The recent IACP-SACOP (International Association of Chiefs of Police-State Associations of Chiefs of Police) meeting in Atlantic City, NJ, was both heartening and frightening — heartening because SIAC and the security industry continued to build stronger relationships with these police officials as we got to meet with their new staff/leadership; frightening because the financial challenges facing law enforcement are huge, tangible and far-reaching.
It’s important that we attend these meetings for many reasons. Obviously, the better we know the leadership of IACP-SACOP, the more effective SIAC is going to be at working with them towards mutually recognized alarm improvement practices. Our exposure and recognition to these 35 police chief state chapter presidents and executive directors has never been better.
This type of forum also gives us the opportunity to explain what we do and get feedback. For example, Glen Mowrey gave a presentation on the success in building alarm management committees in multiple states. Beyond this positive exposure and information-sharing, Glen also called on 3-4 executive directors and chiefs from various states to stand up and comment. This gives them further buy-in to these programs, and their remarks were positive and supportive. Hearing about success from peers is the best endorsement SIAC could ask for.
In addition to the positive exposure we gained, interest was rekindled to move ahead in some previously contacted states, including Arizona. If you’ve been following activities in Avondale, you know Arizona is a hot bed for local alarm ordinance activity. Progress we can make there towards agreed-upon solutions rather than unilateral ones, will go a long way towards benefitting public safety and ensuring the effectiveness of the security systems we install, service and monitor.
Stay tuned for more on this discussion next week, including some of the resource constraints facing police departments across the country. Until then,……….