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For the past several years, magazines catering to our profession have published articles dealing with the false alarm problems. There is a spate of enacted and proposed legislation at the state and local levels, ostensibly to remedy the problems. The impact of all of this on the security industry and the alarm system owners is cause for concern, constructive, and measured response. The subject has made the newspapers and national television.
The law enforcement jurisdictions recommend the fining of either the alarm service or the alarm owner. Still others have proposed not responding to a government building, an industrial complex, business, or residence where more than five false alarms have occurred within a specified time period. One jurisdiction in State of Maryland has implemented the use of a "900" telephone number between the alarm central station and the police department. Do you think they are serious? How many direct police connections that you know about have been removed? How many direct connections do you think have been installed?
The Dallas Morning News in an article written by Dave Levinthal published December 15, 2005 proclaimed, ?Dallas Alarm Ordinance Finalized: Verified Response for Businesses.?
The North Texas Alarm Association has stated, ?Verified Response is No Response.? He expresses his disappointment with such a move as have some business owners. Utilization of police resources is marginalized and that is the tragedy of all of this. Therefore:
Just what constitutes a false alarm? Who says it's a false alarm? How do they or we know that it is a false alarm? We will explore these questions, provide some insights, a different spin, and propose some solutions. This dilemma affects all of us in the security profession to some extent. An ounce of alarm prevention is worth a pound of alarm cure.
Early in my assignment in the Court Security Division, Systems Branch, U.S. Marshals Service, now called the Judicial and Court Security, Judicial Security Systems, we faced the false alarm problem on a daily basis. We borrowed a page from our experiences while assigned to the U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM), now called U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC). Alarms were divided into three categories: 1) actual, 2) false, 3) nuisance.
We have been saying for several years that there is no such thing as an unexplained alarm. There are still too many people who do not believe that. We were successful in getting the Department of Defense (DOD) to adopt the terms False Alarm and Nuisance Alarm back in 1983. The definitions were: "anything that affects the electronics of the system or the transmission lines constitutes a false alarm" and "any sensor response to unintentional stimuli constitutes a nuisance alarm." To further pinpoint the origin of an alarm, we recommended to the "security community-the system" as we did ourselves; put a power monitor on the circuit. The faith of the most optimistic of us was severely shaken by what we observed. As you may recall, it was during this period that the U.S. Army was in the process of installing exterior perimeter alarm systems at special weapons depots and interior alarm systems at chemical weapons facilities. "Remember the Seneca Saga," was the battle cry at the time. Some of us, including U.S. Army Colonel Charles A. Hammaker, Jr., Chief, Security Office DARCOM, have the scars to prove it.
The solution, I believe, is threefold:
ONE. The Equipment. We must have Reliable, Affordable, Available, Maintainable, and Expandable equipment or RAAME.
RELIABLE ── Regardless of how much the system or components cost, if it is not reliable, working when needed, what good is it? If it alarms every whipstitch, what is its worth? What holy writ or old military saw concludes there must be an alarm every time there is lightning!
AFFORDABLE ── The first law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. If the client cannot afford to buy the system what good is it? What is the hourly maintenance charges that will have to be paid when the system is out of warranty? Can the client afford the repairs or will the system stand idle while the client saves up? The notion in the private sector, now being visited upon governments, is you cannot spend $1,000.00; to close up a $10.00, hole.
AVAILABLE ── Is what we want available when we need it? We must be careful when we shop to be sure that what will fulfill our mission needs, will be there when we need it, and not off somewhere, waiting for the engineering group to release it. Then we need to buy what we need from someone else.
MAINTAINABLE ── If the client cannot maintain the system, what good is it? We cannot get caught in the lure that states: It's reliable when it works, but it seldom works. And to rub salt in the wound, it takes three weeks from the first phone call before we see or hear from the repairperson.
EXPANDABLE ── If newer technology comes along or the manufacturer develops an updated version of the sensor or control board; can the client's system be retrofitted to stay current? Or must the client be satisfied with a system that will be obsolete in a couple of years, meaning the purchase of new equipment?
TWO. The Client. Ensuring that the site has been carefully examined and prepared are crucial to the successful operation of an alarm system. More importantly, we need to instill in the owner or operator a high degree of confidence in the system. Doing all of this means the occupants must not be made to feel like prisoners. The term "user friendly" is in vogue. This does not mean the occupants can do anything they want in or to the protected business or residence. Whatever they do to or in the protected spaces could have an impact upon having a false or nuisance alarm free system. The client must be well trained in the functions and operation of the entire system. Training includes a short list of do's and don'ts, religiously followed, which goes a long way to eliminate both false and nuisance alarms. The client is 100% responsible for nuisance alarms. Why? Nuisance alarms are always avoidable. Close and lock all of the windows and doors. Space protection, depending upon sensor selection, means nothing flapping in the breeze when the heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) is running. The system must be Armed and Disarmed in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer. The client can be responsible for false alarms after the system has been correctly installed. The installation of a new electrical service and the introduction or rearrangement of other emitters are two of the offenders that immediately come to mind.
The law enforcement jurisdictions recommend the fining of either the alarm service or the alarm owner. Still others have proposed not responding to a government building, an industrial complex, business, or residence where more than five false alarms have occurred within a specified time period. One jurisdiction in State of Maryland has implemented the use of a "900" telephone number between the alarm central station and the police department. Do you think they are serious? How many direct police connections that you know about have been removed? How many direct connections do you think have been installed?
The Dallas Morning News in an article written by Dave Levinthal published December 15, 2005 proclaimed, ?Dallas Alarm Ordinance Finalized: Verified Response for Businesses.?
The North Texas Alarm Association has stated, ?Verified Response is No Response.? He expresses his disappointment with such a move as have some business owners. Utilization of police resources is marginalized and that is the tragedy of all of this. Therefore:
Just what constitutes a false alarm? Who says it's a false alarm? How do they or we know that it is a false alarm? We will explore these questions, provide some insights, a different spin, and propose some solutions. This dilemma affects all of us in the security profession to some extent. An ounce of alarm prevention is worth a pound of alarm cure.
Early in my assignment in the Court Security Division, Systems Branch, U.S. Marshals Service, now called the Judicial and Court Security, Judicial Security Systems, we faced the false alarm problem on a daily basis. We borrowed a page from our experiences while assigned to the U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM), now called U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC). Alarms were divided into three categories: 1) actual, 2) false, 3) nuisance.
We have been saying for several years that there is no such thing as an unexplained alarm. There are still too many people who do not believe that. We were successful in getting the Department of Defense (DOD) to adopt the terms False Alarm and Nuisance Alarm back in 1983. The definitions were: "anything that affects the electronics of the system or the transmission lines constitutes a false alarm" and "any sensor response to unintentional stimuli constitutes a nuisance alarm." To further pinpoint the origin of an alarm, we recommended to the "security community-the system" as we did ourselves; put a power monitor on the circuit. The faith of the most optimistic of us was severely shaken by what we observed. As you may recall, it was during this period that the U.S. Army was in the process of installing exterior perimeter alarm systems at special weapons depots and interior alarm systems at chemical weapons facilities. "Remember the Seneca Saga," was the battle cry at the time. Some of us, including U.S. Army Colonel Charles A. Hammaker, Jr., Chief, Security Office DARCOM, have the scars to prove it.
The solution, I believe, is threefold:
ONE. The Equipment. We must have Reliable, Affordable, Available, Maintainable, and Expandable equipment or RAAME.
RELIABLE ── Regardless of how much the system or components cost, if it is not reliable, working when needed, what good is it? If it alarms every whipstitch, what is its worth? What holy writ or old military saw concludes there must be an alarm every time there is lightning!
AFFORDABLE ── The first law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. If the client cannot afford to buy the system what good is it? What is the hourly maintenance charges that will have to be paid when the system is out of warranty? Can the client afford the repairs or will the system stand idle while the client saves up? The notion in the private sector, now being visited upon governments, is you cannot spend $1,000.00; to close up a $10.00, hole.
AVAILABLE ── Is what we want available when we need it? We must be careful when we shop to be sure that what will fulfill our mission needs, will be there when we need it, and not off somewhere, waiting for the engineering group to release it. Then we need to buy what we need from someone else.
MAINTAINABLE ── If the client cannot maintain the system, what good is it? We cannot get caught in the lure that states: It's reliable when it works, but it seldom works. And to rub salt in the wound, it takes three weeks from the first phone call before we see or hear from the repairperson.
EXPANDABLE ── If newer technology comes along or the manufacturer develops an updated version of the sensor or control board; can the client's system be retrofitted to stay current? Or must the client be satisfied with a system that will be obsolete in a couple of years, meaning the purchase of new equipment?
TWO. The Client. Ensuring that the site has been carefully examined and prepared are crucial to the successful operation of an alarm system. More importantly, we need to instill in the owner or operator a high degree of confidence in the system. Doing all of this means the occupants must not be made to feel like prisoners. The term "user friendly" is in vogue. This does not mean the occupants can do anything they want in or to the protected business or residence. Whatever they do to or in the protected spaces could have an impact upon having a false or nuisance alarm free system. The client must be well trained in the functions and operation of the entire system. Training includes a short list of do's and don'ts, religiously followed, which goes a long way to eliminate both false and nuisance alarms. The client is 100% responsible for nuisance alarms. Why? Nuisance alarms are always avoidable. Close and lock all of the windows and doors. Space protection, depending upon sensor selection, means nothing flapping in the breeze when the heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) is running. The system must be Armed and Disarmed in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer. The client can be responsible for false alarms after the system has been correctly installed. The installation of a new electrical service and the introduction or rearrangement of other emitters are two of the offenders that immediately come to mind.
Just kidding. One question though. You state that nuisance alarms can "always" be avoided. What if a rodent, such as a large rat, runs past a motion/infrared sensor?
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