With tight budgets now routine in most cities, many law enforcement departments are being forced to cut personnel, making solutions for false alarm reduction even more important. That has led to hefty fines being assessed on businesses that are repeat false alarm offenders. Minneapolis, for example, charges $500 for the fifth false alarm within a year.
Following that fifth false alarm, Minneapolis police will no longer respond without alarm verification. Cities such as Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Detroit and Salt Lake City and others no longer respond to any unverified alarms. And in those cities where police still do respond, alarms that can’t be verified receive a lower dispatch priority. Verification may take the form of an eyewitness making a report or a time-consuming and costly dispatch of a private security guard paid for by the business owner. (Hold-up, duress and panic alarms still result in an immediate law enforcement dispatch in virtually every community.)
Some cities require what’s known as enhanced verification. The alarm company is required to attempt phone calls to as many as two business contacts to verify that the alarm was not accidently activated.
Sonitrol Tri-County provides a better verification solution — video verification. This technology was developed with valuable input by alarm users, central station operators, law enforcement and insurance companies. Many of these groups are supporting video verification as the best way to reduce false alarms.
Video alarm verification works by having motion sensors immediately activate security cameras when a burglar enters a business. Alarm company central station personnel have access to the resulting video, which they review before notifying authorities and providing them with detailed information.
For law enforcement, video verification results in a more efficient use of time, increased officer safety and more arrests. Statistics from the National Insurance Crime Board (NICB) and the FBI show that video-verified alarms delivered arrest rates that are about 60 percent higher than that for all burglaries. And the NICB found that a single arrest could eliminate as many as 30 future burglaries.
For business owners, video verified alarms act as a deterrent to would-be burglars. That, and more rapid law enforcement response, may help reduce losses and lead to lower insurance premiums. Contact a Sonitrol representative to learn more about how video verification can better protect your business.
Source: National Insurance Crime Board