This year once again I have had the good fortune to travel around the state for purposes of alarm management meetings. As you know we began a program of alarm management issues with the Security Industry Alarm Coalition some seven years ago. These are the folks who manufacture and distribute all those products you sell and install so efficiently for your customers.

They realized many years ago that much work needed to be done in exchanging ideas and information with public sector law enforcement and fire officials. By enhancing communications between the public and private sector it would bring benefits to all parties including the consumers who use the products. It has paid off far beyond what they originally imagined. Little did they realize when instituting these programs how much they were needed and what processes they have fulfilled beyond what the planners envisioned.

Unless you sit in on these meetings, you cannot begin to understand what tremendous good is done by dispelling misinformation and public misunderstanding of private security, public safety and the roles both play interactively on behalf of the public. This necessarily symbiotic relationship must synchronize to work in harmony. When it does it is a thing of beauty. When they are at cross purposes, the result is chaos. Fortunately our long established Public-Private Partnership Committee of the Florida Police Chief’s Association has evolved into a practical and efficient forum to address all sorts of issues within the respective industries.

We have worked very hard to bring the program to the attention of the law enforcement community in general through their related trade associations, as well as a series of special district meetings and seminars around Florida. The even better news is that SIAC has a similar future program involving fire professionals that will help address much of the same problem areas current in the fire safety arena.

A lot of the problem areas arise when there is no communication between the industries and this leads to one side or the other viewing their idea as the ‘exclusive problem solver’. In reality the solution usually lies somewhere in the middle. Bringing the two parties to the table in mutual recognition of their credibility is 90% of the solution. Once egos are soothed and the technical data is analyzed, both sides are usually very surprised and gratified at the solutions that bring success.

Looking back we have been witness to some very thorough and structured data that has been gathered in relation to alarm systems. These address some ultimate long term questions that have arisen about security systems. They also enhance the realization that further studies are needed to prove beyond a doubt certain aspects related to our industry. Stay tuned. We all have much to learn.

Bob Neely – Executive Director, Alarm Association of Florida, Inc.