Putting Forth Best Practices

In the total picture, SIAC has also worked tirelessly to help develop relevant standards and processes for monitoring and installations. A good example is ANSI/CSAA-CSV-01, more commonly known as Enhanced Call Verification (ECV), in which two calls are placed to an alarm system owner upon activation before notifying responding agencies.

In the days shortly after 9/11, IACP charged the industry to find a process that would reduce dispatches without any “heavy lifting” on the part of law enforcement. Led by SIAC, a small group of industry leaders sequestered themselves in a hotel meeting room for two days in an attempt to identify the problem and find a solution. With 75% of all false alarms being user error, and with the vast majority of all signals being call-verified, why weren’t these individuals being reached? Tests revealed that by calling a second number, preferably a cellphone, dispatch reductions of more than 50% could be achieved.

Using an existing relationship with law enforcement, the Boulder (Colo.) Police Department agreed to run a test. The results con-firmed SIAC’s projections, and Boulder reached a 61% reduction using nothing but ECV.

All that said, there are still onerous ordinances being proposed and passed. While the numbers are few, SIAC’s experience has been that when one passes in a particular geographical area it is more likely more will be proposed. On the flipside, the same is true of good legislation. With the passage of one positive ordinance we can typically proactively generate several more in the same area.

In the past year, that scenario played out in Ohio when the city of Akron proposed, and eventually adopted a nonresponse position. At the same time, several other jurisdictions from Cleveland to Dayton announced they were considering similar policies. However, with prompt action by SIAC, Akron stands alone in Ohio while the other agencies are working cooperatively with the local alarm industry to pass an ordinance that better serves the public.

Backing Groundbreaking Research

The Alarm Industry Research and Education Foundation (AIREF) provides support to much of SIAC’s efforts by funding important studies that provide empirical data to support the industry’s efforts. AIREF exists as an independent foundation of the ESA. One function of AIREF is to accept applications for studies that are relative to the industry, and AIREF has funded some important studies requested by law enforcement through SIAC.

Of note was the Rutgers University Study that investigated the crime deterrence impact of alarm systems on a community. Other studies included the Salt Lake City Survey and the University of North Carolina Charlotte Report that interviewed incarcerated burglars. It is doubtful that any of this would have happened without SIAC’s relationship with law enforcement.

This brings to light an important point. Many times it appears that the alarm industry is in opposition to law enforcement on response issues. The truth is that response to alarms is a community issue between citizens and their elected officials, not between the industry and the police.

The studies referenced here, at various levels, address the issues of the value of alarms as well as the community’s expectation of the services provided by their local government. While this may sound like a minor issue, it is at the root of why so many communities have proposed nonresponse and then backed off.

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