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Apparently a central station in Salt Lake City, UT, pissed off the wrong cop and the central station manager was arrested for filing a false police report. The criminal case lingered for many years and have finally concluded by dismissal of the charges. Lee Jones sent the following:
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Ken;
This is an update on the 10 year court delay for a resolution in Salt Lake City of when/if a misdemeanor "false police report' can apply to abusive monitoring firms. I am not an attorney and cannot interpret and communicate in legal language. We suggest the professionals review and report back details.
Municipalities can again consider the use of the controversial enforcement tool available to every police department to manage abusive alarm suppliers.... enforcement of laws against "false police reports". The 10 year legal feud in Salt Lake City has been resolved via jury trial, October 7, 2013. The jury said the Salt Lake Police Department was fully
justified even though there was a flaw in the local law that dismissed the charge 10 years earlier.
The dispute... a SLC alarm company manager was charged with a misdemeanor, cuffed and hauled to police station, due to abuse of VR rules and 911 rules. Due to the major threat to the monitoring industry if precedent.. the
alarm industry tied it up in the courts for over 10 years to deter other police from same practice. Quote from Alarm Association leadership..."There will be a seismic shift in the industry if this prosecution is successful."
Salt Lake City was one of the first VR/Verified Response cities. It is rumored that Peak Alarm was tasked to reverse the legislation and prevent a trend, as a national industry priority and at any cost. He knew the VR rules and the 911 rules and basic common sense, but brutally abused those rules and professional courtesy on several occasions. Cops got pissed off one night when he got real demanding and nasty... they had enough... charged him with a "false police report", cuffed him and hauled him away. Had all the evidence on tape and documentation. But, they discovered by surprise the local law was flawed, so the PD was forced to release and drop all chares. The flaw was in the language of the law, which referenced "written" false reports, without any reference to "verbal" reports (alarm industry requests for help). Due to the potential damage to the monitoring industry, it is rumored that (they) determined this to be a great opportunity to tie it up in the courts for many years, maybe even dilute or destroy VR. Jeff Howe became the plaintiff and sued the city/police/personal (see the 2005 news release). At that time, Los Angeles and several other major cities were considering the addition of "false police reports" to halt abusive monitoring firms, but all cities put the matter on hold until the SLC legal matter was resolved.... Success for 10 years. Resolved October 7, 2013.
Lee Jones
Support Services Group
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Response
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I haven't heard of any instances where central station operators were arrested for sending in an alarm signal. Anyone know of any?
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Speaking Engagement
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October 22 - 25, 2013 Texas Burglar & Fire Alarm Association. San Luis Resort Spa & Conference Center
Galveston, TX. registration: http://tbfaa.org/annual-convention/ For more information contact
Brad Shipp – 877-908-2522 exdirector@tbfaa.org; Debi Ulmer - 281 859-4569 debi@dispatchcenter.net
Classes; trade show; golf; Presentation will be on alarm contract law and advanced workshop on the All in One contracts
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Webinars
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December 4, 2013 12 noon EST Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4919260455763006721
Title: 10 Things Residential Security Alarm Companies should consider BEFORE entering the world of Commercial Engineered System Fire Alarms
Presented by: Bob Williams, President of Briscoe Protective Systems and his Management Team.
Briscoe Protective Systems has been in the industry for 35 Years and has made the transition from a Residential Alarm Company in the late 70’s to a Engineered System Fire and Security Company that is an SDM Top 100 Company. Find us on the web at www.BriscoeProtective.com or on LinkedIn under Companies, Facebook and Twitter@BriscoeProSys
Description: There is a big difference between installing Residential Fire Systems and Commercial Engineered Fire Systems and there are “Key Factors” that Security Company’s should consider before attempting to go into this lucrative but challenging market.
Who should attend: Alarm company owners and fire techs.
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