to check with your software vendor to find out just how large your table is. The Board of Directors would like to wish everyone the most joyous of holiday seasons and a prosperous New Year

6 Fara Infolink 6 On October 29 th, 1999 the FARA Board of Directors met in Charlotte, North Carolina, in conjunction with the IACP Convention, where the FARA shared an Alarm Industry Associations booth with others concerned with false alarm reduction. In attendance were President Norma Beaubien, 1 st Vice President Patti Rea, Treasurer Rick Moore, At-Large Director Mary Johnson, At-Large Director W. Rex Bell, and Associate Director Jennifer Gehring. The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank the Montgomery County, Maryland; Phoenix, Arizona; Plano, Texas and the Huntsville, Alabama Police Departments for their support of the FARA and for sending the above-referenced Board members to the bi-annual meeting. The Board discussed a great many items that affect our association and false alarm reduction. Just a few of the highlights are listed below. The Board discussed how to make FARA s web site easier to use and more informative. Some great suggestions were made, including consumer tips; an archive/history section; interactive map of the United States, where anyone could click on a state and find out who the members are in any given area; and adding a Members Only page that would include FARA s membership list, downloadable Tips brochure and all publications that FARA produces. What else would you like to see on a member s only page? Let the InfoLink know by fax at (301) or at moorer@co.mo.md.us. False Alarm Committee Chair, Mary Johnson, advised that the updated Ordinance Manual will be better than ever, and will include additional information on trends, what works and what doesn t, and bullet points on how to write and get approval for new ordinances. The Ordinance Manual will also include a complete copy of the joint FARA/NBFAA Model Burglar Alarm Ordinance. The Board also discussed amending the association s Bylaws. Over the past three years, the FARA has not maintained consistency in its reporting structure. For example, some of our reports are annual (January- December), some are fiscal (June-July), some span years ( ), and while our financial reports are annual, membership dues are collected in May. In an effort to create a single reporting structure that coincides with our billings and annual conference, it was recommended that we amend the bylaws to set one specific fiscal period. Below is a voting sheet for the bylaws amendment. The Board strongly urges everyone to cast their vote. Bylaws Amendment Article 7. Governance. Article 7, Section 3, amended to read: The fiscal year of the Board shall begin on May 1 and terminate on April 30. (FARA Bylaws Article 7, Section 3 currently reads: The fiscal year of the Board shall begin on January 1 and terminate on December 31. ) VOTE: YES, I want the Amendment NO, I don t want the Amendment Signature Agency/Department Fax your vote to FARA Secretary, Shanna Werner, at (801) no later than January 15, 2000.

7 Fara Infolink 7 Excuses? by: W. Rex Bell, At-Large Director In this mid size city of Huntsville, sitting at the South end of the Appalachian Mountains in the Heart of Dixie, we accept from the alarm user statements as to why they should have a false alarm excused. The following are some common excuses this False Alarm Reduction Office receives. We may accept the alarm user statements, but these just won t get that false alarm excused! I was not at home No one was home, We were out of town. The business was shut. Everyone had left. I did not know I had an alarm My alarm company did not call I never heard the alarm My alarm just went off for no reason. Someone looked in the window It is the alarm company s fault. The wind was blowing hard I am a taxpayer I don t know what caused the alarm The alarm was not the fault of anyone here Someone pulled on the door The alarm was caused by my wife, not me The wind blew my door open I think someone may be trying to get in I know the Mayor A bug was flying around the room Don t bother me with this nonsense, I am busy The alarm was caused by the pest control man/contractor, etc. My alarm system was not on Get lost A mouse ran across the floor Someone just opened my door (Which was unlocked) Alarm will be serviced next week, month, etc. I will stop using my system The alarm was caused by my aging mother I have a pet proof PIR motion detector I am a nice person so I should be excused I have this system to protect me as your Police are too busy My brother works for the Police Department Help me out, I work for the City I was drunk and got confused!!

8 Fara Infolink North Washington Street #303 Rockville, Maryland 20850