http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/Recent writings.en-usSat, 18 Jul 2009 13:48:59 -0000http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/recent-robberies-nw-dc/Universal Gear was robbed on Thursday the 14th in the middle of the day. This was a brazen robbery by 9 people and was captured by security cameras (not Urban Alarm's). The video has been posted on YouTube with a award for information leading to the arrest and conviction. Shoplifting is always a problem but this was an in-your-face robbery that takes it to a new level. It highlights the importance of staying aware of your environment at all times. I was struck by recent surveillance video of a NW DC robbery showing shoppers browsing less then eight feet from an armed robbery in progress. The shoppers were unaware of anything out of the ordinary. Staying aware of anything unusual or suspicious is always important to your safety. If you observe something suspicious leave the store immediately (if practical) and call 911. If you are a shop owner or manager, you must make sure you have video and surveillance warning signs. Silent panic buttons should be located behind the counter, in the manager's office, and any other back of store area (e.g., stock room, walk-in cooler). Panic buttons can also be located close to the floor where accessible in the event you are forced to the floor. Wireless panic buttons should also be on the keychains of managers or other employees. New IP cameras can show much greater detail then traditional analog cameras. Strategically locating cameras can provide the most clear pictures of burglars. We have started placing high resolution cameras above the doors showing a clear picture of people as they exit. This can be a better quality image then people coming into the store since exterior backlighting reduce the visibility of peoples faces. At the end of the day, surveillance cameras serve as a deterrent. Ones that show greater detail of perpetrators' faces can lead to the arrest and conviction of thieves and give shoppers, storekeepers, and their neighborhoods greater peace of mind. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/recent-robberies-nw-dc/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/urban-alarm-recignized-excellent-design/ Urban Alarm won the logo design category for the Security Sales and Integration's 2009 SAMMY Awards. The SAMMY Awards recognize superior design and implementation in sales and marketing for the security industry. Miles Fawcett, Urban Alarm's President, received the award at the March 31st 2009 Las Vegas ceremony with Urban Alarm beating out Protection One and Stanley Convergent Security Solutions. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/urban-alarm-recignized-excellent-design/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/washington-parks-and-peoples-riverside-center/ This month, as part of Urban Alarm's community outreach program, we installed a new security system at the Washington Parks and People's Riverside Center. The Riverside center has been opened since the Spring of 2004 and has become a hub of activity. Located across the street from the Watts Branch Park in Northeast DC The Center serves a diverse community with a weekly farm stand, neighborhood cafe, arts center, and community meeting place. Urban Alarm's donation of the system and it's monitoring will help to secure the significant investment Washington Parks and People has made into this program. Every quarter we look for community organizations that would significantly benefit from our products and services. Washington Parks and People stands out because of their passionate investments in DC's parks and communities. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/washington-parks-and-peoples-riverside-center/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/bethesda-chevy-chase-rescue-squad-bccrs/ The "Call 911!" article in the February 2009 issue of Washingtonian Magazine highlights some of the short falls of the DC emergency response system. The problems have been widely reported after a few high profile failures of DC's ambulance system. The Washingtonian article (which is not available online as of this post) provide the history of context of DC system as well as a contrasting overview with Maryland and Virginia's systems which have performed much better. Some Northwest residents are already familiar with The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad (BCCRS). Maybe from a volunteer knocking at your door during their annual door to door fund raising campaign. If you have taken the time to chat with one of the volunteers you may already know that BCCRS was originally located in Northwest DC. With that history they still have a commitment to serve Northwest DC residents who are geographically reachable. Their response area is listed on their Web site. Urban Alarm residential customers in the covered Northwest DC service area have the option of the medical panic on their alarm system being tied to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. You can also call the rescue squad directly for emergency ambulance service by dialing 301-652-1000 rather than 911. While it is wonderful to have Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad as an option for some Northwest Washington DC residents, it is unfortunate that we are not able to have confidence in our home system. The limited response area in DC leaves a major disparity on the quality of service available in Washington DC unfortunately echoing the social economic layout of the city with BCCRS only responding to some of the most affluent parts of DC. Please keep pressure on your ANC and City Council representatives to repair the DC system. There are professional and committed people in the DC medical response system and we all deserve the resources and leadership to have a world class system. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/bethesda-chevy-chase-rescue-squad-bccrs/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/gun-vs-alarm-home-security/I take issue with some of the ideas in the recent Washington Post article "Downturn Pumps Up Anxiety About Crime ". The last paragraph closes with, "A gun seemed to be the answer," and this statement is misguided, in my opinion. As an alarm company, we clearly have a vested interest in how people approach security -- but as a resident of DC and having the professional perspective we do, I couldn't disagree more strongly. There really is no comparison between a gun and an alarm system for home security. They serve two very different (although admittedly perhaps sometimes complimentary) purposes. First, an alarm system is not going to "protect" a home. Its main purpose is to secure a home in such a way that the residents know (a) when the home is secure and (b) when the home's security has been breached. Now that the DC handgun ban has been overturned, the decision to own a handgun is a personal choice. But the choice should be made with a clear understanding of what owning a gun can and cannot accomplish. Many conditions must line up in order for a resident-owned handgun to be a positive factor during a home intrusion. And there are many scenarios, which I will not go into, that can result in a negative outcome. A gun in a home is not a replacement for an alarm system. Just as a security system cannot technically "protect" someone, a weapon cannot "secure" a property. In fact, an alarm system may become even more important when there is a gun in the residence at risk of getting into an intruder's hands. Alarm systems, when used properly, will alert residents quickly, so they may prepare a weapon and take a defensive position. Alarms will also reduce the chances of the resident waking up to find their own weapon in the hands of an intruder who has quietly broken in. Additionally, an alarm system is critical to secure property when residents are not home. The system will reduce the time window an burglar has in your home and will notify residents, police, and other responders. Reducing the chance of walking in on a burglary in progress is also a primary value. Any approach to home security should take a thoughtful and deliberate approach which includes playing out the pros and cons of various scenarios, especially when there is a gun -- in the homeowner's hands -- in question. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/gun-vs-alarm-home-security/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/securing-your-freedom-speech/Political yard signs can trigger emotional reactions in heated elections. Stories abound of yard signs "walking" away. So what can you to to secure them? I saw a story last week about few people who have taken to video surveillance to monitor their their yard sign and maybe nab a disgruntled activist gone thief. Video is great as it shows you who took it and gives some excellent You Tube fodder. But it is not the most cost effective solution. So we at Urban Alarm have taken a lower cost approach to protecting our political voices in the week leading up to election day. Wireless alarm systems offer tremendous flexibility as the sensors can go just about anywhere. We can use a simple wireless contact sensor, wrapped in a plastic zip lock to protect it from moisture, and bury it in the ground taped to the yard sign and corresponding magnet. The solution is simple but effective if you want to run out and nab the thief in the process. However, you may not want the who house alarm going off, and the police being dispatched (or maybe you do) when the sign is pulled. And, you want to know about it even if the alarm system is disarmed. This can be addressed in the alarm system by using a special sensors group. The GE alarm systems we install have special sensor groups just for "chime" or "enunciate" sensors. These are sensors that do not trigger an alarm but simply announce "Garage Door" or other meaning full report. It is similar to how a sensor would behave when you turn on the "chime" mode but it acts this way at all times (e.g., without chime turned on and even when the alarm is armed) and does not trigger a full reported alarm. Of course, there are many other applications for wireless sensors and these special sensor groups which is why we take the time to understand our customers concerns and come up with solutions that address them. For example, we recently installed this sort of special sensor on a pool gate so that adults are notified when the smaller kids enter the pool area. Give us a call and we can discuss your specific concerns and how security technology might be used to address them. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/securing-your-freedom-speech/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/remote-video-monitoring-cctv/Due to an increase in crime and uncertainty in our community and convergence of technologies, Video Surveillance and remote video monitoring (or Closed Circuit Television -- CCTV) are rapidly increasing in popularity and effectiveness. The result is video surveillance being used in an increasing variety of situations and application from private homes and small businesses to large scale government and commercial applications. Recorded video archives can be a valuable resource for determining what happened when a security breach occurs. But more importantly, video surveillance is one of the most effective tools for proactively preventing breaches in the first place. How can this be accomplished? Larger commercial and government properties have the advantage and economies of scale. They have live guards on site 24 hours a day 7 days a week. These guards can monitor banks of video and respond to potential threats. Full time on-site guards can easily cost more than $16,000 per month which is clearly not cost effective or practical for most smaller properties. Fortunately, there are other options. Urban Alarm’s remote video monitoring service utilizes the latest in digital video surveillance cameras, or IP Video, to view and asses activity on a property in real time. IP Cameras are programmed to connect to our central monitoring centers immediately when a defined event is triggered. These may include motion detected on specified portions of the screen, a person loitering for more than 90 seconds or an object left by a person in a crowded lobby. When such an event is detected, our central station views the event and follows up with additional video analysis within seconds. If a threat is identified, the central station may engages the individuals or groups over a two-way intercom at the camera location. Or they can dispatch guards on the ground or the police. Remote video monitoring starts at $95 per month making it extremely cost effective for commercial and retail applications and even for homes. To be effective, clear rules must be defined that are actionable. Watching cars pass by is not going to be useful since the monitoring center personal will not be able to distinguish a threat from a passer by. Watching a pool or playground for anyone loitering during night time hours is a good example of actionable events. For more information on how to utilize remote video monitoring strategies on your project give us a call. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/remote-video-monitoring-cctv/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/5-ways-get-most-your-alarm-system/ Your alarm system is a critical line of defense in keeping intruders out of your home. However, how your alarm system is setup and how you use it will have a big impact on its effectiveness. Here are the top five factors to make the most of your alarm system: 1. Keep the "delay" as low as possible. Your system is most likely setup to beep for 30 to 90 seconds when you enter the house in order to give you a chance to disarm it. Keep this as low as possible. The longer the delay the more damage an intruder can do. Keep in mind it may be a minute or two after the alarm goes off before the police are dispatched. A few minutes may be all the time an intruder needs to get what they want. Most systems can be setup with no delay. So how do you get into the house to disarm your system? You can use a keychain remote to disarm the system before you even get into the house. 2. Make sure your system is setup to use a "panic" code. With the increase in home invasions this becomes more important. If an intruder tries to force you to disarm your system you can enter your panic code. The system will appear to be shut off but it will actually send a silent panic alarm to the monitoring center who will dispatch the police immediately. The police may take their time to check out an alarm signal but panic alarms generally result in a more rapid response. 3. You should also have a panic code setup with your central station. When they call to verify the alarm you can provide the panic code. They will hand up the phone and dispatch the police immediately. 4. When you arm the system when you are in the house select the "no delay" option. With "no delay" set the alarm will go off immediately when an intrusion is detected. Like the above delay point you don't want to give an intruder more time to do damage then necessary. Especially when you are in the house. 5. Use your system! Even if you are in the house or out for a few minutes the system is worthless if not used. While having an alarm sign in the yard may be a deterant it is not going to secure your property. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/5-ways-get-most-your-alarm-system/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/how-not-install-alarm-system/ Walking through a local retail corridor last week I noticed how pervasive badly installed alarm systems are. installers needlessly disregard the thought that went into the design and asthetic of the space. I am not talking about spending more money. An effective but less intrusive alarm system typically does not cost more than a rushed installation that haphazardly slaps sensors onto a door. There are a number of options for monitoring a door or window will maintaining the asthetic integrity of a space. The least invasive sensor is a resessed senor which is actually recessing into a door or window. This approach leaves virtually no visueal trace of the sensor however it may not be practical depending on the type of door. The next best approach is a color matched "micro" or "slimline" sensor. These sensors or a fraction the size of a stanard sensor and generally perform just as well. However, the battery life is not as long so batteries may need to be replaced in a year or two rather than a few years. Don't take it for granted than an alarm system is going to change the look of your doors and demand that it be as least invasive as possible.                 http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/how-not-install-alarm-system/http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/security-video-your-iphone-or-pda/ Video can play an important role in any security system for verification and evaluation of alarm events. When an alarm goes off video can be used to evaluation what is occurring and the best response. Storage of video can unlock what (or who) triggered an alarm and provide the information needed to pursue a legal resolution. In some cases it can also be used to limit liability (more on this in the future post). Urban Alarm’s Web Dashboard, powered by Alarm.com, now supports integrated video. The video is available through a web browser but video clips can also be accessed via your Apple iPhone or other video enabled PDA. While video is supported on any iPhone, the new 3G iPhone from Apple and ATT supports significantly higher speed improving performance of streamed video to your PDA. Setup rules in the alarm system web dashboard to email you video from specified cameras based on alarm events, sensor detection, and/or motion detection in the video. You may also arm, disarm, and control other features of your alarm system through your iPhone or web enabled PDA. Video integrated with your alarm system is useful for: 1 to 4 camera retail security systems small offices remote viewing of conditions and activity at a vacation home monitoring of elderly or special needs individuals living at home monitoring the exterior or interior of primary homes Urban Alarm video, powered by Alarm.com video, is integrated with the web dashboard. The only equipment required is the video camera and a wireless (wi-fi) wireless network. All video is stored on Alarm.com servers and retained for a period of time. For more information on video and CCTV system for a residential, retail, or commercial property call us at 202-265-2700. http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/security-video-your-iphone-or-pda/