Non-response policies — whether aimed at burglar alarms or fire detection systems — go against everything the security industry has been built upon. Fortunately, such policies have not been implemented on a widespread basis, only in some cities and usually with negative results. As long as the security industry continues to aim at the target of reducing false alarms and false dispatches, we will have leverage in community discussions that affect our customers’ security and safety.
This month’s cover story, “The Truth about False Alarms,” beginning on page 42, describes the security industry’s progress, to date, in its effort to reduce false dispatches. (False dispatches are different than false alarms; they are alarms that are dispatched to public safety in order to initiate a response.) The Security Industry Alarm Coalition, a group comprised of members of several alarm industry associations, has been very instrumental in the alarm management effort.