Texas Alarm Associations To Cooperate With Dallas Officials

Sep 18, 2007 2:32 PM

The Dallas City Council repealed its "verified response" burglar alarm policy, meaning police officers has again respond to all commercial alarm calls.

"Dallas business leaders expressed their concern about the policy and their elected leaders responded. The repeal of the verified response policy by the Dallas City Council is the beginning of another chapter in the alarm industry's long-term effort to reduce false alarms and enhance public safety," says Chris Russell, president of the North Texas Alarm Association (NTAA). "Some may view this as a reason to relax, but we need to continue to work from all directions to significantly reduce the number of false alarms to the extent that verified response will not even be considered again."

"In the coming weeks we plan to work closely with the city to build on the false alarm reduction tactics that were added to Texas state law through the efforts of the Texas Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (TBFAA), in cooperation with police and city officials," Russell says.

These tactics include requiring CP-01 Compliant panels for new installations, expanded user training and requiring two call verification before a dispatch request is made. Last year, the NTAA in cooperation with other industry associations and the False Alarm Reduction Association created a video to help train alarm users.

"We stand willing to explore all reasonable options for false alarm reduction and accept our responsibility to continue to work with police and city officials to eliminate false alarms," says Chip Bird, TBFAA. "We will continue to support the efforts of the NTAA and will continue to pursue all reasonable solutions to this problem at the state level."

"NTAA places a priority on cooperative effort with public safety. We will continue to reach out to local officials and will continue our active participation in the False Alarm Reduction Association to network with officials from throughout the United States and Canada," Russell says. "We believe that networking with public safety is essential to our collective effort to improve the safety of alarm users and citizens alike. Through these efforts, we can and will tackle the false alarm problem."

The North Texas Alarm Association (NTAA) works with Alarm Companies, Law Enforcement, Industry Associations and Alarm Users on the Greater Dallas Fort Worth Area to ensure the highest quality of professional security services possible, through training, communication and professional services.

The TBFAA has established itself as an effective voice for alarm industry and users. Working with Texas City and County officials, the TBFAA lends a hand in creating safety and security standards for the alarm process as a whole.

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