Security Sales & Integration October 2022 - 35

responding to alarms from repeat offenders.
That's why many experts agree that alarm verification
is necessary.
Raisanen says WHIRC has an enhanced call
verification process. Signals go from the homeowner's
system to the monitoring center, where
an agent calls the customer to confirm the need
to contact emergency services. Monitoring center
dispatchers make two calls to the primary
contact. If there is no answer, dispatchers will
dispatch authorities then try to contact any
other keyholders on the list. It's a process that
may take 15 minutes or more depending upon
the number of people.
Customers can quickly cancel nuisance
alarms using a smartphone app that reduces
false alarms. She says WHIRC is working with
manufacturers to incentivize alarm verification
methods with little cost.
Vail says more information assists station
operators with actionable data required to
make the best dispatch decisions. That includes
more indoor and outdoor video, enabling
operators to see what's happening at a
customer's home. For example, artificial intelligence
will determine if motion resulted from
a pet, a motor vehicle, or a person instead of
nothing more serious than windblown foliage.
Video enables operators to provide more details
to first responders, such as a vehicle's type
and color and the number of people inside.
" We'll charge a little more for this added service
to cover our development costs, but it will
be pennies a month - far less than the fines
many law enforcement departments charge for
false alarms, " he says.
A Smarter, Brighter Future
Kirk MacDowell, president of Oregon-based
MacGuard Security Advisors, is a 42-year industry
veteran and a member of the Security
Sales & Integration editorial board. He sees AI
making predictive determinations about alarm
signals with a system's hub serving as the collection
point.
" Within a few years, a system's hub will gather
data from multiple sources to grade a potential
response. For example, it will know if
customers are at home based on the location of
their mobile phones, " he says. " Based on all the
information, it might determine there's only an
8% chance of a false alarm. Using the proposed
Alarm Validation Scoring standard from The
Monitoring Association, this event might rate a
securitysales.com
level four call for service, meaning there is likely
a person or persons present at the site and it
appears there is a threat to life. "
Calls rated at a lower level may not warrant
a call for immediate assistance. This information
will help monitoring centers prioritize
calls to first responders, resulting in fewer requests
for assistance. " Fewer calls allow monitoring
centers to spend more time on training
existing staff, work smarter and offer a better
quality of service to dealers and their customers, "
he adds.
As part of a continued change, MacDowell
sees monitoring centers soon providing ancillary
monitoring of nonsecurity devices, such
as home generators and HVAC systems. " The
industry has changed. For example, we've
largely eliminated door knockers; technology
and communications have changed. Monitoring
centers haven't changed to any great degree
- and they're going through that metamorphosis
now. "
Sears says that each provider in the residential
security chain - manufacturers,
dealers, monitoring centers and customers
- must adapt to new technologies. " It's like
the old saying, stay ahead of events and adapt
or you die as a business. We're also passing
along the businesses to a younger generation
- in our case, our son. The industry continues
moving at a faster pace. I'm excited to see
where it's going. " SSI
WARREN HILL is Vice President, Marketing
and Partner Development for Alula.
OCTOBER 2022 Security Sales & Integration 35
Sending alarm signals over an
analog phone line to one that's
digital can result in unreliable
communication.
KINOMASTER/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.securitysales.com
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