Security Sales & Integration May 2021 - 8

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Georgia Nullifies Local False Alarm Laws
That Fine Alarm Companies by Rodney Bosch
ATLANTA - The
Georgia General Assembly has approved legislation that
bans counties and municipalities from
fining alarm companies for false alarms
that are generated through no fault of
their own.
The House of Representatives and Senate each approved House Bill 465 during
Georgia's 40-day legislative session,
which ended April 1. At press time, Gov.
Brian Kemp was expected to sign the bill
into law within the month, John Loud,
president and founder of Kennesaw, Ga.based LOUD Security, told SSI.
Enacting the law will end a years-long
legal morass that transpired after the city
of Sandy Springs passed an ordinance
that fined alarm companies instead of
residents and businesses for repeated
false alarms. Also located in the metro
Atlanta area, the city of Brookhaven
adopted a similar ordinance in 2018
modelled after Sandy Springs' law that
shifted the responsibility for false alarms
to installing security contractors instead
of end users.
Georgia Electronic Life Safety & Systems Association (GELSSA), A-Com
Security Co. and Safecom Security Solutions sued Sandy Springs in 2018 over its
ordinance; however, an appellate court
upheld the law in 2020.
Loud, who has fostered deep connections in Georgia's political and business
landscapes, and Holly Borgmann, vice
president, government affairs at ADT,
are principally responsible for efforts in
crafting HB 465 and seeking sponsorship for it in the legislature. Loud also
credits the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) and various manufacturers
for their continued financial support and
advocacy throughout the legal wrangling.
The new law would still hold alarm
companies responsible for false alarms

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A new law will still hold alarm companies responsible for false alarms caused
by faulty equipment, among other
factors.

caused by faulty equipment, incorrect
installation, or failure to use a mandated
system requiring two calls to an alarm site
before calling the police.
While alarm companies in Georgia can
celebrate HB 465 becoming law, Loud
says the real victory for the alarm industry ultimately lies in stemming punitive
ordinances from becoming law throughout the nation. It is a " call to action " that
all alarm industry professionals need to
champion, says Loud, who also serves as
a vice president of the Electronic Security
Association (ESA).
" The big celebration for us is not only
did we prevent the spread of [Sandy
Springs' ordinance] throughout Georgia,
but for all of us across the nation to realize
the example of what Sandy Springs was
trying to do, " Loud says. " We all united
working so closely with Stan Martin and
the amazing SIAC team, with the dollars
we all contributed to deal with this from a
legality standpoint. We have a law passed
that is for all jurisdictions. "
In a statement, SIAC Executive Director Stan Martin says ordinances similar
those adopted by Sandy Springs " do little

to change user behavior, deny the user the
right to confront their accuser and access
to due process, and fines an innocent party for the actions of another. There has
never been any evidence that fining alarm
companies was any more effective than
the model alarm ordinance that is widely
utilized nationally and endorsed by the
Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. "
For the past two decades, SIAC has
collaborated with agencies such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP) and National Sheriffs Association
(NSA) to develop and refine a model
alarm ordinance that is said to reduce
alarm dispatches.
" The model ordinance, which fines
alarm users, obtains an average 60% reduction in false dispatches and impacts
those causing most of the problems, "
Martin says. " In fact, 85% of alarm systems generate no calls to the police in any
given year. "
Tom Nakatani, vice president, customer monitoring technology, for ADT,
tells SSI there is still much work to be
done in the wake of the Georgia Assembly overturning controversial local laws
in Brookhaven and Sandy Springs. The
industry needs to step up its own efforts
to reduce customer false alarms, be it
through technological innovation, customer training, enhanced verification efforts, among other measures, he says.
" False alarms are a real drain on the
limited budgets of public safety agencies, and excessive false alarms are driving some local governments to adopt
harsher and harsher alarm response policies, " he says. " Moving forward, we need
to closely partner with those in the first
responder community to find innovative
ways to deliver timely, accurate, actionable information to them that minimizes
false alarms, without jeopardizing customer safety. "
securitysales.com

4/16/21 10:38 AM

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Security Sales & Integration May 2021

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