ADT to Begin 2-Call Verification in L.A.

BOCA RATON, Fla.

ADT Security Services will make two phones calls instead of one to verify burglar alarms in the city of Los Angeles before notifying police, the company said in a release this week.

The release did not state when the new procedure would go into effect. Calls to ADT executives were not returned by press time.

Calling its procedure “enhanced” call verification, ADT will place a second verification call to a secondary premise such as a cell phone, work number or other number on the customer’s call list to further determine if an alarm activation is true. The release also says that, for ADT customers who have video monitoring services, visual verification can be done electronically.

ADT previously made one phone call to the premises to verify a burglar alarm before notifying police.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) at its annual conference in October 2002 officially adopted a multiple-call measure as an effective means to reduce false alarms and promote police response to legitimate alarms. According to the release, the association acted after studies by ADT and other security firms showed that enhanced alarm verification procedures reduced false alarm dispatches by as much as 50 percent.

“By taking these additional steps to better assist the LAPD in determining legitimate calls for assistance, ADT will continue to improve upon our most important task: protecting our customers,” said Mike Snyder, president of ADT.

The company plans to introduce the new verification process to its six million customers nationwide throughout the next year.

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