A recent consent decree issued by the state of Illinois demonstrates why it is so important every company in the electronic security industry support and implement licensing. In the decree, a major alarm company is fined $1 million for selling its services using “unfair and deceptive” trade practices, hiring unlicensed sales personnel and allowing employees with criminal histories to sell products door-to-door in Illinois.
This enforcement action by the state demonstrates powerful reasons why we need licensing, background checks and enforcement. Without them, our industry gets a black eye from shoddy practices. The company breaking the rules also gets an unfair competitive advantage.
Another point to consider is that companies not operating by the law don’t use best practices for alarm installations. This leads to problems – unnecessary alarms that tax local law enforcement resources.
When one company operates outside the boundaries of the law, other companies in the electronic security industry also suffer because of this. We all have a hand in making sure each company plays by the same set of rules.
SIAC supports full compliance with local, state and federal laws, while also encouraging you to report bad actors to the proper authorities. If you know of an individual or a business breaking the law, take it to your state or local enforcement agency. They’ll know what to do, and you’ll be helping us keep our industry clean.