Dallas Considers ‘Compromise’ on Verified Response to Include Only Commercial Customers
DALLAS
After a set of two public hearings where packed rooms
voiced opposition to a plan for verified response in
Dallas, city managers are considering what they say is a
compromise where verified response would only apply to
commercial alarms. Under the proposal being written by the
city manager’s office, police would still respond to all
residential alarm calls.
The plan, reported by the Dallas Morning News, comes
on the heels of TARGET=’_blank’>contentious public hearings that
seemingly took what had looked like certain passage for
verified response in Dallas to a state of uncertainty what
form the final ordinance will take.
Chris Russell, president of the North Texas Alarm
Association (NTAA), says the proposal announced Nov. 15
took him by surprise. He says he met with officials from
Dallas’ city manager, council and police offices on Nov. 9
and was told two days later that the proposal for
commercial-only verified response was off the table. He
didn’t find out that the plan was still in play until he
was contacted by a Dallas Morning News reporter.
Russell says he rejects the term “compromise” as a
description of the proposal.
“That’s not a compromise,” Russell, of Dallas’ Amazon Alarm
Systems Inc., told SSI. “Anything to do with
verified response is not a compromise.”
The draft of the proposal would force alarm companies to
hire private security guards to confirm alarms at
commercial businesses before police would respond. While
residential customers would not be under verified response,
false alarm fines would be raised and alarm companies would
be required to use a form of enhanced call verification
(ECV) where an alarm firms would need to made two attempts
to contact alarm customers before summoning police.
Russell says that despite the two hearings – where both the
main council chamber and an overflow room were filled with
opponents of verified response – Dallas city leaders still
don’t get it.
“They had city hall and the overflow rooms full of citizens
saying we don’t want private response,” Russell says. “It
surprises me that that message hasn’t been clearly
understood.”
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