The alarm industry has been based upon the detection of unwanted or criminal accessing of protected buildings and properties, and if such actions are detected, the proper authorities are notified via the central station. One drawback to this is the need for human intervention — i.e., the central station operator and the speed of the responding security or police service. As we have all experienced, particularly during these troubled economic times, we are living in a world where an overworked and understaffed service can delay the needed protection for clients’ properties when an intrusion is detected. Many police departments have had their personnel numbers reduced due to retirements and other issues. The bottom line is, bad guys can have substantial time to steal or destroy clients’ property before the police arrive.
The human elements in the alarm response chain of events are an obvious potential “weak link” in standard alarm services. In our daily lives, we may yell and curse at balky technological devices that don’t do what we want, when we want it. But we can agree that when technology is working, it performs tasks faster and more accurately than humans can.