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Agenda Item
5.7 24-0091 Subject: Adopting Verified Response
From: Councilmember Kaplan
Recommendation: Adopt An Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 8.02 (Burglar Alarm Systems) To (1) Require All New Alarm Installations To Be Verified Response Alarm Systems; (2) Prohibit Alarm Businesses From Making Dispatch Requests Based On Non-Verified Alarms; And (3) Impose Civil Penalties For Violations; And Adopting California Environmental Quality Act Exemptions
I am Steve Keefer, a Law Enforcement Liaison for the non-profit organization, Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC). I am a retired Chief of Police. SIAC was formed over 20 years ago to partner with law enforcement & assist w/ all aspects of alarm mgt. SIAC and law enforcement leaders developed Best Practices for agencies to utilize and lower their false alarm calls. SIAC has worked with over 2,000 agencies across the nation. Successes can be achieved by targeting chronic abusers and restricting them to Verified Response (VR). The alarm industry supports VR for chronic abusers but NOT for ALL alarm users. SIAC recommends not placing the burden of VR on users after July 2024. A two-tiered system will be difficult to manage and unfair to the responsible alarm user with additional costs and safety concerns, as the VR requirements come with adherent risks or vulnerabilities. A two-tiered system means you will experience two businesses and two home owners next door to one another, and one would be allowed to request a dispatch, while the other would be in violation of the proposed ordinance, simply because the system was installed after July 2024. It would be best to trigger VR to all users after 2 false alarms in a 12 month period. This would be one of the most strict ordinances in the nation, focusing on the chronic abusers, while reaping the benefit of respectful call for service reductions. I request you pull the ordinance from the agenda for more discussion.
I am Steve Keefer, a Law Enforcement Liaison for the non-profit organization, Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC). I am a retired Chief of Police. SIAC was formed over 20 years ago to partner with law enforcement & assist w/ all aspects of alarm mgt. SIAC and law enforcement leaders developed Best Practices for agencies to utilize and lower their false alarm calls. SIAC has worked with over 2,000 agencies across the nation. Successes can be achieved by targeting chronic abusers and restricting them to Verified Response (VR). The alarm industry supports VR for chronic abusers but NOT for ALL alarm users. SIAC recommends not placing the burden of VR on users after July 2024. A two-tiered system will be difficult to manage and unfair to the responsible alarm user with additional costs and safety concerns, as the VR requirements come with adherent risks or vulnerabilities. A two-tiered system means you will experience two businesses and two home owners next door to one another, and one would be allowed to request a dispatch, while the other would be in violation of the proposed ordinance, simply because the system was installed after July 2024. It would be best to trigger VR to all users after 2 false alarms in a 12 month period. This would be one of the most strict ordinances in the nation, focusing on the chronic abusers, while reaping the benefit of respectful call for service reductions. I request you pull the ordinance from the agenda for more discussion.