FARA Hires Management Company

Transcription

1 August 2002 Issue In this Issue: FARA Hires Management Company FARA Rolls out New InfoLink Format FARA Represented at ISC East Plan Now for ISC West November is False Alarm Prevention Month! Reminder - CANASA False Alarm Symposium FARA Board Says Goodbye to Shaw and Hello to Miller Thunderstorms - Should They Set Off Alarm Systems? Eugene Oregon - Tries "verified response" NBFAA Renames False Alarm Prevention Committee FARA Hires Management Company The FARA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has hired a management company to handle the day-to-day affairs of the association. Innovative Resources, LLC, whose president, Brad Shipp and vice president, Jennifer Burnstein, many of you know from their numerous years in the alarm industry, provided the FARA Board with the most "bang for our buck" in their bid. Commenting on the increased demands on the Board, FARA President Norma Beaubien said, "It became almost impossible with just volunteer staff to handle the numerous administrative tasks required of running an association. This will allow the Board members to get much more involved in projects and initiatives that will assist the entire membership."

2 Page 2 of 15 Brad and Jennifer come to the table with a wealth of knowledge about the alarm industry, false alarms, law enforcement and how to manage an association. Combined, they have over 40 years of experience, which they will use to help FARA grow and provide its membership with high quality products and services. In their proposal, Brad and Jennifer stated, "Innovative Resources, LLC looks forward to serving FARA. It is our hope that we can add our expertise to the volunteer talent within FARA to allow the association to enjoy substantial growth in participation and membership." "I am thrilled to have Brad and Jennifer on board. I know they are committed to the success of the FARA, have a great understanding of the impact of false alarms on law enforcement, and will use their knowledge to assist the membership in any way they can. I look forward to a long and successful working relationship with Innovative Resources," said Beaubien. Brad Shipp will serve as FARA Executive Director Jennifer Burnstein will serve as FARA Administrative Director. If you need any of our publications, have questions about the Professional Certification Program, want to find out if your membership has been renewed, or virtually anything else about FARA and the services we provide to our membership, then Innovative Resources is the place to go to find out. Brad and Jennifer can be reached by phone at (301) , or by at [email protected] and [email protected]. For more

3 Page 3 of 15 information on their company, you can visit their web site at FARA Rolls Out New InfoLink Format As you may have noticed, our newsletter, the FARA InfoLink, looks a little different these days! We will be sending you newsletters via , which allows us to reach every member, not just those designated as contact people. From now on, you will see the newsletter as the editors see it, in full color! If you do not have an address, either at work or at home, we will fax the newsletter to you. Using this method of communication, we are able to reach all members with breaking news, information on upcoming training opportunities, news articles of interest and committee reports, to name just a few. The FARA Board believes that this will be a welcome change and increases our ability to share information with every FARA member. We welcome any comments you wish to make on the format and content of the newsletter. And, as always, we want to know what's happening in your area of the world. Articles and/or updates to your address may be sent to our management company at [email protected]. FARA Represented at ISC East Norma Beaubien, Rex Bell, John Moorhouse, Kathleen Schraufnagel and Brad Shipp were among FARA representatives who recently attended the ISC East Show in Orlando Florida. The International Security Conference (ISC) holds two trade shows each year, where you can learn more about alarm systems, equipment components, trade publications, trade groups, and just about anything else having to do with alarms than you ever thought possible. In conjunction with the Expo, there are also industry meetings that take place dealing with false alarms. Norma and Rex attended the IQ Certification Board Meeting. John, Kathleen and Norma served on a panel entitled "Target Zero- Alarm Companies v Public Safety- Is Harmonious Coexistence Truly Possible?" sponsored by the Alarm Association of Florida (AAF). Rex and Kathleen attended the AIREF False Alarm Reduction Coalition Meeting. Moderator Roy Pollack of the AAF prompted a lively discussion on "verified response", the value of consultation with alarm companies and the frustrations

4 Page 4 of 15 felt by alarm ordinance managers. During the discussion Norma Beaubien commended the industry for its positive initiatives but indicated that more is needed to tackle the problem. She pointed out that the level of police resources in each locality is staying constant or shrinking while requests for service increase. This means that something has to give. She pointed out that FARA does quite a bit in cooperation with the industry, including efforts on the model ordinances and promotion of the standards. At another point she relayed that the industry was not doing enough to get out the positive benefits of alarms. NBFAA President Cecil Hogan stated, "We are almost past the equipment problem" as a cause for false alarms. He also indicated that the real challenge is training end users. CSAA President Elect Dick Sampson felt that many dealers and users are "in denial" about their role in the problem. He also stated that when dealers come to terms and apply themselves, significant reductions can be obtained. FARA member John Moorhouse of Alachua County Sheriff's Office pointed out that senior citizens want and need systems that are simple to operate without too many confusing extra features. He also stressed that the quality of the training the technician gives to the end user is critical.

5 Page 5 of 15 FARA Member Kathleen Schraufnagel of Brink's Home Security stressed the value of contact between law enforcement and industry in enacting and implementing false alarm reduction programs. At another point she stressed that alarm dealers calling a second number such as a cell phone to attempt to verify the alarm before requesting police dispatch can have an enormous impact on the number of false alarms. NBFAA Vice President George Gunning used an analogy to medicine and indicated that "False alarms are a necessary by product". He went on to say that alarms reduce the burden on police by reducing crime. He stated that if alarms were not used, the number of investigations of burglaries by police would increase at a higher expense than alarm response. Fire Chief Julius Halas indicated that 10% of the alarm companies cause 90% of the problems. He also stressed the value of fire alarms in saving lives of occupants as well as firefighters. All agreed that the use of control panels conforming to the SIA CP-01 standard is a good start toward tackling the problem. Plan Now for ISC West We urge you to plan to attend one or both of the ISC shows. After attending last years ISC West show Duff Astin, FARA Member and Alarm Administrator for the Sandy Police Department in Sandy, Utah filed the following report. We are bringing you this information so that you can see what a worthwhile experience the ISC show is and perhaps start the approval process for attendance next year.

6 Page 6 of 15 The International Security Expo and Conference was held March 5-7 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention Center. In conjunction with the ISC expo, many alarm meetings were held to discuss alarm issues. Not the least of these were the meetings held on the afternoon of March 5th. Three meetings were held concerning the false alarm problem. The meetings were hosted by SIA (Security Industry Association) and the NBFAA (National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association.) SIA is searching for a method to standardize the keypad wording and terminology to help consumers (alarm users) be able to operate keypads from different manufacturers without learning a new alarm language. SIA is currently having an independent survey completed asking non alarm users what alarm keypad functions should be called, i.e. stay/off, away/armed, bypass/shunt and so on. SIA and the NBFAA then conducted a joint false alarm meeting where several new ideas were presented. The most promising of the ideas is mandatory twocall verification. This would require the monitoring company to place a second call in an attempt to verify an alarm signal before requesting dispatch. Preliminary numbers indicate the process could reduce the amount of false dispatches by a substantial amount. This would be a win win for the police departments and the alarm companies. The one extra phone call by the monitoring company would actually reduce the average amount of time a central station spends on each call. Attendance at the ISC expo is also an opportunity to stay on top of the latest and greatest in the alarm industry. Each year the technology improves to further reduce the false alarm problem. As a police representative, I was able to discuss the issue with each of the major alarm device manufacturers and give input to the problems and solutions at hand. I was also able to visit each major monitoring station represented at the expo and talk to them about twocall verification. I asked each if they can put the program in place. Each monitor had the same response to the question, "Yes, we can do that." The next natural question was, "Great, when are you going to start?" That question drew a much more varied answer. Most of the monitors fell back to a contract agreement with their customers. Yet, each agreed to take a serious look at implementing the two-call verification. Several panel manufacturers have a SIA CP-01 compliant control panel. I was able to encourage each panel manufacturer to have a panel meeting the CP-01 standards by next year. Most companies stated they were close to having a panel ready. I attend the ISC expo each year and have found it to be not only an

7 Page 7 of 15 educational experience in alarm equipment, but a great chance to meet and network with alarm manufactures, dealers and suppliers. The ISC West Expo and Conference is generally held sometime between February and April of each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ISC East Expo was held in August in Orlando, Florida and will be held next year from October 1-3 in Washington, DC. November is False Alarm Prevention Month! It's not too early to start planning for what you will do to promote False Alarm Prevention Month! Last year, the False Alarm Committee of the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, along with representatives of FARA and other groups, put together a package of materials to help both law enforcement and alarm dealers get the word out about the importance of reducing false alarms. Press releases were developed to target different sectors, such as alarm users, alarm companies and law enforcement. Bill stuffers, which were available to industry and law enforcement alike, were created to help raise awareness and provide tips on reducing false alarms. Not to be outdone, Rex Bell, Alarm Coordinator for the Huntsville, Alabama Police Department and FARA 2nd Vice President, had a huge bright yellow and red billboard erected in his town which absolutely could not be missed by passing motorists. Rex also had the Huntsville Town Council issue a Proclamation naming November False Alarm Prevention Month. Numerous other FARA members also rose to the occasion and put out press releases, held meetings and generally were able to raise awareness of the false alarm problem and its impact on law enforcement. The NBFAA Alarm Response Management Section (Formerly known as the

8 Page 8 of 15 False Alarm Prevention Committee) will, once again, be working on initiatives that will help promote the reduction of false alarms during False Alarm Prevention Month. Meetings will be held in New Jersey in late August, and initiatives will be rolled out to alarm dealers and law enforcement in early September. Look to future issues of the InfoLink for more information on this very worthwhile endeavor. Reminder - CANASA False Alarm Symposium The Canadian Alarm and Security Association (CANASA) is sponsoring a symposium entitled the Future of Response, which features two of FARA's Directors, Gerry Miller and Shanna Werner. FARA members have been invited to attend the day-long symposium at CANASA member rates. The symposium, scheduled for Tuesday, October 22, 2002, seeks to raise awareness of issues surrounding the consequences of continued police response policies. The four different sessions being offered are listed below. Each participant will be able to sit in on each session. Police - "Is Limited Response the only Option?" Leader(s): Shanna Werner - Salt Lake City, Detective Garcia - Seattle PD, Mike Sheard - Intelligard Under pressure from budget cutbacks and recently, the events of 9/11, departments do not have the resources to respond to increasing numbers of false alarms. In some cities, the response times are so poor, police believe that the public is better served by private responders. When guards go first, it's called "Verified Response". If there's a crime in progress, they contact the police and they respond with a higher priority. This workshop explores 2 exciting new ideas for the first time: 'Zoned Verified Response' and 'Police backup to Guard Response'. In the first, police will respond first in areas within their jurisdiction where alarm density cannot support private response. In areas that can, guards will be called first. The 2nd idea looks at the police and the guard industry working together. Guards would always be called first but when they don't have a unit available, they forward the request to police for response. Both ideas dramatically reduce false alarm calls to the police. Alarm - "Today's Solution Policies" Leader: John Wurner - AIREF Facilitator: Ivan Spector The alarm industry has been working very hard to reduce false alarms and the figures prove it. In this workshop we will examine if there is a common

9 Page 9 of 15 solution. The benefits of reduction and the promise of further reductions allow the majority of jurisdictions to continue first response by police to alarm calls. New initiatives to further reduce false alarms will be discussed along with strengthening of ordinances. Cities and police departments are also wasting thousands of man hours managing and collecting permits and fines. The exciting new idea of the alarm industry managing these will be carefully examined. Is this the way of the future? Police - "Revenue Generating Alarm Programs" Leader (s): Len Conium of Metro Toronto Police, Nanette Mitchell of London Police and Christine VanGeest of Hamilton Wentworth Police False alarms cost a lot of money. This workshop looks at combinations of permits, fines, suspensions and reinstatements used by various police departments to recover the costs incurred by the departments/cities in both responding to and managing false alarms. The workshop explores permits, 1-900, charging monitoring stations, direct bill to end users and combinations of these methods in an effort to determine which work best. Police - "A Perspective.The Last Bastion of Free Response" Leader: Gerry Miller, Peel Regional Police Department False alarms cost a lot of money. Then why doesn't this large department charge for anything? This workshop explores why some departments do not charge for management, permits or response to false alarms. What is the responsibility of the police to taxpayers who own alarm systems? Should they be rewarded, penalized or ignored? Are they a 'privileged' class of citizens or just homeowners and businesspeople who have taken additional precautions to protect their property. To review a copy of the symposium Agenda, or to find out more information, please contact CANASA directly at [email protected], Web Site: Phone: or toll free in Canada: , Fax: FARA Board Says Goodbye to Shaw and Hello to Miller Denise Shaw, Alarm Administrator for the Charles County Government in Maryland and an At-Large Director for the FARA is moving on to a new position with the federal government's Office of Homeland Security. Based on this move, she has had to resign from the FARA Board of Directors. "We are very

10 Page 10 of 15 sad to see her go, but wish her the very best in her new position," said Norma Beaubien. Denise was instrumental in producing the false alarm tips brochures and was a valuable asset to the FARA Board. Former Board Member Denise Shaw recieves FARA Member of the Year Award at this year's Portland Training Conference President Norma Beaubien appointed Gerry Miller, Alarm Coordinator for the Peel Regional Police in Canada to fill out the remainder of Denise's term, which expires in April, Gerry has been an active member of FARA for several years and has served as Membership Committee Chair for two years. "Gerry brings a unique false alarm reduction approach to the table and will represent our Canadian members very well. I am looking forward to working with her on the Board," said Beaubien. New Board Member Gerry Miller staffs the Alarm Industry/FARA Booth at last year's IACP Convention Thunderstorms - Should They Set Off Alarm Systems? The answer is a resounding NO! The dog days of summer are upon us, and with them bring increased storms, high winds, rolling thunder and power outages. It is a known fact that many law enforcement Communications Centers can track a storm based solely on where alarms are activating during the storm. A lot of alarm ordinances currently contain language that requires the waiver of false alarm fees or fines during "severe" weather. So, the

11 Page 11 of 15 question is, are thunderstorms considered "severe" weather, which should result in the waiver of false alarms? The answer is no! "Severe" weather should be limited to hurricanes, tornadoes and the like. False alarms that occur during thunderstorms are easily preventable. Unless the alarm system takes a direct lightening hit (and even this is questionable with the new surge protectors available on the market today), alarms should not activate during thunderstorms. But, the thunderstorm is an act of God, you may hear! While the thunderstorm may be an act of God, the false alarm is not. Properly designed, installed and maintained alarm systems will not generate false alarm activity due to thunderstorms, power surges or power interruptions. FARA suggests sending notices to your permitted/registered alarm users at least once per year (just prior to thunderstorm season or immediately after the first thunderstorm) advising of the steps they can take to avoid false alarms during thunderstorms. You can also take this opportunity to advise the alarm users that false alarms which occur during thunderstorms are still considered false alarms and will not be waived. At the very least, you should see a decrease in the number of appeals filed, and, hopefully, a decrease in the number of false alarms as well. In order to prevent false alarms during thunderstorms, just follow these simple steps: Maintain the home or business by eliminating movement within door and window frames. Ensure that all doors and windows fit snugly in their frames and that alarm contacts are firmly in place. Consider replacing loose alarm contacts with wide-gap door and window contacts. Use surge protectors/suppressors on both the alarm system and the phone line sending the alarm signal to the monitoring center. Ensure that the battery back-up protection is in good working order, is fully charged and will hold that charge for a minimum of four hours.

12 Page 12 of 15 Taking these simple preventative steps will help to reduce or even eliminate false alarms that occur during thunderstorms. Eugene Oregon - Tries "verified response" The following story by Rebecca Nolan ran on July 29, 2002 in the Register- Guard Police program's goal is fewer false alarms The amount of time and money Eugene police officers spend responding to false alarms from private security systems each year could pay the salaries of one full-time and one part-time employee, department officials say. As a result, Eugene police are trying a "verified response" system, which requires that a person at the site confirm the need for police response before officers roll. In 2001, Eugene police responded to 5,944 alarm calls, 98.5 percent of which were false alarms. Only 88 resulted in police reports, and 10 of the calls led to the arrest of burglars caught in the act. The numbers are similar for the first seven months of this year, patrol Capt. Elvia Williams said Friday. So far this year, the department has received 3,465 alarm calls. Officers took 22 reports and arrested four people - two for trespassing, one for criminal mischief and one for drug possession. Currently, fire- and security-alarm calls are treated as high-priority emergency calls, with two officers responding to each alarm. That's a huge amount of police time and resources spent on alarm calls, about 1 percent of which result in a report or arrest, police say. The department has struggled to find a way to reduce and, if possible, eliminate false alarms, which divert police officers from actual problems and put police in the middle of a private contract between alarm sellers and buyers. "In essence, you have private businesses selling alarms and the public subsidizing it," Williams said. Last year, the City Council approved a proposal that would allow the department to fine repeat falsealarm offenders and would require all commercial and residential alarm owners to register their devices and pay an annual fee to the department. The department had hoped that the fines and fees would cover the cost of administering the labor-intensive program, but the numbers came up short, Lt. Rick Siel said. "We basically would have become a fee collection agency, and we just don't have the resources to do that," Williams said. Before the department enacted the ordinance, police officials realized that many cities were cutting their fine-based programs, Williams said. About 40 cities, including Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Dallas, found that the fine-based system initially reduced false alarms by up to 50 percent, but the

13 Page 13 of 15 number of false alarms started climbing again after two or three years, Williams said. "We were right at the edge of the pool ready to jump in with this other program when we discovered there may be a better way for us to do business that is smarter for the public, smarter for our resource issues and concerns, and a better way to use everybody's money," Siel said. Police believe the verified response approach will: Drastically reduce the number of alarm calls dispatched. Allow police resources to be redirected from false alarm calls to actual crimes. Reduce the delay on other calls caused by a lack of available officers. Starting Aug. 1, most burglar alarm calls will be treated as lower-priority, nonemergency calls. On Oct. 1, police will require that the alarm company confirm with a person at the site that an intrusion alarm has been activated because of a criminal act. The University of Oregon and Eugene School District already handle alarms this way. Under the verification system, robbery and hold-up alarms, panic and duress alarms, and alarms at businesses licensed to sell firearms still will receive the high-priority emergency response. But the type of system that causes most of the false alarms - standard home-security systems that can be accidentally triggered by pets, children, baby-sitters or janitors - will require the verification. The department is mailing letters to the more than 100 alarm companies serving the city area and to their approximately 4,000 customers, notifying them of the changes. The changes may mean more work for area alarm companies, but the 60-day implementation period is designed to allow them to develop new procedures and train personnel to verify the alarms. Tim Anderson, vice president of services at the Eugene office of Sonitrol, said his company shares the police department's goal of reducing false alarm calls. Anderson said the company is looking at a couple of different options for Sonitrol's customers. Sonitrol might provide armed response to alarms at a cost to customers still lower than the fee the city planned to charge under the 2001 ordinance. It is also looking into new technologies, such as cameras that activate when an alarm sounds and relay images back to the alarm company. "I don't know how much more work it will make for us," Anderson said. Police will gauge how well the verified response program is working before making any decision about whether to amend or repeal the ordinance requiring registration and fines for repeat offenders, Williams said. In the end, the city could wind up using a hybrid of each approach. "We are not in any way saying we don't want to provide a service to our citizens," Williams said. "We're simply saying that we want to use our resources more wisely and be able to serve more of our public."

14 Page 14 of 15 Copyright 2002 The Register-Guard The Register-Guard PO Box Eugene, OR NBFAA Renames False Alarm Prevention Committee The NBFAA False Alarm Prevention Committee is now the Alarm Response Management Section. Section Chair Kathleen Schraufnagel explained that the name change was made to better reflect the mission of the committee which includes promotion of proactive methods to manage and reduce alarm signals received by alarm dealers and public safety officials. For questions about the committee and it's projects contact Kathleen at FARAMission Statement It is the mission of the False Alarm Reduction Association (FARA) to provide a forum for local government alarm ordinance managers to exchange information on successful false alarm reduction programs, to serve as a clearinghouse for agencies seeking to reduce false alarms, and to foster an environment of cooperation among law enforcement, the alarm industry and the alarm users. Contact Us False Alarm Reduction Association Vanderbilt Circle, Unit 4 Rockville, MD [email protected] Comments and suggestions regarding FARA s InfoLink are both encouraged and welcomed. If you would like to submit an article for publication, or if you have any questions or concerns about this newsletter, please contact the FARA

15 Page 15 of 15 Board of Directors at 301/ , or by at: Submitted articles in this newsletter are the expressed opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Officers and Directors of FARA.