GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Sonitrol Tri-County, Michigan’s local Sonitrol dealer, joins Sonitrol, the innovator of verified electronic security solutions, known for the apprehension of burglars and intruders, in celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Since pioneering verified surveillance alarms with its first dealership in 1964, Sonitrol has dedicated the past half century to refining and updating its unique impact-activated audio verification technology to deliver 100% volumetric coverage of businesses, schools and homes — all monitored in real-time.
In 1964, Robert Baxter and Al Cronk, based in Daleville, Ind., co-founded Sonitrol when they began to use technology from Baxter’s pest extermination company to detect larger intruders — humans. The acoustic device used to pinpoint the exact locations of termites in walls was adapted and modified to become an early model of the modern-day impact-activated audio alarm verification technology available through over 125 Sonitrol dealers around the United States, Canada and the UK.
Cronk, a 17-year veteran of the Anderson Police Department in Indiana, recognized the benefit of Sonitrol’s audio verification technology, and how it could be applied to better inform local police about the real-time details of an activated alarm. This visionary breakthrough in technology, far ahead of its time, established the standard of alarm verification throughout the security industry.
Since 1977, when Sonitrol began recording apprehension statistics, the verified electronic security company has assisted local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in over 170,000 apprehensions — a rate of one apprehension every 111 minutes.
“Sonitrol has a rich history as the first company to produce verified intrusion alarms,” said Mike Wanstreet, president of Sonitrol Tri-County, who noted that Sonitrol-Tri-County was established in 1967, just three years after Sonitrol’s founding. Sonitrol Tri-County’s sister company, Sonitrol Chicagoland North, was established 20 years later in 1987.
“Today, with advancements in technology and an unwavering commitment to the needs of our customers, Sonitrol provides businesses and facilities with real-time monitoring and operator intelligence that leads to quicker, safer and more effective responses from local law enforcement.” “Our technology could never have achieved the success that it has in this highly competitive industry without the expertise and courageous response of the local law enforcement to arrive onsite to confront and apprehend individuals,” added Wanstreet.
