Alarm systems have been a part of security since the beginning. We all know that when an alarm goes off, police are called to respond, but how many of those alarms are false? To just one person or business it seems reasonable for police to respond to even the false alarms, but multiply that by hundreds and thousands of businesses in each city and imagine all the false alarms police are required to respond to each day. Unfortunately, police cannot respond to every alarm call within a fair amount of time. Staffing, policies, and priorities often conflict with these calls. With no way of knowing whether the alarm is real or fake, police have to make a best effort, which sometimes results in the real crimes remaining unsolved.
Today systems are being designed to allow video verification of alarms. This means that when an alarm is tripped a monitoring company is alerted and begins remote viewing the facility through installed CCTV security cameras. The monitoring company can then verify if a crime is occurring. Police departments respond faster to a crime in progress rather than an unknown situation. What does this mean to security customers? Well, it will require a higher monthly premium for monitoring your alarm system. With the higher price comes a quicker response rate from local police. In additional, customers with video verification systems will also have the peace of mind in knowing that even when they are unable to, there is someone watching over their property.
Many cities require fees to be paid for false alarm calls. Recently in Glendale, Arizona the city passed an ordinance that requires citizens to pay steep fines when police respond to false alarms. These fines range from $100 to $400 depending on the amount of previous false alarm calls received.
The equipment for a video verification system can be costly, but for some customers the price is worth the result. When you compare the potential loss of property if police are unable to respond in time to a real call or the increased risk of fines for false alarm calls, the setup and maintenance fees are well worth the investment.
How Video Verification Works
To those who are unfamiliar, video verification documents a change in local conditions. When a sensor goes into alarm, cameras record clips or open a feed to live video at the premise. The video and/or notification to view the live feed are sent to a central station where operators survey the situation.
With video evidence and other means of verification, such as audio or cross-zoning, central station operators can tell dispatchers more about what is happening at a property. As such, the quality of the process improves, raising the priority for dispatch and hastening response. This is in line with the protocol followed by most law enforcement agencies across the United States.
This is the procedure that the Central Station Alarm Association’s (CSAA) existing ANSI standard for video verification prescribes and it is an excellent starting point from which the industry can advance with input from law enforcement and the insurance industry. It is important for installing security companies to know that video verification is completely dependent on central station service.
Road to Making Gains
For video verification to truly gain acceptance by all ancillary industry stakeholders — from end users, police and the insurance industry — there must be uniformity in how it is applied. With several years of field experience gained by industry stakeholders, some of the advancements for the next generation of verification are being implemented.
Differentiations can be made for residential, commercial and high-value commercial, as well as interior and exterior applications. Within the commercial realm, there are different risk levels to be accounted for, such as the potential loss at a big-box electronics store compared with a sporting goods store that has a stock of weapons and ammunition.
Fortunately, one distinction everyone agrees upon is that professionally installed and monitored systems will garner prioritized response that DIY, self-monitored systems will not enjoy. That alone gives alarm contractors a tremendous selling point to current and prospective customers, especially as some of the largest technology companies enter into the smart-home market with automation systems and smoke/CO detector devices.
While the industry works on these issues, whatever the final form of this standard ends up being, video verification will deliver value for every stakeholder in the battle against property crime. Alarm system owners will get a fast police response and installing contractors will benefit from satisfied customers. At the same time, police remove criminals from the streets and the insurance industry cuts down on claims they have to pay out now and in the future.
The new video verification standard will be a win for everyone involved.
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