What is Enhanced Call Verification and how does it work?
Enhanced Call Verification is a simple and effective way that you can prevent law enforcement from responding to a false burglar alarm at your home or business. It requires your alarm company to attempt to verify a burglar alarm activation by making a minimum of two phone calls to two different numbers before dispatching law enforcement.
The first call is to the home or business where the alarm is occurring, and, having failed to reach a responsible party, a second call is made to a different phone number that will be answered after hours or when the alarm owner is away.
The most effective second call is to a cell phone.
The Enhanced Call Verification procedure is only used for burglar alarm signals. All fire, medical, panic, hold-up or duress, and robbery signals would follow the dispatch procedures required by your local ordinance and policies and by the alarm company’s standard operating procedures.
What is a typical scenario where Enhanced Call Verification would be used?
You are in your car getting ready to go to an appointment. You realize you have forgotten something you need inside. Instead of turning off your alarm system, you think you can beat the exit delay, so you just run in, get what you need, and run back out. You are a couple of blocks away when your cell phone rings. It is your alarm company notifying you that your alarm has activated. They already called the premises, but received no answer and want to know if law enforcement should be dispatched. You realize that you set off the alarm when you re-entered your premises because you did not beat the exit delay on your system. You provide the appropriate password and prevent a law enforcement response to a false alarm.
This is one common scenario demonstrating how Enhanced Call Verification can work to eliminate unnecessary law enforcement responses, save police resources, and save alarm users from unnecessary false alarm fines.
Enhanced Call Verification works because it provides two opportunities to cancel accidental alarm activations before requesting law enforcement response. As the alarm user, you are familiar with the activity occurring at your home or business, such as home repairs, cleaning crews, employees closing, etc. However, when that activity causes a false alarm, you may not be present to cancel the alarm activation, and a request for law enforcement response is made. With Enhanced Call Verification and the knowledge of what is happening at your home or business, you can prevent these types of false alarms from occurring.
How can Enhanced Call Verification benefit you?
Enhanced Call Verification provides alarm users with a simple way to help avoid false alarms and the fines imposed by many cities and counties, including alarms caused by:
After-hours cleaning crews, scheduled maintenance work, or employees who forget their password;
Forgetting to close a window or door before activating your alarm system, leaving pets in areas protected by motion detectors or by authorized users returning home and not remembering their password.
How will Enhanced Call Verification benefit the community?
Communities, where Enhanced Call Verification is required, have seen law enforcement response to false alarms reduced by 30%-50%. These reductions lower costs, save tax dollars and help ensure officers will be available to respond to real emergencies.
How do I request Enhanced Call Verification from my alarm company?
Contact your alarm company and tell them you want Enhanced Call Verification monitoring procedures for your account. Most alarm companies already offer this service at no cost to the alarm user, and many have made it their standard operating procedure for burglary alarms.
Make sure your emergency call list is up-to-date and provide your cell phone number. Ensure the person selected for Enhanced Call Verification is educated on the correct procedure and knows the necessary passwords.
Enhanced Call Verification is endorsed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the False Alarm Reduction Association as an effective tool in reducing the number of police dispatches to false burglar alarms.
Rest assured that HS Tech Group practices ECV as a standard part of its business practice.
