Security Trends to Watch in 2013

December 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Increased crime. Fewer police. A changing State of New Mexico retirement system that gives veteran cops an incentive to retire early and not stay on the job. Those don’t sound like a good combination, do they? Those three trends will come into stark relief in 2013. What does that mean for a business or homeowner? Trouble.

It’s obvious that increased crime is a bad thing. Especially property crime like burglary and metal theft. That’s when we rely on the police to ensure our safety. Where the outlooks turns grim is that law enforcement around the country, and even in New Mexico and Albuquerque, are faced with a growing shortage of officers.

In Salt Lake City, false alarm calls were draining patrol resources, comprising 12 percent of all dispatched calls. The average police response time to alarm activations was up to 40 minutes, well beyond the time when police could reasonably hope to apprehend an intruder. Over 99% of all alarm calls proved false. The result? Police and sheriff’s departments have decided not to respond to security alarms – either at all, or only when a real, live person verifies that the alarm is blasting because of an intrusion instead of the wind, an animal or malfunction. In Montgomery County, Maryland, alarm dispatches have decreased by 70% despite a more than 300% increase in alarm systems.

How did that happen? Companies like Armed Response Team have stepped into the gap left between the security alarm and the police patrol. With our immediate, in person armed response to any and all alarms, our customers know that their homes, property and businesses don’t fall through the cracks in a system where too few police have higher priorities than crooks stealing your stuff.

 Make sure you’re on the right side of this triple threat of fewer law enforcement officers and increased property crime. Find out how Armed Response Team can keep you and your family safe.

Filed Under: Latest News, Resources, Safety Alerts Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cities Ditch Police, ART Picks Up Slack

September 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A reCamden NJ ditching policecent national news story highlights the growing phenomenon of cities and towns across the country downsizing and even ditching their police forces. Camden, NJ, considered one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S., is laying off entire police department because of budget woes.

The Major Cities Police Chiefs Association, a group representing the nation’s 63 largest police departments, found last year that 70 percent were facing budget cuts that have resulted in reduction of service. Often, one of the first public services to go is response to security alarms.

As cities continue to struggle and services are reduced, everyone is making due with less. Even in New Mexico, the City of Las Cruces is considering an ordinance in reaction to high false alarm rate – more than 99 percent of alarm calls reported there last year. Police said the cost to send public safety personnel to respond to those false alarms is an estimated $307,000 a year.

No one could have predicted the economic downturn that has brought the trend into stark relief. With the increase in burglary and property crimes, a reduced response by police is not what customers want.

We at ART recognized the warning signs more than eight years ago, when a group of Albuquerque police officers founded the company. Our customers know that ART’s certified officers providing an immediate, armed and in-person response to any and all alarm calls. If an actual intrusion has occurred, ART officers call police immediately, providing a verified response to the alarm signal.

For more on ART’s immediate, armed and in-person response, call (505) 237-2278 or email us. Your safety is what matters with us.

 

Filed Under: Latest News, Resources, Safety Alerts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

We’re Not Security Guards

August 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Fat security guard

You won’t find one of these at ART.

Yes, you read that right. Armed Response Team doesn’t hire unarmed security guards to answer alarm calls (unlike other companies that tout a quick response). We don’t send a young wannabe vigilante who can’t pass the police academy entrance exam, or a fat old guy who just wants to collect a pension.

We recruit differently – from the ranks of retired law enforcement veterans, averaging over 20 years of law enforcement experience, including SWAT, K-9, training and other specialty units. We recruit the best, most qualified and experienced officers to respond to alarm calls throughout the city 24/7 and 365 days of year.

Our officers complete the same New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy approved training as sworn police officers around the state – a different standard of training than the military. Honoring our armed service veterans is important to us, but they don’t necessarily make good ART officers unless they have this additional training and certification.

Why do we do this? ART requires this extensive degree of experience and certification exactly because we’re not unarmed security guards. Our officers don’t sit in front of monitors, make hourly sweeps of warehouses between donut breaks, or stand around waiting for criminals. ART officers are out in the community, actively engaged in serving you, the customer. In fact, ART couldn’t recruit the officers we do if our service wasn’t active and customer oriented.

Our recruitment from police and sheriffs’ ranks puts us in a totally different league than security guards. To demand less of them because they work for ART instead of a police department would be to offer our customers less than they deserve and expect.

Recruitment. Training. Active, armed response. The ART difference.

Want to know more? Ask for a free security evaluation today by calling 237-2278.

Filed Under: Latest News, Resources, Safety Alerts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Smile You Copper Thief. You’re On Camera.

August 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

VideofideHere’s good news for our customers concerned about the rash of copper theft plaguing Albuquerque. Armed Response Team now provides you peace of mind from the epidemic of copper thieves victimizing Albuquerque’s businesses. Copper theft costs more than just restoring power when thieves steal the copper wiring from power lines. A business is shuttered while emergency crews race to restore your electricity which powers lights, computers, cash registers and credit card machines, as well as telephone lines.

That’s why we’ve demonstrated a new technology to several local insurance companies, and we’ll be presenting a seminar on this new technology to the state convention of independent insurance agencies in September. Drum roll, please…It’s Videofied.

Videofied is a live, self-contained, no power necessary system. It uses wireless, battery-driven technology to send a video signal to us at our central monitoring station. We aren’t reviewing a recording of yesterday’s crime. We’re seeing it live. We know if an animal or a tree branch activated the motion sensor on a windy night. We’re proactively detecting attempts at copper theft before you are victimized, tied to our unique, in-person response by an Armed Response Team officer.

Copper theft video

Click to see actual video of a copper thief caught in the act with Videofied.

 

Videofied stops copper theft by immediately alerting our professional monitoring staff of an attempted theft and provides a video snapshot of the incident. We immediately respond because we see someone suspicious around your power boxes and poles. If our officer finds the intruder, we can then dispatch police to a crime-in-progress.

Don’t become another crime statistic. Call or email today for a free, no obligation security assessment by one of ART’s Security Advisors, and to see if Videofied is right for your business.

Filed Under: Latest News, Safety Alerts Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Industry Trend: Verified Response on the Horizon

July 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

No false alarmsHere’s some shocking news for home and business owners who rely on their alarm system to bring the police when an intruder breaks in. Tight municipal budgets (like the bankrupt City of Stockton, California) have forced police departments around the country to respond to security alarm signals at homes and businesses only when there is verification of intrusion.

In fact, the City of Las Cruces is considering an ordinance in reaction to high false alarm rate – more than 99 percent of alarm calls reported there last year. Police said the cost to send public safety personnel to respond to those false alarms is an estimated $307,000 a year.

Checking on calls takes police officer time away from other important and higher priority calls, and costs taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars that just isn’t there anymore. That’s the message the incoming head of the International Association of Chiefs of Police presented at a recent security professionals’ conference. He’s going to push his police chief members to implement this policy. He wants third-party providers (like ART) to do alarm signal investigations instead. More than 30 cities in the U.S. have already gone to this system officially, while others have been using it unofficially.

This means that if your alarm system signals an intrusion, the police log the incident as low priority. Unless they hear from a real person – you, a neighbor, or a company like ART – that a break in is occurring, they don’t respond. Or the incident may be investigated eventually, when the police officer is in the area and has no higher priority calls. The response is not immediate.

Armed Response Team’s customers know they are ahead of the curve on this industry trend. They know that ART’s certified officers providing an immediate, armed and in-person response to any and all alarm calls. If an actual intrusion has occurred, ART officers call police immediately, providing a verified response to the alarm signal. Your safety is what matters with us.

Filed Under: Latest News, Resources, Safety Alerts Tagged With: , ,