Verified Alarms Lead to Verifiable Results for Central Stations
With the potential to reduce false alarms and increase arrests, alarm verification systems are winning the support of law enforcement and the insurance industry. Dealers stand to benefit.
At the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) meeting in October, there was plenty of buzz about video alarm verification as participants engaged in healthy discussion and debate on the issue. While proponents of video verification are excited about the advancing technology and the possibilities verified alarm systems have to offer, advocates for more traditional systems are not so sure. However, forces outside the security industry may soon drive them to reconsider.
It’s no secret that false alarms are a huge problem for both law enforcement and the security industry. The industry consensus is that somewhere near 98 percent of signals are false alarms. In a 2003 study, the Broward Sheriff’s Office in Broward County, Fla., determined that deputies wasted 1,000 hours a month on false alarms. With shrinking budgets and increasing demands on their resources, law enforcement agencies are being forced to allocate their resources where they can do the most good. “All responders are trying to figure out how to do more with less,” says Larry Folsom, president of I-View Now, located in Henderson, Nev.