What exactly does- “Alarm Verification Calls Required” -mean?
What is it and how does it impact your alarm system?
The 2010 Florida Statutes
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Title XXXII |
Chapter 489 |
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489.529 Alarm verification calls required. All residential or commercial intrusion/burglary alarms that have central monitoring must have a central monitoring verification call made to the premises generating the alarm signal, prior to alarm monitor personnel contacting a law enforcement agency for alarm dispatch. The central monitoring station must employ call-verification methods for the premises generating the alarm signal if the first call is not answered. However, if the intrusion/burglary alarms have properly operating visual or auditory sensors that enable the monitoring personnel to verify the alarm signal, verification calling is not required. History.— s. 17, ch. 96-298; s. 3, ch. 97-122; s. 6, ch. 2006-154. |
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In July 2006, the legislators of the State of Florida made Enhanced Call Verification state law; F.S. Statute 489.529 and it as later signed endorsed and signed into law by then Gov. Jeb Bush. The state legislation is under the heading of Alarm Verification Calls Required within the Florida State statute. The legislation requires all central monitoring stations that handle residential or commercial intrusion/burglary alarm activations to make “two” (2) phone calls in an attempt to verify the validity of any monitored alarm activation.
This is done prior to calling local police/sheriff’s departments to request a dispatch. All alarm monitoring stations, no matter where they are located in the United States and conduct alarm monitoring in the State of Florida, are now mandated to call both the premises generating the alarm activation signal, and if no answer is received, or false verification cannot be determined, the monitoring station then must make a second attempt via telephone in order to try and contact the alarm system owner or key holder. If the monitored location utilizes visual or auditory sensors that enable the monitoring personnel to properly verify the alarm signal, then enhanced alarm verification is not required.
Alarm companies that provide audio or visual verification have an advantage over the competition because once the alarm is verified then they can dispatch police without having to spend critical time making the enhanced calls. To make the enhanced calls gives the intruder more time to get away without an apprehension. When an alarm is real, every minute counts.
This legislation was caused by the excessive amount of false alarms generated by alarm companies and their users. 98% of all alarm calls are deemed false and responding to them wastes police resources. This trend does not just pertain to Florida. Nationwide, Police departments have and are enacting verification rules and are imposing steep fines for repeated false alarm offenders. In some instances, police will not even respond unless the alarm has been verified either through audio or video verification.
ViVID is redwire’s solution. With ViVID, once an alarm signal is received, video of the event is automatically transmitted to redwire. Our central station professionals instantly view video of the premises, before and after the alarm activation, and confirm the security breach. Once the alarm is verified, we relay information to law enforcement, without having to call you first. Dispatchers get real-time, accurate assessment of the event - resulting in a rapid response to your alarm without you having to decide if the police should have been dispatched. Learn more here.
