PPVAR Adds Audio Verification to List of Services

By Ashley Willis

ST. PAUL, Minn. — As part of its alliance with the Sonitrol National Dealers Association (SNDA), the Partnership for Priority Video Alarm Response (PPVAR) has formed a new committee to focus on audio verification.

Established in 2012, PPVAR includes representatives from the electronic security industry, law enforcement and the insurance industry. The addition of the audio verification committee will help bolster the organization’s overriding efforts to reduce false alarms, combat property crime and increase arrest rates using video alarms, PPVAR Executive Director Keith Jentoft tells SSI.

“We acknowledge that there is a lot of value to be gained through audio verification as an enhancement to make more arrests and reduce false alarms,” he says. “We see this as expanding our expertise and our reach beyond just verified video.”

Comprised of 45 different independent Sonitrol franchise holders throughout the United States and Canada, SNDA works to build relationships with local law enforcement agencies. According to the organization, it has assisted in more than 165,000 arrests.

Sonitrol New England Owner Doug Curtiss, who at the time was a PPVAR board member, realized how beneficial it would be for SNDA to join the association, and presented the idea during the SNDA 2013 annual meeting, which was welcomed by other members. As part of the collaboration, Curtiss’ board seat has been reassigned to William McNabney, who will represent SNDA.

“What’s amazing about this is that up until this point, Sonitrol has not been affiliated with any of the other organizations in the industry,” Jentoft says, who is president of RSI Video Technologies.

Up next for the organization is bringing more insurance companies onboard, Jentoft says. In addition to launching an advertising campaign for insurance trade publications, PPVAR has started insurance working groups focused on loss concerns in specific vertical markets. The groups allow alarm companies, law enforcement and insurers to compile best practices for loss control professionals to maximize risk reduction using video alarms in conjunction with priority response.

“If we as an industry can secure what insurers are most concerned about, that’s going to go a long way to push our services out to their policy holders,” Jentoft explains. “With verified video, police do come faster, and insurers’ losses are mitigated.” 

Ashley Willis is associate editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.

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