Tips to Reduce False Alarms
As a user of an alarm system you may not be aware that false alarms are the hottest topic for consumers, alarm monitoring companies, manufacturers and also for safety and law enforcement agencies. If your home or office alarm system is monitored by a central station, when the alarm goes off is like calling 911; therefore a false alarm is a serious issue that can not be taken lightly.
False alarms are very costly; according to one Police Department, from
more than 14 thousand received alarms only 2.4% were real alarms. But
it is not only about the cost, It is about keeping officers free to
respond more quickly to real emergencies.
A false alarm is any alarm caused by human error or equipment problems
requiring police or fire rescue response, with no evidence of an actual
crime having been committed or fire being developed. There are several
reasons for false alarms including user errors, installation defects
or equipment malfunction, but a higher percentage of false alarms are
due to unintended end user mistakes.The most frequent user generated
false alarms are due to:
• Use of incorrect key pad codes
• Failure to train other authorized users (i.e., sitters, relatives,
children, visitors, etc.)
• Failure to secure doors and windows before turning on alarm.
• Fail to cancel alarm with monitoring facility.
Although the electronic security industry has done great efforts to reduce false alarms, from the design and manufacturing of easier to use systems to the adoption of standards to reduce mistakes, the most important tool in this goal is still to educate customers and help them to understand better the best use of their alarm. In this direction, Some of the tips include:
• Replace batteries or call your alarm company to change them as soon
as you get an alert that the batteries are getting low.
• Get familiar with informative messages or audio signasl provided by
your system
• If you enter the wrong code and the alarm goes off, don’t panic, stay
calm and wait for the call from the alarm company. Then provide your
password to cancel dispatch of key holders or police.
• If you stay at home and activate the alarm at night make a habit to
disarm the alarm as soon as you wake up. Many false alarms are generated
when a window or door is opened while the system is still active.
• If you have pets and you have PIR (Passive Infrared) motion sensors,
please make sure those devices allow pets and only trigger with human
being intrusion.
• New wireless alarm systems provide secure
and very easy to use wireless key-fobs that allow you to arm and disarm
your home or office alarm as simple as your car alarm by just pressing
a button. Those systems prevent many of the false alarms associated
with a wrong code or taking too long to deactivate the alarm when you
are coming home.
• Systems have video verification
to confirm the cause of activation before police or key holders are
asked to attend.
Proper use of the alarms and reduction of false notifications is a responsibility of everyone at the point that many councils may charge the cost of those false alarms back to you, the end user. Get involved, know better your system and help prevent false alarms in your community.
Let’s us know your experience and question about false alarm issues.
