Tag: Ron Walters

FRISCO, Texas—SIAC on Feb. 9 started working with Stateside Associates, a state and local government affairs firm, to monitor pending ordinances that could affect the security industry.“For us, it's more of a safety net to ensure that we're able to effectively work with [potential] jurisdictions” before they pass a harmful ordinance instead of after, Stan Martin, executive director for SIAC told Security Systems News.Stateside Associates will search for relevant developments in...

CHULA VISTA, Calif.—California is leading the way in adopting false alarm ordinances, according to Jon Sargent, the industry/law enforcement liaison for the Security Industry Alarm Coalition.“CAA (California Alarm Association) has been very proactive” in its involvement with SIAC, Sargent told Security Systems News. “I don't believe there is any state structured in this matter as well as California.”The city of Chula Vista and others have made strides in their alarm...

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Ron Walters, director of the Security Industry Alarm Association, was honored at ESX 2014 with the William Moody Award, according to a recent blog post from SIAC. According to the blog, the award was “probably long overdue.” “Because Ron works so much behind the scenes, and doesn't seek attention, his work often goes unnoticed,” the post noted. “But not to us, and not to many of the state associations he helps throughout the U.S., along...

“It's a good day in Georgia.” That was the reaction from John Loud, president of the Georgia Electronic Life Safety & Systems Association, after Gov. Nathan Deal signed enhanced call verification into law on May 6. GELSSA, with an assist from the Security Industry Alarm Coalition, had been pushing for ECV for years and finally saw it brought to fruition with House Bill 59. It wasn't an easy process. As HB 687, the initiative made it through the Georgia House last year and...

It was what the Colorado Springs Police Department calls a Priority Three alarm: A minor incident “requiring a response that is dispatched based on the availability of patrol units.” What followed was the nightmare scenario dreaded by police, alarm companies and alarm users alike. According to CSPD spokeswoman Barbara Miller, a security alarm was triggered at the home of David Dunlap and Whitney Butler at 11:10 a.m. on Jan. 14. The alarm company, ADT, then called Dunlap's cellphone...

YARMOUTH, Maine—The fight against false alarms begins at home, according to the Security Industry Alarm Coalition, which cites end-user error for 77 percent of incidents. But are alarm companies doing enough to “take ownership” of the problem, in the words of SIAC Director Ron Walters, by providing consumers with the training they need?Participants in this month's SSN News Poll answered that question with a resounding “yes,” with 86 percent saying their technicians spend...

YARMOUTH, Maine—A conversation at the 2012 Electronic Security Expo in Nashville reminded Ron Walters just how far the alarm industry has to go on the home front to reduce false dispatches.“I was listening to one of the manufacturers who had finally gotten a sale, and he said, 'I'm going to come in and take as much time as necessary to train your people on the use of our equipment,'” said Walters, director of the Security Industry Alarm Coalition. “And I laughed to myself...

American Public Media's “Marketplace” weighed in on false alarms this week, with the featured guest delivering a decidedly unfavorable verdict for the security industry: Alarm customers might be better off relying on a dog. Program host Kai Ryssdal interviewed Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics.com, who cited a litany of figures and study results that don't reflect well on alarm companies. Here's a bit of what Dubner had to say on the show, which aired on National Public Radio: —“We...

FRISCO, Texas—False dispatches mean user error.In the majority of cases that's the reality, according to the Security Industry Alarm Coalition, which has found that customer errors account for up to 77 percent of false police dispatches. And while initiatives such as ECV, model ordinances and CP-01 equipment standards have cut into that number over the years, the problem continues to dog the industry.“We've broken down what the causes are and how to address them, but quite honestly we've...

PUEBLO, Colo.—The Security Industry Alarm Coalition is facing opposition from local alarm companies in its work with municipal authorities here to create and adopt an acceptable ordinance that includes fines for false alarms and an enhanced call verification (ECV) policy."The reason I'm fighting this is because this is a unique ordinance. They want every one to register. They want everyone to pay on a yearly basis—even do-it-yourselfers because they want that money," Dave Anderson, owner...