Guard company spawns CVS Alarm

PALM DESERT, Calif.—Coachella Valley Security president David Chandler, who owns a guard company and security training academy based here, announced May 26 that he's getting into the alarm business.

Chandler has partnered with Jim Diaz to launch CVS Alarm, which will provide alarm installation, service and monitoring in the Coachella Valley.

CVS Alarm will initially target a number of gated communities where Coachella Valley Security already has a presence. “David's clients in these communities where he provides [guard] security have said they would like to have him provide alarm service as well,” said Diaz

Diaz, who is the former chief of the California State Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, a regulatory agency that oversees private investigators, alarm companies and security guard companies, among others, met Chandler when they were working on some state business together.

At CVS Alarm, he will take care of business operations while Chandler handles sales. “David has a positive presence in the Coachella Valley. He's very well known and involved in the community, with charitable events and [through his current security business],” Diaz said.

CVS Alarm will be a Bosch and Pelco dealer and will use the Command Center for its third-party monitoring station. “Once we get a critical mass on our account base then we'll hire our own service and installation personnel, but we'll continue to use a third party for monitoring.” Diaz said the company expects to put on 1,000 residential accounts in the first year.

Once the company has a certain number of accounts within a gated community (likely about 200 accounts), CVS Alarm will offer private guard response for an additional monthly fee. “It will be a dedicated armed response [from a private guard within the community] to the activation of an alarm,” he said. Diaz noted that people who live in communities that have verified response policies would appreciate this option.