At June AICC Meeting, Important Security Industry Trends and a Birthday Celebration

/0 Comments/in /by
06 04 2015 AICC

At head table, left to right: AICC Chair Lou Fiore; CSAA Past President Bob Bonifas; Rep. Chris Collins (NY); AICC lobbyist Bill Signer; CSAA Past President Bob Bean, CSAA Counsel Mary Sisak. Photo by Steve Surfaro.

At the June 4 AICC meeting in Washington, DC, alarm industry leaders gathered to discuss the latest technological trends and legislative issues affecting the security industry.

Two members of Congress addressed the committee: Representative Christopher Carl “Chris” Collins, 27th District, New York, and Representative William H. “Billy” Long II , 7th District, Missouri.

Other presenters included Alexandria, VA Police Chief Eddie Reyes discussing “Body Cameras and Their Data Storage and Transmission,” Matthew Meade, co-chair of the Cybersecurity and Data Protection Group for Buchanan Inghersoll & Rooney PC, and Axis Communications’ Steve Surfaro on “The First Responder of the Future.”

Bob 2

Bob Bonifas. Photo by Elizabeth Lasko

During the meeting, members also celebrated the birthday of CSAA Past President Bob Bonifas.

CSAA Remembers Chief Chris Vinson of Highland Park, TX

/0 Comments/in /by

VinsonCSAA extends sincere condolences to the family of Chief Chris Vinson, who passed away unexpectedly on June 1. A great friend of the alarm industry, Chief Vinson was with the Highland Park, Texas, police department for more than 30 years, serving as chief since 2008. He was a strong advocate of the ASAP-to-PSAP program, speaking out in support of it at ISC West in April. We welcomed him to CSAA headquarters in February for meetings on the revision of Alarm Verification and Notification Standard, CS-V-01. Chief Vinson will be greatly missed by his community in Texas and by the larger public safety community to which he gave his time and talents so generously. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

NFPA Revision: VOTE NEGATIVE on Motions 72-8 and 72-9

/0 Comments/in /by

Alarm industry participants from across the nation are encouraged to help defeat two items by voting NEGATIVE on motions 72-8 and 72-9 during the NFPA meeting in Chicago on June 25, 2015. To be an eligible voting member of NFPA, you must have been a member as of December 24, 2014. The meeting starts at 8:00 am. (June 16, 2016 update: this meeting has now passed.)

The defeat of these motions is necessary due to a cluster of fire-service personnel in the Chicagoland area who filed Certified Amending Motions to rescind newly proposed language written during this revision cycle for the 2016 Edition that would clearly ALLOW Listed Central Stations to provide Remote Station Service.

Specifically, within the proposed final edition – which the IESA supports – is a paragraph which reads “26.5.3.1.3 Alarm, supervisory and trouble signals SHALL be permitted to be received at a listed central supervising station.”

Opponents of this code progress would remove SHALL and keep the word MAY, thus allowing the exclusion of a central station from being recognized as a remote station. This is occurring in some Chicago suburbs in which fire departments operate their own alarm-monitoring centers. In those communities, the AHJ designates a single remote station, typically operated by the AHJ itself, as “approved” under the Code and then REJECTS all forms of private fire-alarm monitoring, including monitoring via a listed central station. This eliminates all private competition and leaves the AHJ as the sole provider of a service.

It is this sort of practice that has resulted in two federal lawsuits in the northern district of Illinois.

If you will be voting at the Chicago NFPA meeting in June, please contact Kevin Lehan, IESA Executive Director, at 773-632-3140 or ExecDirector@IESA.net.

VOTE NEGATIVE ON THESE MOTIONS

Motion Seq# 72-8

Certified Amending Motion: Accept Public Comment No. 140

Recommended Text if Motion Passes:

26.5.3.1.3 When permitted by the Authority Having Jurisdiction, alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at a listed central supervising station

Recommended Text if Motion Fails:

26.5.3.1.3 Alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at a listed central supervising station.

Motion Seq# 72-9

Certified Amending Motion: Accept Public Comment No. 192.

Recommended Text if Motion Passes:

The proposed new text (26.5.3.1.3) is not recommended for inclusion in the 2016 edition of NFPA 72.

Recommended Text if Motion Fails:

26.5.3.1.3 Alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at a listed central supervising station.

Law Enforcement Support for ASAP-to-PSAP

/0 Comments/in /by

At ISC West in April, a panel of law enforcement officers took the stage to discuss “Verified Alarms and Priority Response” presented by the Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR). A big part of the conversation was ASAP-to-PSAP. Check out the video to hear Chief Chris Vinson of Highland Park, TX, Chair of the Texas Police Chiefs Alarm Committee, and Commander Scott Edson of Los Angeles weigh in on the ASAP program and its benefits.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKRwEnoOAFU&w=560&h=315]

ASAP Resources

Meet Stan Stahl, 2015 CSAA Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker

/0 Comments/in /by

Take a minute to meet Stan Stahl, Ph.D., who will discuss cyber security challenges for central stations at the 2015 CSAA Annual Meeting in October.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMEYMUowmD4&w=560&h=315]

Dr. Stahl’s presentation is sponsored by Honeywell Security Products.

Cyber Security, Understanding Personalities in Your Workforce, and Crisis Communications Are Featured Topics at 2015 CSAA Annual Meeting

/0 Comments/in /by

Keynote Address by Stan Stahl, Ph.D. on Cybercrime Challenges Leads Strong Roster of Speakers and Sessions

And now for something a little different! CSAA International has just announced the first three featured speakers for its 2015 Annual Meeting in Sonoma, CA, October 10-14. (Education sessions will be held October 12-14).

The 2015 meeting marks the beginning of a multi-year reimagining of CSAA’s annual event. “Over the next several years, CSAA will be restructuring our traditional annual meeting in order to bring the greatest possible value to our members who attend,” said CSAA President Pamela J. Petrow.

”Members will start to see these changes in Sonoma, where we have already assembled an exciting roster of speakers to present on topics that will help them advance their businesses,” said Petrow. The announced speakers are:

Keynote Speaker: Stan Stahl, Ph.D. — “Meeting the Information Security Management Challenge: The Financial Implications of Cybercrime on the Alarm Monitoring Industry” (Sponsored by Honeywell Security Products)

Stan Stahl low resStan Stahl, President of Citadel Information Group, an information security management services firm, says that cybercrime costs businesses and non-profits billions of dollars annually in theft, fraud, embezzlement, and other losses, and that meeting the cyber security challenge requires Executive Management and their Boards to take cyber security as seriously as they take operations and finance. His keynote address will illustrate the dangers of cybercrime, show how we let cyber-criminals onto our networks and provide actionable management strategies and tactics every business can take to effectively manage its cyber-risk.

“Managing cyber-risk has become the new normal, whether it’s protecting your network from cyber-criminals who want to steal your online bank credentials, dishonest competitors wanting to steal your customer lists or thieves wanting to disrupt the IP connection between you and your customers,” said Stahl. “Statistics suggest that more than 30% of cybercrime victims are small businesses like many of those in CSAA, and that 60% of these victims are out-of-business within 6 months of being hacked.”

Featured Speaker: David Margulies –“Protect Your Reputation: Crisis ManagementMargulies in the Cyber Age”

Communications guru David Margulies frequently reminds audiences that in the Cyber Age, “A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth has an opportunity to put its pants on.” At his presentation in Sonoma, he will demonstrate to attendees that “what you don’t know about crisis management in the Cyber Age can kill your business.” He will share strategies and tactics for managing unforeseen events to protect company brand and reputation.

Featured Speaker: Robert A. Rohm, Ph.D. — “Why Can’t You Be Normal…Like Me!”

Robert_A_RohmRobert A. Rohm is a dynamic speaker, best-selling author, educational consultant and guest lecturer whose message focuses on transforming people into leaders who can maximize their individual potential. Describing his special session at the CSAA Annual Meeting, Rohm says, “In the normal course of a day we meet all kinds of people. Some of them we really connect with and others… well – let’s just say we don’t quite understand them. Have you ever considered the fact that most people do not do things against you as much as they do things for themselves? This will be a lively, interactive session that will help you understand yourself and others better than you ever thought possible.”

Read the complete announcement.

Schedule and Housing Info

For more information, contact Elizabeth Lasko at CSAA, 703-242-4670 x 16 or ewlasko@csaaintl.org.

Pamela J. Petrow Named President of CSAA International

/0 Comments/in /by

Pamela J. Petrow, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vector Security, Inc., is the new President of CSAA International. Her term will extend through October 2017.

Pam-Petrow[1]“It is an honor and a privilege to be able to lead CSAA during this period of transformation for the alarm industry,” said Petrow. “As president, I will build on our past successes, looking to transition the Association to meet the current and future needs of our members.”

Petrow says that her vision for her term focuses specifically on member engagement and membership value. “My objectives are threefold,” she said. “One, to improve membership value and relevance; two, to help our members position their companies for the future; and three, to grow membership overall.”

“I believe in the power and value of associations, and I also understand the challenges they face in communicating their benefits to members, both current and prospective,” said Petrow. “We have already begun a review of the structure of CSAA, because our members are diverse and need more customized benefits than they have received in the past. Over my term, CSAA leadership and I will talk to every member to discuss their individual needs and determine how to bring them relevant and valuable benefits.”

In addition, she said, “One of my biggest challenges will be to reawaken enthusiasm and participation among our members. We will discover new ways that every member can make a contribution, to volunteer and share in our association community.”

“We must build on our members’ passion and tap into their expertise to improve and advance the whole alarm industry,” concluded Petrow.

Read the complete release

–Elizabeth Lasko, CSAA, May 4, 2015

CSAA 365: CSAA Wikis are a Secret Weapon for Members’ Success

/0 Comments/in /by

Got a minute? Find out about a CSAA membership benefit you may have been missing.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT2fEom43Ho&w=560&h=315]

Check out all of the CSAA Wikis, just one of the services CSAA provides to help our members advance their businesses all year long.

ASAP® Program: No If’s, And’s or Butts

/0 Comments/in /by

By Ron Walters

This post is a guest editorial that appeared in the March 2015 issue of Northeast/Midwest Sentinel. (View the article online.) Posted with permission of the publisher and author.

It wasn’t a headline or feature story butt it caught my eye. In spite of the perception that the alarm industry is the biggest issue for law enforcement, perhaps we aren’t. After all, the alarm industry’s relationship with Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPS) in our joint attempt to reduce dispatches is well documented.

As reported by Businessweek, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Reilly just announced that our nation’s PSAPS are experiencing 84 million false 9-1-1 calls annually, with 70% coming from cellular phones. To make matters worse, half of these were inadvertent “butt calls”. These calls have become so prevalent because our elected representatives decided that whether a phone was locked or not, it should be 9-1-1 capable. On the surface an honorable mission, but as Sir Isaac Newton said so many years ago, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

For the last two years our industry has supported the Association of Police Communication Officers (APCO) in fighting the FCC and this same FCC Commissioner from requiring every device that connects to the Internet to be 9-1-1 capable. Really? Can you imagine the impact of every game console being connected to 9-1-1? Heck, you can’t even call a game console back.

If we truly have a common mission with law enforcement then we need to actively support them. That’s what this article is really about.

ASAP-Concept1DThe largest joint project in the history of our relationship is without question the up and coming ASAP to PSAP project. The Automated Secure Alarm Protocol to the Public Sector Answering Point(s) is a direct link between the PSAP and our central stations. Over the last 25 years there have been several attempts to launch similar programs; however, the biggest hurdle was always having direct communications with law enforcements Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software. For security, no outside source was allowed to directly interface with these CAD programs. Also, if there was ever going to be any such connection it would require that all CAD vendors and all monitoring automation vendors come together to develop compatible software.

So what exactly is the point of ASAP to PSAP?

First and foremost is the “hands off” functionality. This means we can dispatch to the PSAP, and they can receive it, without any human interaction. Also, the dispatch can be canceled in the same fashion. In fact in some communities the alarm dispatch could potentially end up on a computer screen in a patrol car without ever having been read at the PSAP.

On the industry side the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) has not only spearheaded this effort, their members have helped finance it. Influential industry leaders such as Pam Petrow of Vector Security, Ed Bonifas of EDS and Bill Hobgood from the City of Richmond, Virginia have taken the leadership position in ASAP to PSAP and their efforts should be applauded.

ASAP to PSAP is the perfect example of how we work with law enforcement. It is truly a joint effort and promises to have a huge impact on reducing false dispatches. If you are on the monitoring side of our industry you need to contact the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) at www.csaaintl.org.

ASAP to PSAP is a monumental step in our relationship with law enforcement. No If’s, And’s or Butt’s about it, whether you are on the installation or monitoring side of the industry, you should follow the link to learn more about this vital program that promises to alter the landscape of police dispatches to alarms.

Ron Walters is a Director of SIAC and is a 35 year veteran of the alarm industry. He can be reached at ronw@siacinc.org.

Verified Alarms Lead to Priority Response

/0 Comments/in /by

Attending ISC West this month? Then you have a golden opportunity to learn from law enforcement how verified alarms lead to priority response. 

FreePPVAR 1 Session Sponsored by PPVAR: April 16, 4-6:00 PM 

Sheriffs and police chiefs from across the country come together on a panel hosted by the PPVAR (Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response) to share how video verified alarms impact alarm response in their communities.  A key focus will be law enforcement’s perspective on how the PPVAR’s new BEST PRACTICES strengthen the partnership between the “alarm industry” and “law enforcement” to deliver arrests and safer communities – with more RMR and stickier customers.

  • Discover how law enforcement view video verified alarms as a “force multiplier” to help them combat property crime and build public/private partnerships to be more effective in community policing.
  • Better understand how priority response and arrests impact loss control and impact property/casualty insurers.
  • Align your alarm company with leading industry experts as they underscore the benefits and value of video verified alarms from separate and unique perspectives.

Reception following! More information.