At 8:30 in the evening one night last week, one of our trusty SIAC staff members, Ron Walters, received a call from an alarm dealer in Shawnee, Kansas. He'd just heard about SIAC’s involvement in the soon to be announced Verified Response (VR) effort. His first...
There’s a longstanding debate in the United States regarding federal vs. state rights. Some might argue it’s a recent phenomenon, or that it stems from the Civil War. Actually, the tug between the two bodies of government began as soon as the first 13 states created...
There are many ways for a community to address unnecessary calls for police dispatch from triggered alarms. That’s a large reason why SIAC is in business. We help with solutions. Sometimes we propose those solutions early, before opinions are hardened. In other cities...
At ISC East two weeks ago, Leo Guthart was recognized at the Tri-Association Awards Dinner in New York City. He was named the winner of the George G. Lippert Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the security industry. It does not surprise SIAC...
As the saying goes, “You can never say thank you enough.” So let’s say it now to the Electronic Security Association of Ohio: “THANK YOU!” In the most recent issue of their state newsletter, ESA of Ohio gave SIAC front page coverage, touting our organization’s...
A couple of years ago, Ron Walters was doing a presentation on two-call verification, also tagged Enhanced Call Verification, or ECV. At the time, SIAC members had probably been on the road touting the benefits of ECV for at least three or four years. During that...
Any award in the electronic security industry gets a patented response: We don’t have the time or resources to apply. We’re all busy these days. If you run an alarm company, you’re looking at new avenues to expand your sales. You may be trying to figure out how to...
The Texas Police Chiefs and key members of the state’s alarm industry – Chris Russell, Jeff Bright and Rodney Hooker – took a big step recently in agreeing on some key provisions to reduce unnecessary alarm signals. It wasn’t easy. An alarm committee was formed in...
Two recent actions in the state of Illinois point to a disturbing situation that the security industry needs to pay close attention to: Fire departments setting up monitoring centers for signaling services. Our industry should oppose this move for several reasons. We...
Cities and suburbs are slashing services. This newspaper or Internet headline could have been written for Anywhere, USA over the past two years or so. The trickle-down effect from the financial services industry implosion hit the housing industry, and in turn the...