These are some statistics that you may find useful. As stated in Security Sales & Integration magazine, the Most Common Customer Causes of False Alarms are:
72% Improper Disarming Upon Entry
62% Improper Arming Upon Exit
36% Lack of End-User Training
29% weather Related
23% Pets
22% Equipment Failure
18% Installation Issues
They also state that 10-25% of all calls to the police are alarm calls and that the police respond to 38 million alarm activations per year! That’s a lot considering that 94-98% of alarm activations are false alarms. Communities are seeing a large decrease in alarm calls by adopting verified response and enhanced call verification practices.
This information goes to show that we all have to do our part in reducing these false alarm calls. Why? Well, a false alarm requires 20 minutes and 2 officers to investigate, according to statistics. That’s too much wasted manpower and money.
One of the best ways to reduce false alarms is to use two way voice response monitoring rather than digital. On our website we discuss how two way voice works, and why it reduces false alarms. While we don’t conduct business within the residential market we highly suggest that end users find a provider that offers 2 way.