The Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) announced plans at ISC Expo East in New York last month to establish a centralized, tracking database of national alarm ordinances. The Ordinance Tracking Information System (OTIS) will be launched in the first half of 2005.

“OTIS will be a research tool for alarm companies operating on the local, regional and national level,” said SIAC executive director Stan Martin. “It will provide valuable information to law enforcement, policymakers, third-party monitoring companies and proprietary providers...”

SIAC is a non-profit organization formed to represent one voice for the alarm industry on alarm management issues. SIAC’s primary charter is to significantly reduce calls for service and improve the lines of communication with law enforcement and end-users to ensure the safety and security of more than 30 million alarm system users in North American homes and businesses.

OTIS will provide law enforcement professionals with comparative information on ordinances, particularly for cities of like size, for the purpose of developing and revising alarm ordinances.

“We will input all known ordinances,” Martin said at a press conference in New York. “We will be able to research the database and find like ordinances. For example, how many ordinances include the CP01 standard?” The database will contain approximately 80 data points by which to search, Martin said.

“Every alarm company has an obligation and responsibility to be familiar with ordinances and regulations in local jurisdictions,” Martin said. “OTIS is a program that will bring all of our resources to a centralized database and ensure that the information is up-to-date and easily accessible.

“The ISO is interested in accessing ordinance data for comparative purposes in the insurance industry,” he said. “Insurance companies are concerned with the growing trend toward non-response to citizens’ alarms by some jurisdictions, and they have an ongoing need for information on non-response jurisdictions.”

For more information about OTIS and the Security Industry Alarm Coalition, visit www.SIACinc.org or call (972)377-9401.